It's 11am and the breeze is around 8 knots out of the east. That's all so far.

Hopefully this becomes an epic thread....

Speed reach to Lano!

I could hear thunder , but there was not a cloud in sight........

Arrived 7am, started rigging my wingsail. I'm running a bit behind, thankfully it's a delayed start.

Had my white tshirt and bottle of water ready only to hear the wet tshirt comp has been canceled

Are people finishing yet ?

Started in 10knot off shore and (others) finished with 25 knot seabreeze. Bit of a weird one!!
i started well with 130 liters and 8.7m and was overpowered quickly. Would have done well with starting later and using 7.1 and 107liter.

Waiting a bit longer till the seabreeze fills in proper makes more sense.

Starting the race at the first minimum allowable wind limit means it's so easy to be caught out on too big gear as the wind progressively picks up.

Not saying thats what happened but It's usually the case.

How did you go Peter?

OK - much confusion!

Race started at 2.20pm in 0 - 12 knots ESE, which was quite bizarre and had everyone scrambling to rig massive gear. They said they had adjusted the course to take account of the wind direction.

The start was a schmozzle for everyone - people were uphauling to try to escape the beach and it was incredibly tricky but eventually the flet began to cruise SW towards a big boat that most assumed was the first mark. Around 1km off the beach, so ten minutes after the race started, a fifteen knots Seabreeze kicks in! Hallelujah! The only problem was that nobody coiuld lay the boat anymore so it was a push upwind with tacks. By this stage a few guys were a long way ahead (Jesper and Shane among them I think).

I was working my way upwind with quite a few others but noticed that some of the fleet had headed off the wind. When the first guys got around the first boat I was around 500m downwind of it - and then it promptly powered off! Hmm! That was weird! So I was now 500m downwind of the leaders, but several km upwind of mush of the fleet - which had headed off toward Lano in a breeze that was rapidly freshening to 18, maybe 20.

If only the race had started 15 minutes later conditions would have been perfect!!!!

Anyway, on 7.7 bagged out and a 106 Manta I was feeling in pretty good shape so took off downwind in pursuit...then my port-side harness line snapped so that was the end for me - I sailed back to Ledge which was still downwind at this point. Many disgruntled sailors were to be found there!

So that's as much as I know and hopefully others will fill in the rest, like who won!

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Sparky said..
How did you go Peter?

Peter doesn't sail on the ocean in case he gets swept over the edge

BTW, results are up on the LOC website. Not many finishers!

DNF for me.
I went out on a Mistral 137 and a 9.6.
Made it to the first mark (or one of them, most of the fleet that couldn't make the original first mark took off for the kiter's first mark, which was much further downwind than the windsurfer mark), but I was way overdone after the breeze filled in to 18-20K. Couldn't face 45 minutes plus of overpowered sailing so I bailed.
A bit of a debacle in my opinion.
Instead of imposing some arbitrary deadline on the start time the organisers should just wait for the seabreeze to come in and give the fleet time to rig appropriately. Trying to guess what to rig when it's still offshore makes no sense at all.
I'm just glad I went to Cervantes last weekend, because that was a far superior event overall.

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Pointman said..
DNF for me.
I went out on a Mistral 137 and a 9.6.
Made it to the first mark (or one of them, most of the fleet that couldn't make the original first mark took off for the kiter's first mark, which was much further downwind than the windsurfer mark), but I was way overdone after the breeze filled in to 18-20K. Couldn't face 45 minutes plus of overpowered sailing so I bailed.
A bit of a debacle in my opinion.
Instead of imposing some arbitrary deadline on the start time the organisers should just wait for the seabreeze to come in and give the fleet time to rig appropriately. Trying to guess what to rig when it's still offshore makes no sense at all.
I'm just glad I went to Cervantes last weekend, because that was a far superior event overall.

Suddenly i dont feel so bad for not entering this year. I see things have not changed much

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Pointman said..
Instead of imposing some arbitrary deadline on the start time

Is this actually arbitrary or is it a time that must be adhered to for various reasons?

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Bender said..

