A great weekend of racing finished out on Sunday with winds that were way down from the 25 knot peaks of Saturday.  There was enough wind though for  2 races to be run ( a total of 7!).  The two days of racing in challenging and shifty winds allowed for many changes in the lead of each heat.  Making it to the top mark in the top group did not mean you would be there at the bottom, as timing your rounding with an approaching gust was crucial.  Avoiding the 'weed mats' was important as well if you did not want to be sailing backwards after taking the lead!
 
The top racers at the event were all close in each race, making the total scoring very close amongst the top 4 (sorry Peter, Simona gave me too much San Fernando!)  Fernando eventually came out on top (starting line antics aside), Ron Kern was as always Mr Consistent, and the Windsurfer of the Year Alex Morales was neck and neck with him, and the tie breaker gave him third!  Peter Ifju showed that all the time he put in over the last year was worth it with some great sailing, taking one bullet as well. 
 
It was great to have a group of sailors from far away come and join us for the race as well!  Thanks to Team Texas:  John Jay Ernst and Kirk Simmons for trekking down after the Midwinters, and to Rick Whidden from Maui Sails for sticking around to join the fun on Saturday before heading back North.  The Kona crew was there as well with John in the lead, team captain Mike in second and Jim (better late than never) rounding it out.  Also making the race fun to watch on and off the water were the Formula hotties err uh women, ladies or girls (whatever the PC word is):  Dominique, Natalie and Nancy out there doing battle and having fun.  The Junior fleet was the biggest we have ever had in Miami with 6 coming to race this event,  Alex Stahnkie from Calema came out on top. 
 
Special thanks to all the sponsors:  Miami Windsurfing, SteaZ, San Fernando, Catch a Wave, and Next Sports.    Also thanks to Brian Barr the founder of the 48 Hours for being the race committee, and to Angelo for the incredible pictures!  Simona as always made sure everything was in order on the shore side (what would we do without you?)  Thanks especially go out to the US Sailing Center Miami for hosting the event at the final hour (dredge that channel a bit though!).  Keep tuned for more excitement from Miami Windsurfing soon!

FW Men: 1st Fernando Martinez, 2nd Ron Kern, 3rd Alex Morales

FW Women: 1st Dominique Vallee, 2nd Natalie Luczyuka, 3rd Nancy Rios

FW Juniors: 1st Alex Stankie, 2nd James Crumley, 3rd Sebastian Lehner
 
Rick Randall US 089 reporting - for results and more infomation go to www.miamiwindsurfing.com/48.html

Left to right - Fernando Martinez, Peter Ifju, Alex Morales

Left to right - Nancy Rios, Dominique Vallee, Natalie Luczyuka

Steve Bodner reporting

Team North dominated the Miami Pro-Am windsurfing regatta last weekend taking the podium with Miami lightweight local Fernando Martinez ARG 3 taking the top spot. Up next were San Francisco sailors Steve Sylvester, S3 in 2nd and Steve Bodner, USA 4 in 3rd, all on North sails. North sails R&D guru Jimmi Diaz was present to test the new line up of 2008 Formula sails and 2008 F2 Formula board.

Over 40 competitors in the Formula and Kona classes battled 2 days light wind on the Biscane Bay for 6 races. Ron Kern of Fort Lauderdale, Florida was also awarded a new 2008 F2 Formula board for winning the 2007 F2 Southeast Formula Series presented by Next Sport, of Miami. Despite the challenging conditions, sailors were treated to great social events at the regatta site at US Sailing Center. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday sailors were treated to bottles of San Fernando Chile wine, one of the main sponsors of the event.
The event was organized by and run by Alex Moralas, US WIndsurfing 2007 Windsurfing of the Year, and his girlfriend Simona Madam. Josh Sampiero from windsurfing magaizine acted as PRO - calling the shots from the RC boat.
More info about the Pro Am regatta @
http://www.miamiwindsurfing.com/proam.html
Additional regatta report & photos @
http://stevebodner.blogspot.com

