The Journals - Ocean Rodeo's Weekly Report

Ocean Rodeo Race Report 6.25 – The Worst Kite Tangle Ever? and 3 wins for the OR race board.

Last Thursday night’s racing in San Francisco was as exciting as it gets.  The fog broke just in time for the start and winds were 12m for most racers.  With a number of top riders, including Stefaans Viljoen(OR) and John Gomes, on race committee there was opportunity for the 35 racers in the field. (Thanks to Boriana Parvanova for the photos)

Jeff Kafka (Cabrinha) put a stop to Chip Wasson’s (Ozone) recent domination of the races with victories in all 3 races.  With his new custom board under construction Kafka was riding Stefaans’s Ocean Rodeo Custom Race to win his 3 races.  Wasson took second for the night and Adam Vance (Naish) rounded out the top 3.

Holes in the wind were a constant issue in all the races with fluky spots by the leeward mark and other inside locations.  The big news of the night was the tangle at the start of the second race.  A lull hit the start line right at the gun causing a domino effect of kites going down.  In the end nine kites were tangled and down in the water.  This could be the worst kite tangle ever seen in kiteboarding history.  Three riders were able to get their kites out of the mess and back in the air, but the other six ended up needing rescue with several trashed kites and a six bar spaghetti mess that was the worst I’ve seen.  This was not the only tangle of the night either, with several other 2 kite wraps. See the sequence of the tangle below.

Evan Stoltz,  Andrew Galbraith (the author), Jed Meade and Erin Loscocco were the only OR riders to avoid trouble and finished 10^th, 11^th, 14th and 19^th, respectivly, for the night.

An increasingly crowded field and tough starts has made staying out of trouble hugely important in these races.  If you haven’t experienced it you can’t imagine how tightly packed the kites are at the start.  When a lull hits and riders need to move their kites there is literally no where to go and tangles are bound to happen.

Close up photos copyright Nico Ostermann, courtesy F-One Kiteboarding

Thanks as always to the St. Francis Yacht Club, Cabrinha and Steve Gunn for hosting the Thursday night races.

Ocean Rodeo Race Team Report – 6/11 San Francisco

Sunny skies and decent wind prevailed for last Thursday's St. Francis Yacht Club/ Cabrinha Race night.  Most riders went on kites raging from 9m-12m, with 7 of 8 OR riders on the 10m Rise.  Winds backed off some during the first race and left many riders wishing they had their 12m.  (Thanks to Boriana Parvanova for all photos)

In an increasingly common scene Chip Wasson (Ozone) ran 3 strong races and swept the field of 37 racers.  Second place went to Stefaans Viljoen (OR, Windydevil), who went 3,2,2, with Maui resident and honorary Bay local Shawn Richman (Wainman) edging him out in race 1 and claiming 3rd overall. 

The remaining OR crew members finished as follows: Chris Brown 9th, Allen Chung 12th, Andrew Galbraith 15th, Eric Geleynse 16th, Jim Keenan 26th, Erin Loscocco 27th and Evan Stolze 33rd.  After a strong 1st race Evan was tangled in the downwind run of race 2 and should move up the rankings when his protest is resolved.  The other tangle of the night occurred at the start of race 3 involving Erin Loscocco and 2 other riders.

Racing here in San Francisco has gotten increasingly competitive as board and fin designs are honed.  With everyone pointing higher upwind look for good starts and smart tactics to become increasingly important. 

Thursday's race also marked the end of the first mini-series (series of 4 races).  Chip Wasson easily walked away with the win, followed by Stefaans Viljoen, John Gomes (Cabrinha), Jeff Kafka (Cabrinha), Adam Vance (Ozone), Geoff Headington (Ozone), Donny Parker (North), Sandy Parker (North), Marcello Segura (RRD) and Alex Smith (RRD) rounding out the top 10.

Thanks as always to the St. Francis Yacht Club, Cabrinha Kites and Steve Gunn for hosting the races and the after party. 

Ocean Rodeo’s Jeremie Tronet French Kiteboarder Cover!

Congrats to Jeremie Tronet who has once again been given the cover of a Kiteboarding or Surfing magazine!

Great Shot!!

Ocean Rodeo Rider 2nd Place Ukranian Kiteboarding Championships!

Congratulations to Alexander Nimenko who finished second this past weekend at the first stage of the Ukranian Kiteboarding Championships this past weekend.

He made the podium in the under 30 division while fellow team rider Vadim Cherenkov had to withdrawl with a broken leg.

Ocean Rodeo Race Team in San Francisco

Last week Ocean Rodeo team riders continued their march up the leader board in the St. Francis Yacht Club/Cabrinha Race Series at Crissy Field in San Francisco.  Seven Crew members were flying their 10 and 12 meter OR Rises with 2 others serving on race committee.  Racing conditions were challenging with gusty, holey wind under a thick layer of fog.

The team had a strong showing with six riders finishing in the top 15 in a field of 34.  Stefaans Viljoen and Evan Stolze finished 4th and 6th respectively, following perennial race leaders Chip Wasson, Geoff Headington and John Gomes who finished 1st ,2nd and 3rd.

The new Ocean Rodeo Custom Race board is proving to be a serious competitor with all of the top OR team finishers riding the new design.  Rounding out the OR Crew were Jed Meade (11), Chris Brown (12), Jim Keenan (14), Eric Geleynse (15) and Erin Loscocco (25), who suffered a tangle at the start of the 3rd race.

Special thanks to The St. Francis Yacht club for hosting the races and for their post race hospitality, and thanks to Cabrinha and Steve Gunn for their support.  Great job to everyone who raced and stay tuned for results from the next race on June 11th.