AGG. FINAL DAY: nowind, no more races... Si chiude così senza ulteriori stravolgimenti di classifica l'edizione 2012 del Downunder Pro ad Hawks Nest. Vince Paulo Dos Reis BRA-3333 davanti a Jesper Vesterstrom DEN-111 e Wilhelm Schurmann BRA-999.   5° assoluto e  Campione Australiano FW il regolare Sean O'Brien AUS-120, motorizzato Point-7...un pò di Italia festeggia dall'altra parte del mondo! A seguire foto, classifiche, equipment list, e i report ufficiali di Sean O'Brien AUS-120. 

AGG. 03/02/2012: no wind, ma belle onde per del buon surf! Ad Hawks Nest, anche in mancanza di vento, i ragazzi hanno di che divertirsi...

AGG. 02/02/2012: altre 4 prove con vento tra 15 e >30 nodi e pioggia...invariate le posizioni di testa, con Dos Reis che continua a martellare con 4 primi, seguito da Vesterstrom regolarissimo con 4 secondi.  A seguire i reports di Sean O'Brien AUS-120 ,  foto, classifiche, attrezzature registrate.

AGG. 01/02/2012: Dopo un Warm Up Event caratterizzato da un vento sui 15-20 nodi e dominato da Jesper Vesterstrom davanti a Wilhelm Schurmann e Sean O'Brien, il primo giorno di regate FW ad Hawks Nest mette a dura prova i 58 concorrenti, con raffiche a 30 nodi e pioggia! Sfoderando la proverbiale superiorità fisica, Paulo Dos Reis inanella 3 primi, regatando anche con la 11 prima di scendere alla 10 mq e spingendo la sua nuova Patrik Formula II  in  incredibili downwind!

A seguire Jesper Vesterstrom e Wilhelm Schurmann a chiudere la zona podio. Il nostro corrispondente, e Campione Australiano in carica, Sean O'Brien AUS-120 chiude 5° la prima giornata. Le previsioni per domani sono di vento nucleare, si profila all'orizzonte un'altra giornata di grande azione!

A seguire i reports di Sean O'Brien AUS-120 ,  foto, classifiche, attrezzature registrate.

