PWA Cold Hawaii World Cup Day 2 - Rainbow and a twister but no racing

by Chris Yates on 19 Sep 2012 At the 2012 PWA Cold Hawaii World Cup, expectations were high for the second morning, with the sailors and the committee arriving at the beach by 07:30am, ready for the action to commence from 08:20am onwards. An early squall put a spanner in the works as the wind dropped below competition standards, but it returned soon afterwards and so, Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins), Thomas Traversa (Tabou / Gaastra), John Skye (RRD / Mystic / MFC) and Kauli Seadi (JP / NeilPryde) were all called to the water. Unfortunately though the wind didn’t last long and heat nineteen had to be abandoned within a couple of minutes of the start.

As the day progressed it wasn’t just the wind that was ever changing, as rain, sunshine, rainbows and even a stray tornado hit the shores of Klitmoller. Despite threatening to return on several occasions, the wind never fully materialized as squall after squall interfered with the wind pattern. What wind there was, was very brief, so unfortunately it was not possible to complete any heats by the end of the second day.

With the competition in standby mode for the entire day we caught up with the local hero, Kenneth Danielsen (F2 / Simmer) for a quick chat about yesterday and the prospects for tomorrow.

PWA: How did you find the competition yesterday?

KD: 'Really really difficult. I was really struggling even though I was on my biggest kit. I found it difficult to get going and getting and then maintaining speed was a massive challenge.'

PWA: Did you sail much in float and ride conditions?

KD: 'I usually do some, but yesterday really was the minimum amount of wind possible, especially here (Klitmoller), because there is a lot of current which makes it considerably more difficult. I think in somewhere like Cape Verde then yesterdays wind is more than enough, but to gain ground upwind here you need to go against the current. So when you are not powered up it means you waste a lot of your heat time just going upwind to position yourself for the waves.'

PWA: What are you favourite conditions to sail in?

KD: 'Definitely side-off and big waves.'

PWA: What are your thoughts on the forecast for tomorrow and what sort of conditions do you think we can expect?

KD: 'It looks like it should be rather windy tomorrow, the only thing is that the direction isn’t going to be the best for this spot. But there’s definitely going to be wind and waves and for sure we’re going to be competing.

After a long and frustrating day on standby the sailors were eventually released at 6:30pm. The most radical sailors in the world will now be preparing themselves for another early start tomorrow as the skippers meeting has been called for 7am, with the first possible start at 07:20am. The forecast holds the promise of twenty-five knots of wind or more combined with waves, so at the very least we are expecting to see the completion of the single PWA World Tour Cold Hawaii World Cup website