Steve Bodner reporting

Many have escaped the clutches of Fidel's Communism, but Alex the "Movie Star"  Morales did it in style, by windsurfing to freedom.  Along with friends, he sailed over 60 miles to start his journey towards a new life.  And after arriving here in America, he pursued his hopes and dreams of success.  It was not long afterward that he began to give back to the sport which was not only his love, but his salvation. By organizing events, and bringing new people to the sport, as well as bringing back some who had given up.  Some may say his voice was too loud, but that is what sets patriots apart.  Alex has steadfastly spoken his mind through his website, and through his actions on and off the water.  He is now recognized as a leading voice in the world-wide windsurfing community.  His efforts have brought new life to windsurfing in the South Florida area, and he has traveled to support the sport nation wide.   Hopefully, there will be more sailors who will step forward and offer their strong opinions as Alex has courageously done so that windsurfing will continue to come back.  Without conviction, all good thoughts fail to materialize.  Stand up and be heard as Alex has, then we will flourish again!

Rick Randall reporting

Ben Barger, the 2008 US Olympic rep in the RS:X Mens class, reflects on his win at the Trials: "Race 11 was the turning point of the regatta. I had a crash with my closest competitor, Mike Gebhardt, right at the start of the race that severely bruised my hip, but I didn't care, I got up and crossed back on the fleet in second place, saying to myself, 'not this time.' Each lap of that race, I distanced myself from Gebhardt who was in third, and I was closing in on first place, Bob Willis, when I tried to cross Bob on the final upwind to only have a huge crash that was my fault. The only thing I could say to bob was, 'Sorry, and I'll do my circle now.' So I got up for the second time, did my circle, and found holes in my board the size of a shark bite. I limped the board thru the final downwind to the finish, still beating Gebhardt and finally extending my lead. But the board was un-sailable for the next race, and I was forced to seek out another solution. Having no spare board on the water, I had to see if somebody would lend me their board, and Eric Rachefuerer obliged. For the next 20 minutes, we changed all fitting and straps of the board to his, and commenced the next race, to have a solid race and extend my lead once more. Later that night was spent atching up the damaged board.

"The following final four races, I kept on grinding and extending my lead, and never looked back. I knew I was going to the Olympics and fulfilling this dream, not as an alternate, but racing this time and going for the Gold Medal in China. A very special time, and grateful it turned out so well. At any point in the regatta, the disasters could have been worse and taken this critical win away. After ten years of dreaming training and competing, I finally won the Olympic Team Trials! This has been an arduous and trying journey, but most importantly, a team effort, so I have to give this precious win to all of my supporters and their prayers! I am so grateful for this dream come true and the very magical moment I've been training so hard to achieve. Once in a lifetime, I'll never forget this time. Lot's of planning to do the next few weeks, as I reflect on this successful season and to create a new map for going after the win at the Olympic Games." -- http://www.benbarger.com

Because this is just a dream sequence, we provided the best possible conditions of consistently perfect winds over 20 knots out of the Northeast all day Saturday. And in our dream, we would have had 9 slalom races and two long distance races in these incredible conditions. In fact, we would have run 4 figure eight races, which Eduardo Owen (Race Director) thought would be easy for everyone. These races were a bit of a nightmare for many as having all the sailors screaming into the tight marks fully lit up, then crashing in massive pileups, really got the adrenaline going! The race committee would then have decided to switch to two long distance races, which favored the Formula experts who prevailed even though they were on slalom gear. See www.miamiwindsurfing.com for more...

The course would have been changed to a downwind format which was very dreamy for sure. The start was all important as those who hit it on time and fully planning were able to be at the top of the finish sequence for the final 5 races of the day. The top players would have been some of the big names in Florida windsurfing such as Ron Kern, Tinho Donellas, Alex Morales.

As if we were not having a good enough dream already, we retired to our favorite local spot to enjoy some cold brews, and our favorite San Fernando wine. An awesome band (Members Only) cranked out the classic rock, and we ate until we were full.

But wait, since this is only a dream, it got even better. On Sunday, we would have had even more wind than the day before. And allowing all the sailors some time to play in the waves that were forming on the reef, we waited until the afternoon to set up the downwind slalom again. Although the wind backed off a bit for the final 4 races, they were exciting displays of speed and jibing prowess that brought the same 3 names to the podium at the end of the day:
 
 
Final results :

Place     Competitor        Class       Sail #

1st     Alex Morales         Men         US188
2nd    Ron Kern              Men         K
3rd     Tinho Donellas     Men         USP2
4th     Domenique Valle   Women    CAN5
5th     Alexander Stankie  Junior      US203

Rick Randall (the dreamer) Reporting