ABC of Kite Surfing News Feed

ISWC Speed Windsurfing European Championship 2008

The first day of competition kicked off with perfect sailing conditions. Man of the day was Bjorn Dunkerbeck (SUI, T1/Prrof, North) with a new sport record of 41.73 knots. The women's fleet was dominated one more time by Valerie Ghibaudo (FRA, Loft Sails) with two bullets on the first day.

After the initial skippers' meeting at 10:00, the riders were put on short standby with the postponement flag, as the wind was too broad and gusty in the morning.

The race committee decided to go for a split fleet race in round one, as the Devils Bay is not big enough to allow all riders to compete at the same time. Thus, the fleet was split into two equal strong groups, and sent out for the first race at 12:15. Antoine Albeau (FRA, Starboard) dominated group A, Peter Volwater (NED, F2, North) in second ahead of Cyril Moussilmani (FRA, Fanatic, North), then Chris Lockwood (AUS, Carbon Art, KA Sails). Group B kicked off with the long expected duel between Bjorn Dunkerbeck and Finian Maynard (BVI), and Bjorn showed with some fantastic runs over 41 knots - the potential of that strip. Surprisingly, Ben van der Steen (NED) came in second, followed by Torsten Luig (GER, T1, North), Finian in fourth.

The women's competition was clearly dominated by Valerie Ghibaudo ahead of Anja Kruse (GER, F2, North) and Elke Schill (GER, F2, North) from the hosting Pro center.

After this initial round, the fleet was split into silver and gold fleet, with seven sailors advancing from silver to gold. That leg was won by Daniel Borgelind (SWE), also advancing was Andrea Baldini (ITA, Fanatic/Carbon Art), Roger Henriksen (DEN, Loft Sails), Beppe Fortunato (ITA), Erik Larrson (SWE), Christian Bornemann (GER, T1), and Manos Kapnisakis (GRE). These riders will compete the gold fleet tomorrow, as the wind was too gusty in the starting area to go for the final round in the evening.

The women's fleet was run with the silver fleet and again, the ranking was Valerie, Anja, and Elke.

Racing continues with the gold fleet tomorrow morning, as well as the thrilling action in Devils Bay, Karpathos until the 26th of August.

Full results are available in the events section at www.speedworldcup.com.

Speed:World:Cup is the officially sanctioned world tour of the International Speed Windsurfing Class (ISWC) and the Professional Kite Riders Association (PKRA).

IKO Kite Surfing Course on August 23

An International Kiteboarding Organization (IKO) Kite Surfing Course will be held on August 23-24. The course will be conducted at the Barassie Beach, Troon, Scotland, a long stretch of water suitable for water activities like kite surfing, wind surfing, and jet skiing.

The course will provide beginners with the basics of kite surfing in the fastest way possible. After this course, participants will be well on their way to be IKO level 3 certified, considered as the driver's license in the world of kite surfing.

The course costs �250. This includes wetsuit, equipment, and instructor's fee. The course will have a 1:4 instructor-student ratio, covering topics such as setting up, determining wind direction, launching, and self-rescue techniques.

For more details, please visit www.extreme-zone.co.uk.

ISWC Speed Windsurfing Championship in Karpathos

For the third time in a row, the small village Afiartis on the idyllic island of Karpathos, Greece is preparing to play host for the world's fastest men and women in the speed wind surfing scene. From August 20th to 26th, all the big names of the sport will compete for points counting towards the 2008 Speed World Tour and the one-off European Speed Windsurfing Championship Title.

In the men's fleet, all eyes are set to the reigning world champion and 500m world record holder Antoine Albeau from France, who clearly dominated the season so far.

His strongest opponent is expected to be Bjorn Dunkerbeck again, living wind surfing legend. F2-Shaper Patrik Diethelm from Italy and current tour leader Cyril Moussilmani are also expected to dispute the places on the podium.

