2009 Florida Wave Challenge

[cagjr21150]

The 2009 Florida Wave Challenge windsurfing competition is scheduled for this fall with the first possible date only a few weeks away. We hope to duplicate the fun of last year’s event, but with more wind. As in the past, the competition will occur on the first windy day in the contest window. The contest window for 2009 includes four weekends, beginning on Halloween (Saturday, Oct. 31st). The confirmed competition date will be announced one day in advance.



We would love to maintain a list of likely competitors on the contest website: www.floridawavechallenge.com. Let us know if you expect to be there. Also, if you know of anyone with an interest that may not have received this email, please forward this message.



The on-call nature of the event makes communication critical so help us update and augment our email list. If you haven’t gotten this message directly from brucethomas@cfl.rr.com, please provide us with the best email address for a next-day contest alert.





Bruce Thomas

[cagjr21150]

Florida Wave Challenge is on for Saturday, November 7: Cocoa Beach, Florida. Watch it from this webcam: http://www.cocoabeachnow.com/beachcams.cfm/mode/portcanaveral

[cagjr21150]

The 2009 Florida Wave Challenge occurred Nov. 7th at Jetty Park in Port Canaveral. The following winners are to be congratulated:

1st Place: Eddy Patricelli

2nd Place: John Campbell

3rd Place: Cliff Manley

4th Place: John Ingebritsen


1st Place Womens: Dominique Vallee

2nd Place Womens: Beth Winkler


1st Place Juniors: Tyler Heston


We had a good turnout of wavesailors and spectators who appreciated the summer-like warmth and the opportunity to socialize. This year, we moved just north of Cocoa Beach to Jetty Park. This is a user-friendly park in the city of Port Canaveral that’s best in a northeast wind. Those NE winds blew only 15 to 20 mph, but provided enough power for an array of jumps, loops and transitions. There was also plenty of wave-riding in three to four foot waves.


Competitors launched from the beach in five person heats throughout the afternoon. In each heat, sailors were judged for their jumps and wave-rides. After 10 heats, the finals included familiar faces and characteristic styles. John Ingebritsen masterfully worked his Kona on the wave face, while Cliff Manley used a powerful rig to get big air. John Campbell was predictably fast and flashy, but lost out to the 2007 champion, Eddy Patricelli, whose combination of cut-backs, duck tacks and loops gave him the edge.


There are photos on the website from John and Jane Bambace, two excellent west coast photographers who drove over to document the event. Please see their work at www.floridawavechallenge.com. The list of participants has also been updated to show who attended.


This year’s event was possible due to the help of many: Clyde Giesenschlag, Boe Marshall and Bruce Racicot were both judges and fellow coordinators. Heather Marshall and Peggy Giesenschlag kept the contest efficient and accurate with their invaluable assistance. We are also thankful for sponsorship support from Aerotech, Exocet, iWindsurf, Realwind, Windsport Magazine and Windsurfing Magazine. Keep these businesses in mind when investing in your lifestyle.


Until next year,

Bruce Thomas

[WaterKook]

SWEET shot! Is that you on the EZZY Bruce?
Hey ever going back to Baja?

[jingebritsen]

That's Cliff. Eddy's in the foreground.