Dakhla Festival first long distance race to Dunkerbeck

by Christine Laemmel amended Sail-World.com on 1 Mar 2010 On Thursday, February the 25th, around 4.30 pm, 25 selected riders were on the starting line for this first long distance race of the 2010 Dakhla Festival.

Bjorn Dunkerbeck was leading from the beginning of the race and finished first in this Moroccan competition. Bieuzy Mauffrey, from France, took the second place closely followed by the young french slalomer Pascal Toselli. In the kitesurf discipline, Alex Caizergues, French kitesurf world record owner, was very glad of the opportunity to challenge the windsurfers.

All the competitors talked about the particular nature of the course. The lagoon of Dakhla gave them a unique place to ride. 'On the water, in the middle of the bay, we can glance at the sand dunes background, said Sarah Hébert, first women rider to finish the race. We hesitate to stop on the coast to see this landscape closer.'

Besides the incredible environment, it was a complex course, 'physical, long and hard' in Bieuzy's words when he arrived on the beach. 'This is the most difficult long distance I've ever done' said Bieuzy.

Sailing on very large legs, the riders battled an evolving extreme environment, seeing then at risk of sailing the wrong course! On his arrival Bjorn explained : 'Even if we didn't sail for 80 km today, we already knew that the course would be very long after feeling the result of 40 km in our legs!' The great racing experience of the world champion was challenged, and he confided us : 'I tried to stay close to the sailors' group so that I didn't lose myself, and tried to keep a certain distance and win the event.'

Sjoukje Bredenkamp, Speed Sailing Recordwoman, had to give up. She said she was completely lost on the water, and that it would have taken too much time for her to try to catch up with the group! But she just keeped smiling and enjoying the trip. Anders Bringdal, Dunderbeck's riva, had to give up too because he broke equipment on the first leg.

Ranking:

1- Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Windsurf)
2- Bieuzy Mauffret (Windsurf)
3- Pascal Toselli (Windsurf)
4 -Ludo Jossin (Windsurf)

1st kitesurf : Alex Caizergues
1st women: Sarah Hébert (Windsurf)

Interview: Anders Bringdal in Dakhla

Out of competition for nearly than 10 years now, the Swedish rider honoured the invitation of the Dakhla Festival. 'This almost virgin land is fascinating' said Anders to our reporter. Touched by the 'mix of the waves and of the lagoon' offered by this thin peninsula, Anders likes the relaxed atmosphere of the competitions. 'Even if the long distance is very hard physically, the ryhtm of life is less stressing than usual.'

In the long race Aders was not able to compete against his long-standing opponent, Bjorn Dunkerbeck. Because of a technical problem, the Swedish champion suffered a broken a batten of his sail, and nearly ripped it off his boom. It seemed that the helicopter, who was carrying the photographers, was a little bit too close to the sailors, disturbing Anders' wind and race.

The windsurfer began his race very well and on the first leg, the two champions were fighting and very close. Bjorn, equiped with smaller gear, held the advantage for the the first 10 km. 'I thought the wind would drop at the end of the race, and so I chose a bigger sail' said Anders.

At the last minute, Bjorn followed the wrong course. Anders tried to take advantage of his rival's mistake and overtook him down wind. But then, all of a sudden the drama happened and Anders fell into the water. Race over.