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EQUIPMENT LIST

CLASSIFICHE

-SEAN O'BRIEN AUS-120 REPORTS-

FINAL RACE AND PRIZEGIVING PARTY NIGHT.
No valid races on the last day of the 2012 Downunder Pro – Formula Windsurfing Championships left the total at 7 races over the four-day regatta.
The 2012 Downunder Pro - Oceanic and Australian Formula Windsurfing Championships concluded on Saturday with an action packed 7 races taking place over the four-day regatta at picturesque Jimmy’s Beach, Hawks Nest. The strong 58 competitors, including World #1 from Brasil, Paulo Dos Reis (Patrik/North) had a challenging trial of races with a last attempt at starting Race 8 on Saturday afternoon taking place at 3.30pm, with the winds filling in to 6-10 knots for an hour, late in the afternoon; not long enough to complete a valid race.
Dos Reis took the event win dominating the racing by winning all 7 races over the event ahead of Jesper Vesterstrøm (Starboard/North) from Denmark, and Wilhelm Schurmann (Starboard/Neilpryde) from Brasil. It was Dos Reis’ first time sailing in this part of New South Wales and the Brasilian said about the event after taking home the first prize of a return-ticket airfare from event sponsors Qantas Airlines:
“This was the first time I’ve come to Australia and I was very impressed with the hospitality and the great racing conditions. It was windy, and that’s the conditions I like, so I’m very happy to win and I will definitely be back next year”.
One of the event organisers and defending champion Sean O’Brien (Starboard/Point-7) was the first Australian over the line coming in a clear 5th overall and just 2 points behind 4th placed Mathias Pinheiro (Starboard/North) from Brasil. O’Brien becomes the Oceanic and Australian Champion for the 6th time now as international competitors are ineligible for the title. Having raced in Hawks Nest for over 12 years now, O’Brien said of the event:
“We picked this beach to run the event for more than just the quality sailing it produces. It’s got a small town vibe which is great for families who compete, there’s plenty of other things to do for the non-windsurfers and the conditions this place produces are absolutely World-Class. I had a great event and punishing Mathias in the last race really capped it off for me.”
Brett Morris (Starboard/North) had a battle on his hands finishing 2nd Australian and 6th overall in the event, just 2 points ahead of Luke Baillie (Gaastra/Neilpryde) from Brisbane. Despite the race crew’s
attempts at getting a final lightwind race in today to cap off the event, Brett was able to hold on to his 2nd Australian position, despite sitting deep in the standings during the final race attempt today, with Baillie just nipping at the heels of race leaders Schurmann and Vesterstrøm.
A new division for the sailors new to the Formula Windsurfing class called ‘Free Formula’ was run for the fifth time at a National Titles this year. The division allows newer sailors the opportunity to race at the same time as the Pro Division but sail one less lap then the top sailors. This class has seen the biggest growth in the past few seasons with 22 competitors taking part in this year’s event. The division was dominated by Darryl Griffiths (Starboard/Severne) from Western Australia, ahead of Tim Ford (JP/Neilpryde) and Adam Craven (JP/Neilpryde).
In the Youth division a World-Class fleet competed with event winner and 2nd time overall champion at this event, Aldo ‘Bebeko’ Maia (Starboard/North) came all the way downunder from Brasil to finish ahead of Reece Baillie (Starboard/Neilpryde) and Laird O’Brien (Exocet/Neilpryde) to take home a new mobile phone from event sponsor, Blackberry. Multiple time Australian title holder Wayne Bowness (Gaastra/Gaastra) won a very contested Grand-Master division ahead of Tim Wood (Gaastra/Gaastra) from England but based in New Zealand, and local legend Rick Murray (Starboard/North).
After the event concluded on Saturday competitors enjoyed a fantastice meal at ‘Benchmark’ restaurant and function centre as part of the Prizegiving Ceremony with major sponsors Qantas and Blackberry handing out a number of new handsets and round-the-world plane tickets to the division winners.
Further information about the FW Oceanic & Australian Championships as well as a media service with press releases, results, rankings, background information and photo/video downloads can be found on the official website www.fw-australia.com.
Contact and further information:
Tamara Ting
Organising Committee Director / Media Relations AUSTRALIAN WINDSURFING ASSOCIATION
Phone: 0414 638 242
E-Mail: tam@vmgblades.com
Internet: www.fw-australia.com
Sean O’Brien
Organising Committee / Media Relations AUSTRALIAN WINDSURFING ASSOCIATION
Phone: 0402 467 857
E-Mail: seanobrien@aus120.com
Internet: www.fw-australia.com

***

A LONG DAY IN THE WET ON DAY 3

The Downunder Pro - Formula Windsurfing Oceanic & Australian Championships had sailors caught
in a long day on the beach with no racing, as a low pressure system which had flooded the event
site in recent days, continued to play havoc on the weather.

For the first time in nearly 7 years of Formula National Titles held in Australia, no racing was held on Day 3
with the wind failing to materialise in a consistent direction despite the Race Committee making every
attempt to get a race underway. The sailors were kept on stand-by for over 6 hours with the N over AP
(end of racing for the day) flag finally hoisted at 5pm allowing the sailors a chance to head home and
prepare for the evening’s Event BBQ.

Current event leader, with 7 bullets, Brasilian sailor Paulo Dos Reis (Patrik/North) kept a cool head
spending most of the day relaxing out of the dribbles of rain in the shade with the rest of the Brasilian
team, including Wilhelm Schurmann (Starboard/Neilpryde) who is currently in 3rd overall, and Mathias
Pinheiro (Starboard/North) just behind Schurmann in 4th.

Jesper Vesterstrøm (Starboard/North) had a relaxing day at the beach, chatting with the local sailors and
trying the local cuisine, keeping the energy levels up just in case a race could be started today and he
would have another opportunity to take a win from the dominant Brasilian, Dos Reis.

Defending champion Sean O’Brien (Starboard/Point-7) had an on-edge day, hoping the morning forecast
of light southerly breezes would be enough for another race so he could claw back the 2 points required
to pass Pinheiro in to 4th. O’Brien is currently in 5th overall with a few clear points margin to the next
Australians, Brett Morris (Starboard/North) and Luke Baillie (Gaastra/Neilpryde).

After the end of racing was signalled, Baillie led of contingent of the younger sailors and a few of the
internationals over from Singapore, across to the front beach of Hawks Nest, a beach break on the ocean
side of Port Stephens, for a quick surfing session with 2-3 ft waves peeling in on glassy waters with the
lack of wind. After the surfing session, the sailors were treated to an ‘Aussie style’ BBQ at the famous
Hawks Nest Golf Club, one of the popular eating holes in Hawks Nest.

