after Defi Wind  race play

Defi Wind Race 4 place 159

4e race van de Defi 2023, start gegokt en gewonnen! Beste resultaat, bij de finisch 252e van de 1400 starters!. Maar belangrijkste: 2e van mijn leeftijd afdeling. Daardoor een enorme sprong in het algemeen classement, van 4 naar de 2e plaats :-)

4th race of defi in low wind.

in the afternoon went out for some more cruising until the direction changed 90 degrees. 

3rd day of defi wind, only one race.

Wäre locker ne Nummer größer gegangen

defi wind race 4

Defi Race 4 Saturday morning

Severne Moto 6.4 2 cam
Fox 95

Got stuck on the 1st reach and had to catch up

Finished #256

Heat 4 Défi

Heat 4

Day 3 of the DEFI wind.

Race number 4: Once again my start was not what it should be.  At the first jibe, someone in front of me crashed, so I lost another 20 seconds there. In the end I finished 70th.

Overall score so far: 52th 

For Sunday the forecast is not good enough for racing, so this is it. Satisfied with my overall result. 

Defi wind day 3, amazing 

Epic battle with FRA 888 Jimmy Thieme for the entire duration of the heat number 4

Finished 43th overall and 7th on the fin today.

Currently 40th overall, 7th on the fin and 3rd in the 40 plus category behind Andréa Cucchi (Defi overall winner 2014 ) and Cyril Moussilmani (PWA vice world champion slalom 2014).

It’s an honor to share the podium with those big guns of the windsurfing world.

My best ever Defi wind

Rigged & used the Mach 5 7.0 for the first time for the last DeFi race.

Took it for a spin, adjusted the harness lines and was good to go!

Amazing race. After slow start rounded the first bouy as 508th and started a chase where I overtook around 175 people and became 351.

Taste like more next year!

Wat een combi. Nog nooit zo relaxed gevaren als vandaag. Helaas maar 1 heat, maar wel super gevaren. Alles onder controle! Top!

Race 4 ( 3 for me) 

Another race with high peaks and deep valleys.. 
Again I had my van parked on the beach at the starting boat height of the race. As the forcast was not so much wind I wanted to race with the invic 104. But while I sailed to the corner at the rocks to walk over the floating bridge for check in the wind felt very strong.... After I checked in and went for some runs to do some trim I was all the time powered enought for the 88 liters it seemed. So 3 minutes before the race start I quickly replaced the 104 for the invic 88. 
This resulted in big fun in the good gusts, as I was outperforming the 70 cm wider boards (on my reaches). But unfortenately there where dips where I had to put a lot of effort in not getting out of plane. Those moments it was their joy haha. 2nd reach before the second turn at the porche flag the wind dropped that much that I was not able to plane for some time... I was furius *&$#^! It was right at the place where all the people including my father where watching/filming the race.. Everybody seemed to fly passed me. The invic104 liters smiled at me from the beach laying there at my car. 
Anyway somehow I managed to finish and it looked like there where only like 80 surfers passed in front of me at the finish line.
Back on the beach during check out  I had the illusion that it was my best race and was telling proudly about it haha. Than I saw on the board it was my worst race! I didn't take into account that this more lightwind race did offcoarse attract a lot of libre category to foil who probably already where out of sight at the finishline around the stone dams. Bit embarrassing. 
Still I was in the top 50 fin I think. 
But the fin ranking does feel a bit like overtaking Björn Dunckerbeck the day before. Or pulling away at the traffic lights against another car while hearing after the other just took it easy driving away. 
All the good fin riders are on foil these days so the fin catergory feels like bacon and beans hahaha
But again, fun above ranking, let's keep it like that ;)

The 3 races I did where just each unique in their own way. I really regret missing the windiest race on saterday. Also now I didn't try to start at least once with the good guys first in line with the rabbit start... I was actually planning to do so with the last race on sunday which was canceled.
But the whole thing was an amazing experience especially together with the 2 days of speedsurfing at Plage Rouet. 

So, enought break on my way back home, let's drive on..
 

DEFI race 4 - broke my mast at buoy 1 - 

laatste defi race , dit smaakt naar meer ;-)

Après la manche 4 du Défi Wind.

Defi race 3

:)

:)

Defi dag 3 heat 4

Defi dag 3 heat 4

defi 4, started on the beach but great fun overtaking 500 on the first reachi

Defi race 4, paar keer staan dobberen 

2e x het water op. Minder wind maar nu. ook voorbij de stenen. naar het wedsrtrijddeel. Wat een verschil zeg en leuk om eens op de baan te varen. Wellicht toch een keertje meedoen?

DefiWind 2023 Day 3, race 1

Defi Race 4 Saturday morning

Severne Moto 6.4 2 cam
Fox 95

Got stuck on the 1st reach and had to catch up

Finished #256

RACE 4 DEFIWIND 2023 - 77th

Someone else took the new medium board that had been working well for me so I had to go on the small board. I had a good start, but on the small board you need to constantly push to get upwind and I just didnt have the energy or power to do it for 40km. This meant I was with the front pack for the first 2-3km, but then started to drop back as I needed to push to get upwind. I defintley learnt in this event that I need to have too much power in the gear to go well. That can be big board, big sail or maybe even big fin, but for me I need to be controlling the power, rather than generating it. It allows you to get upwind, power through dirty air/water and most importantly choose the line you want. On the small board I was forced to go along the shoreline, which is flat, but a longer distance and REALLY busy with people. Going out to sea is shorter and you can just focus on your own line and not worry about others. 

RACE 4 DEFIWIND 2023 - 77th

Someone else took the new medium board that had been working well for me so I had to go on the small board. I had a good start, but on the small board you need to constantly push to get upwind and I just didnt have the energy or power to do it for 40km. This meant I was with the front pack for the first 2-3km, but then started to drop back as I needed to push to get upwind. I defintley learnt in this event that I need to have too much power in the gear to go well. That can be big board, big sail or maybe even big fin, but for me I need to be controlling the power, rather than generating it. It allows you to get upwind, power through dirty air/water and most importantly choose the line you want. On the small board I was forced to go along the shoreline, which is flat, but a longer distance and REALLY busy with people. Going out to sea is shorter and you can just focus on your own line and not worry about others. 

Defiwind 

defi

Defi wind