After the Fuerteventura PWA World Cup I flew into Portland, somehow getting away with checking in all my board bags for free, and drove down for the US Nationals which were held on the East side of San Francisco Bay, at a launch called Berkeley Marina. The US Nationals consist of 3 disciplines, course racing, slalom, and freestyle. I took part in the freestyle and slalom disciplines.
The first 3 days of competition the wind didn’t co-operate. We tried a total of 4 slalom races, and only 2 counted. I was racing on my 8.6m Sailworks NX and ISonic 117, while many racers opted for even bigger gear, like 9.5m sails and 85cm wide boards. I managed a 3rd and a 4th place in the 2 races, ending in a tie on points with Xavier Ferlet. In the end he took 3rd place overall and I took 4th, as the tie break rules came down to who was ahead in the last race. The same tie-break rule split Jesper Vesterstroem in 1st with Tyson Poor in 2nd.
Luckily on the last day the wind kicked in enough for the freestyle contest where we ran a dingle elimination. There were 8 competitors in the male fleet including Berkeley locals Wyatt Miller and Tyson Poor – that’s where they started windsurfing as kids. I was riding my 5.3m Sailworks Revolution and Starboard Flare 103. Most other riders were on sails ranging from 4.8 up to 5.2. I managed to put together good enough heats to advance over Tyson in the semi final, and then to win over Bay Area local Sofien. Asma Asyyed won the women’s freestyle.
So if you read my previous blog post you would know that winning the freestyle was my goal, while my goal in slalom at the US Nationals was to finish top 3 which I didn’t manage. Although the results don’t show it, I feel like I am improving my slalom game, so maybe that’ll show in the next race 🙂
Between my travels in and out of Hood River I managed to compete in 5 of the 7 Gorge Cups, a local but competitive slalom racing series here. I managed to score four 1st places and a 2nd place which made me the overall winner of the 2017 Gorge Cup Race Series. Sweet! Cool trophy!
For now I’ll be hanging out in Hood River chasing wind, snacking on berries, testing sails, and watching the lunar eclipse on Monday!
A big “Thank You” to the Lampron family for hosting me during the US Nationals!