The forecast for the final day of racing continues to baffle the sailors with conflicting forecasts from each
weather service as the aftermath of the low pressure trough which has sat above the New South Wales
coast for most of the week, dumping torrential rain and causing damaging floods to many of the nearby
towns on the Hunter Coast, where Hawks Nest is situated. With the possibility of 4 more races being run

on the final day, there is plenty more action to come and the battle for the Downunder Pro title will be
fought to the death, as the Australian contingent aim to reign back the lead from the internationals
currently holding the first 4 positions.

Further information about the FW Oceanic & Australian Championships as well as a media service with
press releases, results, rankings, background information and photo/video downloads can be found on the
official website www.fw-australia.com.

Contact and further information:

Tamara Ting
Organising Committee Director / Media Relations
AUSTRALIAN WINDSURFING ASSOCIATION
Phone: 0414 638 242
E-Mail: tam@vmgblades.com
Internet: www.fw-australia.com

Sean O’Brien
Organising Committee / Media Relations
AUSTRALIAN WINDSURFING ASSOCIATION
Phone: 0402 467 857
E-Mail: seanobrien@aus120.com
Internet: www.fw-australia.com

***

***

NUKING CONDITIONS FOR THE FIRST DAY OF RACING.
The Downunder Pro - Formula Windsurfing Oceanic & Australian Championships kicked off today with torrential rain, blistering winds and big swells, testing the 58 competitors from Australia and around the globe.
The first day of competition of the 2012 Downunder Pro Formula Windsurfing Championships got off to a brutal start with the rain and winds playing havoc for the competitors. Arriving to a flooded rigging area and wet gear storage, the forecasted 30 knot onshore winds held true and the first race kicked off at 2pm with almost zero visibility on the course with the rain squalls and winds gusting from 10 knots up to 30 knots and beyond. The 58 competitors rigged an assortment of smaller sails as the wind continued to hammer down the course all afternoon and 3 races were knocked out over the afternoon.
Current World #1 sailor from Brasil, Paulo Dos Reis (Patrik/North) dominated the day with 3 wins from 3 starts despite not actually passing the top mark in 1st position during any of the three races. The Brasilians incredible speed downwind, muscling his 11.0m sail in the early races, before switching down to 10.0m allowed him to pass Jesper Vesterstrøm (Starboard/North) from Denmark who nailed two 2nd’s behind Dos Reis before a shaky double-gybe on the last mark in Race 3 put him back to 5th.
Brasilians Wilhelm Schurmann (Starboard/Neilpryde) and Mathias Pinheiro (Starboard/North) had a consistent day despite the gusty and shifty winds and are currently sitting in 3rd and 4th overall.
The defending Australian champion Sean O’Brien (Starboard/Point-7) had a mixed day finishing 6th in Race 1 before taking two 4th’s behind the Brasilians to be in 5th overall after Day 1, and just 2 points ahead of his next Australian rivals Brett Morris (Starboard/North) and Byron McIllveen (Patrik/Point-7).
Conditions on the course were difficult for the sailors with the rain squalls making it very hard to see the marks on the course and the south-east direction of the wind causing large ocean swells to pump in through the headlands and on to the course; making for very bumpy and choppy conditions with the strong winds.
With the forecast for the next few days looking like nuclear strong winds over 30 knots again, the spectators at Jimmy’ Beach, Hawk Nest can again expect a great Formula Windsurfing display if they can brave the rain. The 2012 Downunder Pro Formula Windsurfing Championships will run until Saturday 5th February.
Further information about the FW Oceanic & Australian Championships as well as a media service with press releases, results, rankings, background information and photo/video downloads can be found on the official website www.fw-australia.com.
Contact and further information:
Tamara Ting
Organising Committee Director / Media Relations AUSTRALIAN WINDSURFING ASSOCIATION
Phone: 0414 638 242
E-Mail: tam@vmgblades.com
Internet: www.fw-australia.com
Sean O’Brien
Organising Committee / Media Relations AUSTRALIAN WINDSURFING ASSOCIATION
Phone: 0402 467 857
E-Mail: seanobrien@aus120.com
Internet: www.fw-australia.com