Pointman said..
DNF for me.
I went out on a Mistral 137 and a 9.6.
Made it to the first mark (or one of them, most of the fleet that couldn't make the original first mark took off for the kiter's first mark, which was much further downwind than the windsurfer mark), but I was way overdone after the breeze filled in to 18-20K. Couldn't face 45 minutes plus of overpowered sailing so I bailed.
A bit of a debacle in my opinion.
Instead of imposing some arbitrary deadline on the start time the organisers should just wait for the seabreeze to come in and give the fleet time to rig appropriately. Trying to guess what to rig when it's still offshore makes no sense at all.
I'm just glad I went to Cervantes last weekend, because that was a far superior event overall.

Suddenly i dont feel so bad for not entering this year. I see things have not changed much

You didn't miss anything special.

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Jono77 said..

Pointman said..
Instead of imposing some arbitrary deadline on the start time

Is this actually arbitrary or is it a time that must be adhered to for various reasons?

Their stated position is that they need sufficient time to rescue folks if it goes pear-shaped, but given sunset today was 7:26pm you think they would allow a bit more wriggle room?

Earliest start was 1:00pm, so there is only a 90 minute window to start the race. That seems a bit restrictive to me.

2:30 was the latest possible start. I had an excellent start position but was wandering around the carpark when they said 8 minutes. I ran to the beach and didn't check the time. If they started while it was festering, 10 minutes before latest allowable start, its a bit of a bummer.

The same thing happened at another not to be mentioned marathon.

Breeze came in around 1pm averaging 12-14 knots and race started immediately.

Took me half an hour to finish after not planing most of the time.

Then breeze picked up after eventually finishing to 15-20 knots and I sailed back upwind powered up.

Another example of an event that would have been a whole lot better had a bit of patience and common sense been exercised.

Happens nearly every event so nothing is going to change.

Same story as Aus1111.
I started really well and managed to get at first position in the no wind zone until the reef. I knew it was not going to last. I only saw one boat ahead. I some of the pack then passed me and had to go upwind to try to reach the boat. The helicopter was following that pack. I did not want to miss the boat and thought the rest would miss the first mark. It took me three long tacks and I turned around what happened to be the police boat. Then went to the second mark packed with boats with red flags. Very confused I thought the raced was maybe cancelled. Then went for third, fourth and passed kiters and windsurfers and realised I must have stuffed up. Fully powered, went all the way to confusing finish line and had to run upwind a bit to meet the windsurfers line. 57 min . Bit disappointed of the messy race. But the sailing was amazing. Great feeling on the board, fully powered on 6.6m2 (I am 62 kg).

I didn't race but have spoken to some that did and the general feeling is it was a debacle. Many people saying they won't be doing the race again after that.

Rigged a 7.8 on an 81 wide board. Spent the first 10 min standing in waist deep water before uphauling and getting away. Got caught in the confusion as to where the first mark was, seeing people still gunning upwind. Gave into sheep mentality and bore off at what was actually the correct mark as it turns out.

managed to flop around a gybe and niggle downwind enough to get below first mark, bore off downwind as deep as i could, gybed to discover the boat was still well below me, water looked flat enough so bore off straight at the boat, made it!

Rinse and repeat 3 more times.

Got to mark 7, thankfully had a stack entering the gybe. Floated and sucked as much water from my camelback as i could. Fresh water was noticeably sweeter than the litre of seawater i consumed involuntarily on the way down course. Dunno how long i was there for. Was a bit delirious by then.

Gasped enough breath back, got up and sailed down and through the reef gap and up through the nice flat water to the finish.

was definitely a bit of a screw around with the wind filling in when it did. It sounds like Andy the race officer is going to be pushing for a later start time limit next year. In the end though they have to have a cut off some time. I believe there is also an insurance issue with times and people being on the water/etc.

Having only competed once (last year) what would happen if the gun goes off and no sailors move off the start line as conditions are unsuitable. Sit around and wait until the wind fills in , then a sailor who sees that there is now enough wind shouts "5mins till start" ......GO
After all its the competitors that make the event and as a collective unit you could choose to spent the first 20mins "Racing" on the shore line

The slowest start to a race I have ever seen but probably the fairest as the southern end had no advantage over the northern end of start line Could feel the frustration in the air as was impossible to water start and a must for uphaules.300 mtrs off the beach and most were planing.Was super stoked with young Kai,s performance , 6.6 Hucker on a 117 proved to be the perfect combo for him at 70 kilos.He finished 22nd overall Was also impressed with the guy on the foil to make the course as that would not have been easy, was a shame to see him go down 100 mtrs from finish line and lose so many places.

