Wed. Nite Writeup April 30th
Movie Star debuts as Rig Caddy! Fernando has a kid!!!
That’s right, besides good racing again in full planning conditions, the excitement of the evening was The Movie Star debuting as Jim DeSilva’s Rig Caddy! Jim, out on his new F2 FXVI had the benefit of the Movie Star giving him a sail to use, rigging his sail, tuning his sail, and supplying him with whatever parts were missing. We also had the pleasure of RON KERN last night, who won for the night with a powerful display of downwind speed that the Movie Star was unable to compete with. But watch out, for second on the night was non other than Martin Abete, who aced out the AWIA Windsurfer of the Year with a display of consistent speed and tactics….and he was on a 10 instead of an 11, so that was even more impressive. Jim, floundering on the new Formula board, showed flashes of speed but will have to get a new caddy because he was on the wrong size sail for the night, but hey, when someone is rigging for you complaining is just not an option. But this caddy is KNOWN for rigging up the wrong size (see previous writeups) so maybe Jim should be making the call on the sail size and just have the caddy take care of the rigging, I mean, Tiger just has his caddy carry the clubs and hand them to him, he doesn’t have him actually tell him what club he has to use, does he? What is the most annoying thing about windsurfing…rigging up right? I think the caddy thing has a future. If you are going sailing, and want to pay me 40 bucks to rig your crap, give me a call at 305 860 0888 and I will come over and take care of this for you, as long as you are at Virginia, the Causeway, or Shake A Leg. Other destinations are available, but transportation and lodging will have to be included. Since Movie Star owes me HUGE, he rigs for me for FREE, but that way we don’t tell all the bad stories we know about him. Eduardo was on IR still, but the big news is Fernando was not there due to the birth of future windsurfer and his NEW DAUGHTER!! Congratulations Fernando!!! Oh, and Kent represented for the kiters, drift-launching off the causeway to make the races, JOSH NOE had his Corolla in the shop getting gullwing doors put on and could not make it. Maybe next week. Shake A Leg delivers the wind EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT, SO YOU NEED TO COME OUT. Oh, Angelito made a token appearance out also, no Sergios (old or new) were sight
Wed. Nite Racing April 9th—Wild Action @ Shake A Leg
The best race series in
Unfortunately for the kiters Fernando, The Movie Star and Martin showed up and had to show them why Formula boards are faster than kites. At the start of the first race, The Movie Star took off, never to be seen except in the distance, unless you were Fernando, who passed him and won the race. What about Josh, the only man known to beat Jeff Kafka? The secret weapon was less secret than anticipated, but there were some big jumps and that was good, but Josh got beat by a Kona with a 9.0—but he was only on a 12, the other kites were on 14’s, so we will chalk this up to a lack of power. New Formula guy Martin Abete acquitted himself well, while Jim DeSilva mixed it up with the other kiters who one day hope to be the equal of Josh.
Race #2, the kiters got lapped as the wind was up and down. Well, I don’t know about that, but for the moment, let’s just say kites jump higher and Formula Boards go faster upwind. But the kiters proved they can smoke downwind, this much we know. But until JOSH NOE brings the ultra-stealth black box board he is working on at the Skunkworks, Fernando and the Movie Star are still safe in planning conditions on Wed. Nite.
MIA—
Awesome Pizza at the cook out, you can’t beat Shake A Leg!
See you all next week suckas!
Shake A Leg Wed. Nite Racing 10-04-2007
So tonight was an interesting lineup….could a Fanatic Viper with a 6.5 beat a Formula Board with an 11.0 Meter Sail? Most would say, no, this is impossible, but when you have the Movie Star sailing, anything is possible.
So the wind was light….too light for planning for sure, even with Formula gear. But Shake A Leg Fanatic Vipers were out and the Movie Star was up for the challenge, so out he went, schlogging the whole way to the start. The gun went off and the mixed fleet of multiple windsurfers, sailboats and Lasers were on their way. Surprisingly, it was Meredith Bass out front early….well, so what that she was 30 seconds over early, but out front nonetheless, and since she pays the R/C, they sure were not going to call her over. It did not look good for the Movie Star early but lo and behold, what do we have here? It’s the Movie, planning upwind in a little puff, channeling Fernando or something! Jim DeSilva, in second place in the Vipers, looks over and watches Movie plane right by him, going ten times as fast and twenty degrees lower, but that was good enough to get him to the windward mark in ……..second place, behind first time windsurfing racer Meredith Bass! Bass then proceeded to start reaching sideways, just to taunt the Movie Star but eventually straightened out her trajectory downwind to secure first place and a place in history as the first person to beat Alex Morales on a Viper. Defeated Viper rider Jim DeSilva commented, “Hey, she beat me straight up, but I taught her everything she knows about sailing and windsurfing, so this makes me proud…what, this was her first race???? Oh, I did not know that…….I think I am going to cry, excuse me”…..ok, we really did not need to see any of that, so we looked away while Jim embarrassed himself. All the other people she beat on the Vipers had no comment, nor did they reach for Kleenex.
