A simpler time when slalom racing had beach starts and waves, and no debates on fins vs foils

Much more exciting to watch then modern slalom

So...who wants to organize these races again?

The days when wave sailors stood a chance in a slalom race !!!

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stonny said..
The days when wave sailors stood a chance in a slalom race !!!

Yeah, lighter riders with a bit of skill and luck might have a chance against a 90kg+ rider with fastest fin/sail.

Thats a good vid, great to see northern beaches local Ro Cudmore going well too. And now two of windsurfings industry heavy weights showing they can sail too.

I think foiling yachts and dinghies are in a different league to other non-foiling craft as are catamarans also. Mixed racing is fine under AS yardsticks (corrected time) and occasionally but ultimately foilers will win off the stick around a course most of the time so best to divide into categories/classes most of the time with the emphasis on the sailor being more important than the craft. The same follows for non-foiling windsurfers. Now events like wave slalom are different again. Bring them back to local competitions I think is a good idea and looks like only non-foilers would be suitable although foilers might also compete in some cases. There was talk of the IWT doing the wave slalom but I am not sure what happened.

Gybing around that inside mark with massive downwind current is difficult.

Yeah bring back wave slalom. There is more luck involved but generally the best guys still win.
Only ever did beach starts long board racing but a few slalom races that had boat starts with ramps on the course was so much fun . Some people didn't jump and slowed down where as if you went fast then jumped you would pass them

We got real close to wave slalom races kicking off in Qld a few years ago but I wasn't in a position to organise any events after I stopped my involvement with wind wanderers so I stepped away from the idea.

Jonathan at hot sails Australia was going to sponsor things, location was Caloundra Bar, event paperwork was on the verge of being lodged with MSQ. only missing item was rescue craft. was speaking to SLSQ but nothing resolved.

Idea was small 4-6 person heats off the beach, top half per race progress to next round. points assigned in order of finish. Out and back with a gybe at the beach finish line.
Twist to the format was a bonus point. By completing a trick during a race you get a bonus point to shift you up one spot. One bonus point per competitor only so you needed to choose your time.

With the new break through at Bribie the idea has been playing on my mind.

in the meantime. i put the idea to some friends recently.

gybes for growlers!
really complicated stuff....

you get 3 shots at your best gybe around a buoy, they get scored and the winner gets a growler.

was thinking new skool and old skool.
points deducted if you wear a gps.

^^ Excuse my ignorance.
GROWLER ?

it's a 1.8lt bottle of beer with a handle.

It was fun to watch but I was struck by a couple of things:

1) They already had already missed six days because of lack of wind in a place that's usually quite windy. While it would be great to see more of this, it's worth remembering why an event like this is hard to put on.

2) A good bit of the fun is that because of the general skill level and gear of the era is lower than it is now which made for more carnage. That's not a dig at all at the competitors who clearly were some of the best anywhere of their time. The general level of skill has improved over the years as we learn from those that came before us as evident in wave and freestyle, for example.

All the same, a great video and impressed by the sailing.

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Gestalt said..
We got real close to wave slalom races kicking off in Qld a few years ago but I wasn't in a position to organise any events after I stopped my involvement with wind wanderers so I stepped away from the idea.

Jonathan at hot sails Australia was going to sponsor things, location was Caloundra Bar, event paperwork was on the verge of being lodged with MSQ. only missing item was rescue craft. was speaking to SLSQ but nothing resolved.

Idea was small 4-6 person heats off the beach, top half per race progress to next round. points assigned in order of finish. Out and back with a gybe at the beach finish line.
Twist to the format was a bonus point. By completing a trick during a race you get a bonus point to shift you up one spot. One bonus point per competitor only so you needed to choose your time.

With the new break through at Bribie the idea has been playing on my mind.

Shame this would be fun, I would suggest have a best trick winner though and not interfere with the racing points. Probably be a good way to 'retire' some gear

i was unsure of the trick component. it was aimed at levelling the playing field and give the guys on wave gear a better chance and add some flare. having a one use policy stops it being a freestyle comp and adds some tactics as to when to use it.

maybe one day it will happen.

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Gestalt said..
it's a 1.8lt bottle of beer with a handle.

It also means something else verrrry different, so maybe change the name....

Yeah that's not what I thought a growler was
There's a spoken word piece by the great Ron Hitler Barassi from TISM that explains it quite well.
Have a listen to "To whom it may concern "
By the way, I like Gestalt's idea, it would be a good fun comp.

haha.. apparently i needed to put the word "beer" in front of growler.... oops....

so gybe for "beer" growlers. for those that like a drink... gybe for kegs.

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Gestalt said..
haha.. apparently i needed to put the word "beer" in front of growler.... oops....

so gybe for "beer" growlers. for those that like a drink... gybe for kegs.

But what if you don't like beer? Are there going to be alternate prizes?

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Shifu said..

Gestalt said..
haha.. apparently i needed to put the word "beer" in front of growler.... oops....

so gybe for "beer" growlers. for those that like a drink... gybe for kegs.

But what if you don't like beer? Are there going to be alternate prizes?

no. just beer... am keen to try the local ginger beer myself.

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Gestalt said..

Shifu said..

Gestalt said..
haha.. apparently i needed to put the word "beer" in front of growler.... oops....

so gybe for "beer" growlers. for those that like a drink... gybe for kegs.

But what if you don't like beer? Are there going to be alternate prizes?

no. just beer... am keen to try the local ginger beer myself.

Gybers for Ciders has a good ring to it though...

sure does..

was going to pick up a couple of growlers from sunshine coast brewery and throw a buoy in the water.
maybe the winners could share the spoils and we all have a drink.

as mr hooper said all aimed at being fun.

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Mr Hooper said..
Yeah that's not what I thought a growler was
There's a spoken word piece by the great Ron Hitler Barassi from TISM that explains it quite well.
Have a listen to "To whom it may concern "
By the way, I like Gestalt's idea, it would be a good fun comp.

i'll track that one down. don't mind tism.