West Kirby fires for the second time in January
This time it was only the British, which is to be expected really as the forecast was not great. There were however some really great performances by Portland Pirates members Jim Crossley and Ian Richards. Zara Davis also broke her own World Speed record for Women. The wind was broader than Jan 3rd when records were smashed, which means considerable rolling swell towards the end of the 10 second run. This is what makes Jims 10sec average speeds remarkable.
Untitled from Chris Bates on Vimeo.Jim rides for PuraVida Boardriders on Fanatic and North, but also has a Custom Moo which was born from the same cow as Steve Thorps world beater. It was this board that has put Jims abilities well and truly up there with the best. He scored a 5x10sec average of 45.08knots which means another UK rider is up there in the fun rank top ten. It looks like the visits from the Dutch big hitters has really boosted our performances, and maybe given a little confidence boost to the West Kirby crew that it is possible to compete with the best anywhere in the world.
Ian was using his old 2006 Fanatic Falcon Speed and a 2006 NP RS6 managed the peak of the day, with a 2sec of 47.59knots. Its great for both these guys as they have worked so hard over the last couple of years. Ian has literally travelled to the moon and back in terms of distance to score his sessions, while Jim missed out on the big day earlier this month.
Zara used her trusted Simmer SCR 5.5 and the new Mistral Speed 42 (an interesting board without a doubt) to become the first woman officially in the 40knot club with an average of 40.99 knots and a 2 sec max of 43.78. The gap is definitely closing now and we all hope this will inspire more women into this side of the sport. Her husband Pete Davis also went on to gain a PB with an average of 41.22knots.
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| If heineken made windsurfing sails…. Photo by Karen McBarrons |
The day even tempted kite speed champ Dave Williams back on the poles again and he too joined the 40club. My Hot Sails Maui team mate Jon White smashed his PB max with a max of 42.92 but just missed out on the 40 average. Both of these two have only attempted this at West Kirby a couple of times so it goes to show how high their skill level actually is to get such great speeds.
The winds look to be backing off here in the UK with a swing to colder north to east possible at the weekend. Here is wishing everyone a nice relaxing break ready to dominate the world scene again next month.
Good speed and winds
‘The Bus’