Brittney Hinckley got scared and did not sail to the race course because she was afraid of victory and the ramifications that might cause by beating her ex-boss and current boss. But she did sail. Angelito, self proclaimed light wind planning champion of Biscayne Bay, thought the wind was too light and thus did not rig. But the Movie Star did plane, and was more of a man because he did. Let others follow the great man’s lead and rig up more often…..
Afterwards, with Meredith rubbing it in, The Movie Star started talking about pulling out his Lechner. We get this speech often, but the reality is that the Lechner is lost and may never be seen again. Movie, call Shake A Leg because you seriously have to get that board out of there….they really are uncertain of the whereabouts, other than that it is occasionally seen, kind of like Bigfoot. In other news, Martin is down in Argentina at the Raceboard Worlds, with Jim’s Race 380, hopefully showing those Argentines how we do it here in Miami. Over/Under on Jims board coming back not damaged? Well, let’s just say HIGHLY UNLIKELY is the correct response.
Get ready for the upcoming MIami Slalom Series October 13 and 14, Miami Pro- Am November 17-18 and the AC/BC in January at Shake A Leg. 2 more weeks of Wed. Nite Racing and then the sun is done…..starting a little early next week at 6:15 to allow for more racing.
Miami Shake a leg wed nite series sept 17-2007
With perfect Formula wind Wed. Nite, it was going to be a battle between the Movie Star and Fernando. Also gracing the course was Sergio and Angel, who both are making claims about being the early planning champions of Biscayne Bay, but for some reason when the gun goes off, they are never planning and the Movie Star and Fernando seem to be. Jim DeSilva also came out and was schlogging on the Prodigy, which proved to be precisely half as fast as a Formula board in these 10-13 mph conditions. Jim whupped on some sailboats, who also commented on how slow he was, then went over to the US Sailing course (hey, we got two courses to choose from now—I am telling you, the racing is good down here…what course am I going to sail on? Who is sailing on what course?? Decisions, decisions…) and went slow on their course too.
So after years of promoting Formula, why is it the Movie Star can’t rig up the right sail ever? Fernando comes down, takes one look, and rigs the 11.9. Movie comes down, looks around, thinks about it, checks iWindsurf, walks upstairs and scopes it, walks out on the dock and scopes it, calls Eduardo and asks what the wind is doing, calls over to the Causeway and asks what the wind is over there, checks the windmeter inside Shake A Leg and after gathering all this information, rigs the wrong sail. Thus, the results are, Fernando first cuz he has the right sail rigged up, Movie Star 2nd, Sergio 3rd, Angelito 4th and Jim pulling into last, with a few people in between. Ron Kern was scared of the Movie Star and did not show up. Eduardo was tired from the trade show and said no way but he will be there next week.
Pat Downey from US Sailing gave the Movie Stars board a try after the racing and was awed by the power….Jim also went out on it and vowed to get back to the Formula love when the new 08’s come out. Wow, if Angel has a formula board now, that pretty much means everyone is doing it, so it must be good. Sergio, tired of taking a beating at the hands of the Movie Star, has vowed to unleash a new ‘secret weapon’ on the unsuspecting Formula Fleet very soon, so beware of the Napoleanic-like Russian. I believe he has gotten his hands on some old Russian Submarine Titanium and will be coming with some whacky fin or something now….just beware of that radioactive stuff, Serg…bring your Geiger counter to the beach when Serge rigs up. Also, Sergio told us that Zaichek means “bunny rabbit” in Czeck and that is why the San Francisco guys are fast, because they have bunny rabbit boards. Well, you learn something new every day, don’t you?
Wed. Nite racing until the end of the month, then, it’s over and the great champions will be crowned for the season. Who will it be? Stay tuned for details.
