2014 Kitefoil Gold Cup - Johnny Heineken wins

by Jordan Girdis on 8 Oct 2014 2014 Kitefoil Gold Cup - For an entire week, Townsville played a brilliant host accommodating the world’s fastest sailors. Global legends of kiteboarding travelled from far and wide, with European big names Maxime Nocher, Nico Parlier, Julien Kerneur and Benjamin Boelli facing off against their American counterparts in Johnny Heineken and Damien Leeroy with the quest to be the world’s fastest sailors around a course.

The racing did not disappoint. With trade wind assisted sea breezes of around 15 knots blowing throughout the week, the racing was close and fast, with 24 races being sailed over the five days of competition. From the first races it was clear that since the last stop of the Gold Cup tour in Switzerland, the bar had been raised, with new gear and tuned skills leading to faster racing with immense speeds and angles being achieved by the racers.

During the first day of competition a slightly lighter breeze was found on the course which saw the French team seize the upper hand. Julien Kerneur took the first bullet of the day, followed by a hatrick from Nico Parlier. The field was tight throughout the top ten with USA’s Johnny Heineken and France’s Maxime Nocher still in contention for the title. Australia’s Jordan Girdis and his Moth inspired Lister Foil had tough battles with Adam Withington and Theo De Ramcourt to round out the top 10.

Nico Parlier, who finished first in eight of the ten races sailed, undisputedly dominated the following three days. A fantastic regatta for the Frenchman, showing his skills in not only on the water racing, but also a strong off the water preparation and gear optimisation. Snapping at his heels, Johnny Heineken and Maxime Nocher, both on Sword Foils were also sailing brilliantly.

A lay day in competition for the Gold Cup saw the Magnetic Island race, in which the racers would perform a roughly 10km downwind drag race against the Sealink High Speed Magnetic Island Ferry. This magnificent spectacle drew crowds that lined the foreshores of Townsville, and both Nico and Johnny blasted across the passage in record time and in front of the high-speed catamaran, in only ten knots of wind.

For the final day of racing, the fleet was split into a Gold fleet comprising the top ten sailors and a silver fleet. This high pressure racing saw some incredibly close racing, with finishes often decided in the final moments of the race. Incredibly exciting to watch, with a reaching finish causing some drag races with speeds of 30 knots being achieved with only meters between boards. The overall Gold Cup title was still to be decided right until the last race. In the silver fleet racing, Jordan Girdis finished off the regatta with three bullets, leading the Australian team.

Nico Parlier took out the event with style and a smile, followed by Johnny Heineken and Maxime Nocher. After some close points calculation, Johnny Heineken was crowned the first Kitefoil World Champion riding his Ozone Chronos and Edges, Taaroa Sword and Mikelab board, after the three events also comprising of La Ventana Mexico and Silverplana Switzerland. Sophie Callait of France sailed a clean and consistent regatta to take out the Woman’s World Title on her Radical Foil and Ozone Chronos.

The world tour, put together brilliantly by Robbie Dean of USA really showed the development of Kite Racing and the incredible performance of Kite Foils as a progressive sailing class which attracts the best sailors from around the world. Townsville Sailing Club, assisted by Zhik, Ozone, Intheloop.com and Sealink Ferries hosted a world-class regatta and we look forward to many more events of this calibre in Australia in the future.