***

NUKING CONDITIONS FOR THE WARMUP RACING EVENT.
8 races in nuking winds allowed the competitors for the Downunder Pro, Formula Windsurfing Oceanic & Australian Championships a chance to warmup during the Official Warmup Event before the Championships begin on Wednesday.
As an important tune-up event for the 2012 Downunder Pro Oceanic & Australian Championships this week, 58 competitors from all over Australia and the world arrived at Hawks Nest for the two day competition which served as Heat 5 of the NSW Windsurf Tour.
The talent included Jesper Vesterstrøm from Denmark, who had previously won this event and placed 7th at the 2011 Formula Windsurfing World Championships, Downunder Pro defending champion Wilhelm Schurmann from Brazil, 5-time defending Australian Champion Sean O’Brien from Australia and the #1 Ranked sailor in the World, Paulo dos Reis, from Brazil, as well as a bunch of sailors from as far as Greece, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom, as well as multiple contenders from Australia.
Greeted with a forecast of 15-20 knots the sailors were eager to get out on the water on the first day of racing with 4 races being run over the day as the winds increased over 20 knots by late in the afternoon. Vesterstrøm led from the start taking four wins from four starts ahead of Wilhelm Schurmann with rival Brazilian Mathias Pinheiro tying with Sean O’Brien in 3rd after the first day’s racing.
On the Saturday evening, sailors were treated to an ‘Aussie style’ beach BBQ with all competitors across all the windsurfing classes at this championship (over 100 competitors) attending the beach festivities.
Sunday looked more promising to have even stronger winds with the forecast showing strong wind warnings over 30 knots for the Hunter Coast area. Race 1 was able to get underway by midday with winds increasing from 9 knots to 17 knots on the course. The World #1, Paulo Dos Reis had arrived late on Saturday evening to the racesite and was ready for Sunday’s racing to give the current leader Vesterstrøm, a fight for the event win. Vesterstrøm was able to take the first race of Sunday comfortably ahead of Schurmann and O’Brien before he battled with Dos Reis in Race 2 to claw back to first after Paulo had led for most of the first lap.
Knowing he had already won the event by a clear margin with two races left to sail, Vesterstrøm rested for the afternoon in preparation for the main event which begins on Wednesday allowing Dos Reis to win the
final two races of the Warmup Event by a clear margin ahead of Schurmann and O’Brien in Race 3 and O’Brien then Schurmann in Race 4.
With only 3 out of each 4 races counting for the overall score, after 8 races, Vesterstrøm had a clean page of 6 wins to take the outright Warmup Event title ahead of Schurmann and O’Brien. Vesterstrøm, who has recently become an Australian resident, had been training and preparing for the event in Sydney since December and had definitely acclimatised to the warm temperatures and strong winds Australia has to offer through the summer.
Another fantastic event at beautiful Hawks Nest and a great chance for everyone to tune up before the 2012 Downunder Pro Oceanics & Australian Championships start this Wednesday.
Further information about the FW Oceanic & Australian Championships as well as a media service with press releases, results, rankings, background information and photo/video downloads can be found on the official website www.fw-australia.com.
Contact and further information:
Tamara Ting
Organising Committee Director / Media Relations AUSTRALIAN WINDSURFING ASSOCIATION
Phone: 0414 638 242
E-Mail: tam@vmgblades.com
Internet: www.fw-australia.com
Sean O’Brien
Organising Committee / Media Relations AUSTRALIAN WINDSURFING ASSOCIATION
Phone: 0402 467 857
E-Mail: seanobrien@aus120.com
Internet: www.fw-australia.com

***

Come ogni anno, è finalmente arrivato il tanto atteso appuntamento con il  Downunder Pro 2012! Formula, RS:X, Raceboard e Techno, decine di iscritti, sole, vento e acque cristalline gli ingredienti di questo evento...che ha l'incredibile capacità di farci "rosicare" come non mai, noi poveri europei alle prese con i rigori invernali!

Molti i nomi di spicco presenti, Paulo Dos Reis #1 ranking FW, Jesper Vesterstrom, Wilhelm Schurmann, il padrone di casa Sean O'Brien e il sempreverde Tibor Ferenczy AUS-1...solo per citarne alcuni!

Restate sintonizzati per la cronaca dell'evento, le foto e le classifiche!

Source: Sean O'Brien AUS-120,  fw-australia