Wed-Nite race series at Shake a leg Sep 6, 2007
A small group arrived earlier than normal as the wind seemed to be better than expected and we were all anxious to get on the water. A new member to the group Nidia was going to crewed on a sailboat to enjoy the racing and take pictures of the races. Reminiscent of last Wednesday the wind was a solid 10-12 mph early and was supposed to die during the racing, as it happened the wind slackened a bit but stayed planeable though out with the winds becoming gustier. The pleasant surprise was the small amount of weeds in the course area something rare in the bay this summer. We got out about 5 to 5:30 and got all 5 racers out together at the US Sailing course as the Check-a-leg course hadn’t been set up yet. We were all in formula gear with each racer using a different board. Alex was on his 2007 f2 and his usual 11m North Sail, Juani a 2006 f2 and 10m Noth, Brian a 1.4 Bic and 11.5M Neil Pryde, Sergio a custom ML and 10m Naish, and I was using an Alex modified 2006 Fanatic with 8.5 sail.
The 1st race was run in solid wind and as usual for this group it was Movie Star going 1st at full speed fallow by Juani and Sergio close behind, I follow behind and found I was unable to point as high as the rest. Brian seemed to have missed the starting signal and was way behind. Alex kept his lead through out the double lap race but Sergio kept pace in second place as Juani had had fallen which also allowed me to take third and Brian to come in last.
The 2nd race seemed to be a rehash of the 1st except that Juani was able to finished and Brian was able to start with the pack. Brian had trouble finding the laid lines being short the 1st upwind and wind and way over in the must of the down wind legs causing him and me following to try to finish the race in the wrong direction through the finish line. (results?)
With Alex dominating the race so far it seemed that the rest were just trying to fight for the remaining podium spots and I was just trying to finish all races. Sergio felt that he was getting dehydrated and returned to land. With one less member the 3rd race was run with Alex starting 1st as usual followed by Juani and Brian the latter actually getting a good start, I brought the rear following Brian for the 1st half of the upwind leg before loosing ground pointing lower. It was an Alex, Juani and Brian turning the top marks close together. On my down leg I found myself on a head on track with Brian who had overshot the lay line (again!?) and was coming back on a close haul and bared off just a few feet in front. (results?).
The last race was run without Juani who decide to take the race off and Jim joined us with his long board. The wind died a little it was a fight between the formula and long boards with the long board going tighter and Alex making up with speed. Brian falling again allowed me to take 3rd place and being thankful that the race was over as I was to tired to go once more. (results?)
It was another exciting Wednesday night with the wind showing up allowing for some fun racing where we missed the competition that Fernando, Eduardo and Monica would have brought. We retired to the weekly barbecue to recount the racing as well as talk about upcoming windsurfing events. We were joined by future windsurfer/racer Nidia which had a great time on the sailboats and was eager to start windsurfing so she could become another member of Team Miami.
Angel Domenech
Wed-Nite race series at Shake a leg august 30, 2007
Well the last few Wednesday night events have been plagued by a dying breeze and enough weed to get the whole town high..............But the turnout has been encouraging with around 6 to 10 of us showing up to give it a shot. We made it out on the water early this week, and got in one race with decent powered up conditions on the US Sailing Center race course. Movie Star and Rick Randall on Formula, Camilo and Mark Powell on RSX, mixed it up and it was interesting! The conditions were gusty to say the least, but the weeds were not too bad on the inside, so it was pretty fun. Alex was on 11.0 2007 North with an R18, and RR was on his TR3 11.0 with a Techtonics 66 cm ( hey Movie said it was windy.....).
Upwind, I was actually pointing higher and about the same speed as Movie with my set up. Downwind in the light stuff he was doing better than me.
It was enlightening to see the strengths of Formula vs RSX in those conditions. When the Formula guys are powered up, the RSX has no chance upwind or down. But as soon as we lost power, those guys put the center board down and bye bye they went. After the first race, the wind got really inconsistent, and we did another race. By then the Shake a Leg course was up, and Fernando made it out on his 11.9 and Juanny was also out on a 10.0 North and 06 F2. The Movie Star was still playing at US Sailing and caused some confusion for RR and Fernando, and the SAL Race committee was not looking too pleased either. By the time we got going over there, the wind was doing its usual drop along with he sun. So, we all retired to the shore for some cold brews and hot wings. We know the windy season is just around the corner, and are ready to crank up the volume once again with racing in Miami. Stay tuned for exciting news soon!
Rick Randall US - 089
New Windsurfing Program in Miami Launches!
