Austrian Slalom Nationals 2013
An exciting weekend is over. We had three days with wind at Lake Neusiedl, several starts, a lot of jibes and fun at the 2013 Austrian Slalom State Nationals.
Day 1 saw gusty light offshore winds with wind from 8 to 12 knots. Quite similar tot the competitions at Sylt. I was on my iSonic 117 and Reflex 4 9,2m. The race crew tried to run three rounds.
It was tough to get a planing start done. Both races got cancelled when I was almost over the finish line. Both time I was in a great position. Once in 2nd, once in first. Later on heavy rainfall kicked in and the wind was gone completely.
Day 2 saws sunny weather and again gusts offshore wind in Weiden at Lake Neusiedl. The wind was in between 4 and 12 knots and allowed us to train an prepare for the final day. There was a chance to have northern winds during the morning hours.
Day 3, the sunday was Slalom racing day. The wind shifted during the morning hours from south esters direction to north and north westerly direction and picked up within 10 minutes from 12 to 22 knots in gusts. What a dream. I was extremely powered up on the 117 and the Reflex 4 in 8,6, but felt good speed. Probably I hesitated a bit too much during the first two rounds at the start and lost a few meters on Marco Lang at the first reach. He won both races and I finished in 2nd. In race 3 and 4 I took a bit more risk, started at the pin end and was able to keep Marco and the rest of the fleet behind me. The wind dropped a bit and we went for a fifth race. The wind shifted a bit to a western direction and I decided to start near the boat at the upwind part of the starting line. I as well had a kind of a hamburger situation with two racers at the start and Marco picked up a lot of meters towards mark number 1. I tried to risk a lot at the first jibe and almost got Marco, but he managed to start planing just a second, what cost me the title.
The race crew started a 6th round, which got cancelled half way. The wind died and the Nationals were done. One point was missing in the end, but I was happy about my performance. It was tough fight and I really felt good speed. Just a bit more risk at some starts would have been helpful. Congrat to Marco Lang and all other racers, who gave it all this time. See you on the race course next year. Three events are planned for 2014. All there will take place at Lake Neusiedl, two of them during the spring and one in autumn.
Peter Pfaffenbichler got elected as the new president and he will communicate all the dates in the near future.
Austrian Nationals 2013 results:
1. Marco Lang (5 points)
2. Chris Pressler (6 points)
3. Jan Stepanek (15 points)
