Formula Windsurfing title to Brzozowski

by Michelle Ainley on 26 Jan 2005 Polish windsurfer Wojtek Brzozowski has taken out the Australian Formula Windsurfing Championships raced off Elwood, on Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay.

The four-day regatta, which is part of Sail Melbourne, concluded late this afternoon in oppressive 35-degree conditions with light northerly winds. Afternoon sea breezes from the south, which until today made for perfect racing, arrived too late for riders to complete the remaining four races of the 15-race series. Racing was abandoned at 3.30pm

Brzozowski, a dual world champion in the Formula class, made the unscheduled trip Down Under to get a handle on the conditions at Elwood – the venue for December’s Formula Windsurfing World Championships. He relished the conditions and said his reconnaissance mission was ‘very worthwhile’.

‘It means a lot to me to win the Worlds this year,’ said Brzozowski, 28. ‘I’m really, really motivated, that’s why I came all this way to check out conditions. It will be a long year, one event after another, but I’m looking forward to coming back in December.’

So, too, are Denmark’s Jesper Vesterstrom and Perth-based Dane Jesper Orth who finished second and third respectively in the Australian Open division.

Orth, 29, who has lived in Perth for the last six years, also took out the Oceanic Championships (for Australians and New Zealanders) from Sean O’Brien (QLD), JP Tobin (NZ), Mike Nelson (NSW) and Sam Parker (NSW). These five automatically qualify for the Worlds.

‘I’m stoked, it’s awesome and it (racing) doesn’t get much better than this,’ said Orth. ‘You learn so much racing against Wojtek; you make one mistake and he’s already 20m in front of you.’

O’Brien, from Brisbane, was the stand-out Australian of the regatta, according to race director Ian Fox. The 21-year-old, who was one of only two riders who managed to win a race from Brzozowski, said the trip to Elwood – and the chance to race against a dual-world champion – has whetted his appetite for the Worlds.

In the women’s division, Allison Shreeve (NSW) won dual titles – the Australian and Oceanic Championships – from Anna Davis (VIC) and Hayley Thom (NZ).

Both Shreeve and O’Brien are using the Formula board as a stepping stone to the new Olympic-class windsurfer, the RSX which is due for release later this year.

Results and images for publication are available online at www.sailmelbourne.com.au.