Liquid Surf and Sail Miami, in conjunction with Fanatic and Shake A Leg Miami (hosts of the Alex Caviglia Bluewater Regatta) have launched the new Fanatic Windsurfing School at Shake A Leg. SAL teaches hundreds of children over the course of the year and currently has very strong programs in sailing and kayaking. Surprisingly, demand for windsurfing has exceeded all expectations. Meredith Bass, Watersports Director at SAL says, "The kids are going nutz….all of them want to do it….but we were really surprised how easy it was once we got set up." SAL does not have a beach, but operates off some docks in a tight channel in Coconut Grove. They actually tow new students out on an Airport (large inflatable dock) and anchor off the newly refurbished islands just outside their channel. With warm shallow water and steady winds, this is the ideal situation to learn how to windsurf. Their flexible situation means no matter which way the wind blows, they are ready to windsurf because of the 360 degree exposure of the islands. Equipment consists of Fanatic Vipers and rigs ranging from 2.0 up to 6.5.
Shake A Leg also hosts the Wed. Nite Race series, where we get sailboats, dinghies, windsurfers, multihulls, and kiters all racing together. Contact Jim DeSilva at Liquid Surf and Sail Miami for more details at 305 860 0888.
SAL is getting their fall programming together for afterschool, which will commence Sept. 15. Kids 8-18 are all welcome. You can contact Meredith Bass at Meredith@shakealegmiami.org
for more details on the programs and to sign your child up.Report from Wednesday Night at Shake A Leg, by Ron Kern:
Miami april -05 -2007
The second Wednesday Night Race at Shake a Leg had great conditions. The wind was from the SE at about 9-12 knots, and the weeds were not too bad.......Fernando, Eduardo, Alex, Rick, Sergio and Angelito all made it out to the course after a tacking duel through the channel at Shake a Leg avoiding the mega yachts. The course was a windward leeward with 2 laps. The sailboats went off first, and we followed later. There was some confusion regarding the starting sequence amongst the competitors, which made for an interesting time!
The first race was a bit light in places which showed the sail of choice was 11.9, which was what Fernando, Alex and Eduardo used. RR was under gunned on his 11.0 and Sergio made it around the course ok on his 10, and Angelito was of course on his 8.5. Fernando was the winner.
The second race the wind built a bit and the start was a bit better as well for everyone. Alex was in the lead at the first mark but was overtaken downwind by Fernando, the eventual winner.
The final race was done just as the sun was dropping out of sight, and was shortened to one lap. Fernando managed to snag the anchor line on the upwind mark, costing him the victory which went to Eduardo. We all got back to the dock just as night fell, the boats all had their running lights on!
Equipment used by, Fernando: North Warp 2007 11.9, F2 Formula V, Deboichet R 18. Eduardo: North Warp 2007, 11.9 F2 Formula V, Kashy 70. Alex: North Warp 2006 11.9, F2 Formula V, Kashy 70. Rick R: Maui Sails TR 2 11.0, F2 Formula V, Deboichet R19 Soft --. Sergio: Naish Stealth 2007 10, Mikes Lab L5, Kashy 70. Angelito: Ezzy 8.5, Bic Techno, Fin? 54 cm.
First Wed. Nite at Shake A Leg— 4/01/07
Perfect Formula conditions greeted the sailors for the first SAL Wed. Nite series contest. For those of you who are not aware, every Wed. nite starting, well, now, there is a race in Biscayne Bay for whatever sails that you want to show up with….boats, boards, kites, etc. First, let’s talk about who was afraid to show up….kiters were afraid, Juanny was afraid, Sergio was shopping for new Berets on Lincoln Road and could not make it and Angelito was probably sailing on the causeway, probably planning, probably going fast, but did not come race. But who did show up? World Female Champion Monica, Eduardo, Fernando, Marvin List (soon to be a new Shake A Leg Volunteer), the World Famous on the Internet Movie Star and Jim, who, since he did not have a Formula Board, went out on a boat instead of being the only daggerboard schmo out there. More about this later.
See everybody next Wed. at SAL!!! First start at 6:30, be there at quarter of 6. Mommysotas are welcome
August 9 -2006 Shake A Leg Race Report--by Jim DeSilva
This was a showdown night of epic proportions. It was very unusual in that we had just enough breeze for Formula planing, but everything was out....Fernando on Formula gear, Movie Star on Lechner, Jim and Eduardo on Old School Raceboards and Mark Powell on RS-X. Along with the usual collections of J-24's, J-22's, Sonars, some bathtub looking thing, Freedoms and some bright green boat that we had never seen before that looked kind of like an Etchells.