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westhammer said..
The slowest start to a race I have ever seen but probably the fairest as the southern end had no advantage over the northern end of start line Could feel the frustration in the air as was impossible to water start and a must for uphaules.300 mtrs off the beach and most were planing.Was super stoked with young Kai,s performance , 6.6 Hucker on a 117 proved to be the perfect combo for him at 70 kilos.He finished 22nd overall Was also impressed with the guy on the foil to make the course as that would not have been easy, was a shame to see him go down 100 mtrs from finish line and lose so many places.

Some interesting posts on GPSTC. More accounts of how it went down including the foiler.

Sounds like quite a contrast to the Cervantes event the previous weekend. Seems to me that from a sailors perspective, Cervantes would be a better location for a premier WA windsurf racing event. IMHO/experience, the wind is more reliable at Cervantes compared to Lancelin, reducing the need for a late start and related issues. While the logistics are a little more difficult, the new Indian Ocean Drive overcomes a lot of the historical obstacle. I'm sure Cervantes would benefit from the economic stimulus. A simplistic opinion only, I probably don't appreciate the finer details

yes as said above quite a few good write ups already on the gpstc and worth a look imho
And yes I was the foiler that had a rather long swim to the finish
but still managed to get around the coarse to be (as far as I'm aware) the first windfoil to complete the Lancelin Ocean Classic
It was clear post race that although the foil is a viable option for the race the starting and finishing scenario's are not suited to foiling
actually just happy I didn't hit any reefs

a few pictures in the posts below too

www.gpsteamchallenge.com.au/sailor_session/show?date=2018-01-13&team=12
www.gpsteamchallenge.com.au/sailor_session/show?date=2018-01-13&team=2

10th time down for me and I reckon it's A great race and a big thanks to all the volunteers/cray boats/etc for making it happen.

Starting in the SE wasn't ideal, but was better than no race and made it interesting..... I was in the group chasing the moving boat on the horizon, then realized the actual boat was well down below. First time I have ever read the sailing instructions, with the takeout windsurfers and kites use the same first boat. A coupe of extra gybes and I was there gybing just in front of the wife.

JP super sport 113, Hellcat 7.7m and weedy was a great combo when the SW came in. Made it down the coast in good shape, dropped a couple of gybes and went over the handle bars twice.

Happy with the 14th overall. And next year I will try to be fitter, do some more sailing and get on the beach before 3 mins to go......

Made it on the Lancelin Ocean Classic Facebook and Instagram page twice for the day, so happy with that!!

Sad to say but another disappointing LOC. What once was a great event is slowly going backwards.
Apart from the wind which the organisers cannot control there are a lot of areas they should be doing better.
Obviously poor communication when half of the pro's all go to the wrong mark.
Start time way to early. Most people were rushing to be rigged in time and had no time to even get their gear wet before the start.
For about the third running there was no checking / inspection of life jackets or flares.
Now no incentive to enter early. Traditionally get in first guaranteed a good start line position, this year ended up right at the bottom near the rocks even after entering in May.
Need to move presentations back to later time and preferably a pub. 5.00 pm to late to wait after finish, too early to go home shower / change and get back.
Thinking it may be time to miss a few years again now and see if they can get their **** together again. :(

Part of the problem is that it is really hard to see the marker boats from the beach. It is one of the reasons I don't enter - I can't see where the marks are and would be relying on following others (who may be going the wrong way)
Suggestions - bring the marks closer to shore so you can see them
Have the first mark set off a flare at the start so there is no confusion

The finish was also confusing - with the timer pads north and south of the big inflatable gate that sailors headed to. Announcements before the race told sailors where to go, but with everything there is to think about, you need something obvious.
There needs to be two big inflatable gates with the timer pads under them. One clearly marked KITERS and one clearly marked WINDSURFERS.
It shouldn't be up to the crowd on the beach to point exhausted competitors to the right spot.