Some more world-class wind surfers from other disciplines are joining the speed tour this year, like local and Greek record holder Philip Adamidis, Chris Lockwood from Australia, and Irish record holder John Kenny.

Also, the women's fleet is very strong for this second major event of the 2008 season, including 2007 world champion and current tour leader Valerie Ghibaudo as well as second ranked Marion Raisi.

After the excellent experiences from the past years, Karpathos is expected to show exceptional conditions again. The spot named "Devils Bay" is well-known for crazy conditions up to 10 Beaufort side-offshore.

The 2008 Speed:World:Cup is sanctioned by ISWC (International Speed Windsurfing Class) on behalf of ISAF (International Sailing Federation). The organization will be done by the Municipality of Karpathos.

During and after the competition, Speed:World:Cup will supply press releases, video packages with broadcasting quality images, and high resolution pictures.

For further details, please contact info@speedworldcup.com.

Hooked-on Offers Kite Surfing Camp at Cabarete

Dominican Republic - Hooked-on, an outdoor holiday specialist, now offers a four-week kite surfing camp at Cabarete. A well-known kite surfing zone, Cabarete provides the perfect venue for an all-day and all-night kite surfing instruction program for single travelers or big groups.

Cabarete's Kite Surfing Camp includes accommodations, meals, unlimited equipment hire, and 24-hour one-on-one kite surfing lessons. Cabarete visitors can also enjoy the nightlife at numerous bars to relax after a tiring day under the sun.

The Kite Surfing Camp in Cabarete is a great way to enjoy the sport and a perfect opportunity to meet kite surfing enthusiasts. Wind conditions are favorable between June and August, providing consistent winds from noon until night.

For more details on the Kite Surfing Camp at Cabarete, visit www.hooked-on.co.uk.

Poland Targets Young Enthusiasts in Tourism Drive

Hamburg, Germany - Golfing or kite surfing are two activities rarely mentioned in connection with Poland, but preconceptions about the east European nation are not keeping up with developments in its tourist industry. "There's a long list of attractions that are not associated with Poland," said Jan Wavrzyniak, director of the Polish tourist board, in Hamburg recently.

Kite surfing is one of those activities. "Wind conditions around the Baltic peninsula of Hel are the best in Europe."

Poland is now trying to raise awareness of what it has to offer visitors.

"Poland can be surprising" is the tourist board's new slogan to entice mainly young visitors.

At the moment, most tourists visiting Poland are in the 25- to 45-year old age group and they have a range of wellness hotels, adventure activities, and night clubs in the big cities to cater for their needs.

Poland already counts on a high number of visitors. "Poland had 15 million tourists last year," says Wavrzyniak. That number includes all visitors who spent at least one night in the country.

Poland is especially popular among German visitors as 5.3 million arrived. The country has been in the top ten list of destinations that Germans visited since 2006.

Last year, it was eighth on Germans' list of destinations for bus tours after Italy, Austria and that old favorite of Spain in fourth. Almost all of Poland's border controls with EU nations have fallen since the country joined the Schengen Agreement last year.

Wavrzyniak believes that the move considerably boosted the number of people visiting his country. Among the most popular destinations in Poland are the Masuria region in the northeast, the Baltic Coast, and the Karkonosze Mountains on the Czech border.

Poland is also popular as a city-break destination with the old royal city of Krakow welcoming 6.8 million visitors last year, making it one of the top urban destinations overall.

"Almost every American that comes to Europe, comes to Krakow," says Wavrzyniak.

Poland is also likely to get another boost through football, regardless of how the country performs at the European Championship, as it is co-hosting the 2012 event along with Ukraine.

Investment in tourist infrastructure such as hotels is taking place with international chains such as the Radisson and Hilton building new branches.

The country's second Sheraton Hotel is due to open in the Baltic seaside town of Sopot.

Poland is also hosting the UN's Climate Conference in September in Poznan which will be something of a test run for 2012 as about 10,000 visitors from 180 nations are expected to attend the event.

Source:
www.earthtimes.org