Cayman Windsurf

Sunday 24th January was the day and Gun Bay up at East End was the location for the 2010 Captain Leroy Watson Sailing Regatta (aka East End Regatta). This year for the the first time a windsurfing class was added and managed by Red Sail Sports in conjunction with the Cayman Islands Sailing Club.

It seemed the wind gods were on our side, because we were greeted with a decent 18 knots coming from the South-East on arrival. The course was a figure-of-eight slalom setup with 2 jibe markers.

Course Details

We had a LeMans style start with competitors standing on the beach and the starter (James) running past us with a flag to signify we could go. There were six competitors in total with a total of six races.

Race about to start

LeMans style start

Competitors Racing

After some tight races with close finishes, the final results were as follows:

1st Andrew Cousins
2nd Nick Grieff
3rd Stuart Jennings
4th Frankie Grainger
5th Santiago Campo
6th Ronan Jennings

The competitors

Overall it was a very successful day and one we hope to repeat soon. Thanks very much to the Sailing Club and Red Sail Sports for organizing!

More photos in the gallery here.

A bit of a nerve-wracking morning here in Cayman after we experienced a moderate earthquake measuring 5.8 in magnitude. Details of the quake are here http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010rrbc.php. No injuries have been reported and the all clear has been given, so we are back to normal for now.

All the icy cold weather in the United States has made its way down to Cayman and we are now looking at an excellent forecast for Sunday. It won't be snowing, but unconfirmed sources are telling me that it could be the coldest day in Cayman's history, which really just means I might have to put a jumper on!

First of all, Happy New Year! It's difficult to believe it is 2010 already. New Years Eve was spent on the beach with a cooler full of champagne, rum and Savanna whilst watching the fireworks all along Seven Mile Beach.

As a result, we only ventured outside after lunchtime on New Years Day. The wind had dropped off completely, but the last few days had brought in some swell. It was time to check out the surf break at Bodden Town on the SUP. Managed to paddle out and get some nice rides, but decided to cut it short when I saw what looked like a shark in the water. Then it was down to Beach Bay where the rides were ok, but not nearly as consistent as Bodden Town break.

Looks like a cold front is on the way now and should be kicking in around lunchtime today. Hoping for an afternoon at Starfish it all goes to plan!

Wind on a workday calls for extreme measures. Although getting up at 6am isn't that extreme really. Was on the water at Safehaven just after 7am and nicely powered on my 84l and 5.2m. I also managed to progress from thinking about going for forward loops, to actually going for them, which I think is quite a big step. Now just to rotate them all the way round will be nice, and I'm sure my back will thank me when the beatings cease. Afterward, a hot coffee while watching the sun rise over the water. A very good start to the day!