This was my fourth LOC in a row and i have to say it was probably the best one so far from a fairly average sailors perspective. With about a minute to go I walked back and changed from 111L to 130L board (big mistake in hindsight), by the time i got back to the start everyone was floating near the inner reef so didn't miss much. Planed up about 150 metres offshore and didn't stop planing (but for jibes and crashes and resting) for the rest of the race.... usually i get stuck with no wind for parts of the race. Made the first boat pretty easily powered up on a 7.5 and caught up some places to the second boat being fairly powered. It was about then it felt like the wind went from ESE to SSW'ish and strengthened , sailing to the second outer boat on what felt like a broad reach was pretty cruisy.... then the fun began, jibed about 300m past the seond boat and it felt like i was sailing in a direction back to ledge witht the next inner boat seemingly straight downwind couldn't make it straight there had to throw in an extra leg. Then again to the third outer boat was where i met PAIN. Luckily i'd opened up my rear footstraps on the board to try and get my back foot inboard..... whilst still able to point pretty easily to this boat it seemed like an eternity away, and being fully powered on a slalom board that i hadn't sailed since last years LOC i could feel the leg burn and cramp coming on. 3/4 of the way there leg was twitching giving way in serious pain. Made it, crashed the jibe and rested a bit. Again, now the wind had swung it felt like the next leg would take me back to ledge again, so had to throw in another jibe a fair distance from the boat... which is where it got confusing (not just because i couldn't see the boat)... there where sailors all over the place at this point, there were some on port and starboard tack all sailing in the same area... it seemed like the race had been abandoned so i sailed directly to the last outer boat. This added a good 500m to the final outer boat which i knew would need to be added to another 500m i'd sail past the boat to actually make the gates. So sailing and half way and my legs were in serious pain... they were done! my back leg collapsed a few times but didn't crash (don't know how i didn't) , i found my ass sitting on back strap a couple of times. I knew i had to make that last boat so took any opportunity to straighten the back leg, which was only ever for a microsecond. Anyway, made the last boat and stupidly jibed way too early... and stopped and rested. i then had to sail near the wave area and throw in a second jibe, crashed that one too. took a rest on my board for a few minutes. sailed back out for a final time (back foot out of the strap yew) and then had an easy reach to the finish. Anyway, had a pretty god day all in all and will be back next year.
Notes for next year: actually sail some downwinders before / do some exercise (anything/something)

LOC 2018

First of all congrats to the event / Lancelin / and all the people behind the scenes putting in lots of hard work to make it happened.

However you look at it the event in itself was successful. 1 day for all the wave action and 1 day for the Marathon. Both days got results / nice pictures and sunny sky.Great promotion for the town of Lancelin etc. and great for next year's build up.

Also congrats to the podium placed sailors and all that completed the race.
Yesterday and today is raining. So pretty lucky really

Look it is easy to point fingers at things that was wrong, so see the below more as what can be improved.I think the bottom line and the majority feeling from sailors is that the LOC race currently could be seen as 'less for the sailors and more for the schedule / organizers and other activities.

If we lose a lot of the sailor's interest to do it, then it is pretty 'downhill' I would have thought as it is the backbone of the event.The priority should always be for the sailors I would have thought. Trying to do a fair race, in the best possible conditions for all sailors, if this means a change in schedule (extend the start time) 'move other stuff to later', - then let that be,, (ironically we only needed to wait another 15min for a 'perfect' steady sea breeze

Hindsight is a nice thing and also work with the wind condition can be tricky and unpredictable + many other factors / safety / pressure I could imagine.

Look it is never easy to make the right decision on those circumstances. But yes - it was quite a wrong call and I must admit that it was a strange judgment to start the race in dead off shore (10min before the original cut of time) , when it was reported a sea breeze out to sea from the boats (this normally meaning 5-15 min to get into the shore).

There would have been enough boats out there to give a solid feedback.When we finally got a bit of wind in the sails after the offshore start, then there was 2 smaller boats with flags in front of us sailing in a straight line towards the outside boat (that we got told had been moved more south because of the conditions).

This was of course the wrong boat and I'm still not quite sure what it was doing there? In general way too many boats out there

Half the fleet, I would say went towards this wrong mark and a small group went upwind and tacking to get around it. Even the helicopter followed us out towards this wrong mark half the way.The whole thing was very confusing.

I knew something was wrong but it was way too late. I did sail down to what I then thought was the right no 1 mark / boat to have a look. Even then I was confused as there were 5 boats laying there within 500m or so. When you are close (and see the flag / number on the boat, - then yes it is easy), but from a distance very unclear.

Anyway I'm in general happy for the event and organisers for the event's results, picture and promotion for the outside world. Lots of hard work and a great outcome

Just a bit sad to see a many of the sailors a bit disappointed and question quite a few things.
I'm defiantly back next year

The party was great

Cheers
Jesper