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Event reports
EXOCET KONA TOUR French final – Crozon Morgat
Sunday August 20th. 2006
Twenty keen competitors from all over France attended the Kona Cup finals in Crozon, all hoping to win the ticket to the Kona Worlds
in Thailand later on this year.
The event was blessed with sunshine and 10 to 15 knots sea breeze, and the organizers set the courses close to the beach to the delight of the spectators.
Again, the Kona proved its versatility, with participants from 10 to 50 years of age competing for the honours.
At the end of the day, it was a fired up Vincent Gourtay from Brest securing a popular victory, ahead of Julien le Vexier from Larmor and Exocet’s Guillaume le Brec.
Our big congratulations to Vincent who will be travelling to Thailand to represent France in the Kona Worlds
Participants, family and spectators enjoyed a great day in Crozon Morgat, and the Kona’s were in action all day,- until sunset. A great conclusion to a very successful 2006 Kona Tour that included 9 challenging events and almost 260 competitors. Additionally more than 250 beginners were having “a taste of windsurfing”, safely guarded by 3 experienced supervisors – daily from 9am to 7pm.
It was high level competitions, and a fantastic atmosphere throughout the whole Tour, and we look forward to the 07 events already. We will build on what we learned this year, and it will definitely be bigger with events from Nice to Calais.
Our sincere thanks to the organizers and all of you that took part.
See you again next year.
Guillaume Le Brec;
Exocet
See the results
Exocet Kona Cup in Audierne
The 7th. stop of the French Kona Cup took place in Audierne, a well known fishermen town on the Atlantic coast, on August 14th 2006.
It was again attracting big crowds and more than 50 competitors,
among which some famous names like Faustine Merret ( Athens windsurfing Olympic Gold medallist ), Julien Quentel, Gerald Pelleau and Exocet's team rider Jean Baptiste Daniel.
In the steady 12 knots sea breeze, the racing was very open, but at the end of the day Samuel Launay pulls off a great victory, followed by Antoine Cordonnier and again - the very consistent Kevin Festock, which now moved to the top of the over all ranking.
Next stop for the Kona Tour is on August 19-20 at Crozon-Morgat for the French Kona Super Final where the
winner will be offered an airplane ticket to the coming Kona Worlds in Thailand !
See the results
Exocet Kona Cup in Saint Malo
This last July race of the Exocet Kona Tour was held at the Sillon Beach, in the famous fortress town of Saint Malo. The weather was not as warm nor as sunny as it was at the former Kona races, but the good news is that the wind is stronger and there are even some small waves.
The free trials become a bit tricky with the 2 feet shorebreaks, but the young windsurfer loved the challenge.
The afternoon race saw perfect tactical conditions, with 8-13 knots wind, and Thomas Delcourt from local Saint Malo Surf School takes the victory, ahead of Cédric Lemercier and Erwan Diverez. Also to be noticed is the excellent 5th place from Marielle Debuyer, mother of Exocet Team rider Anne Debuyer.
Next race is scheduled on August 14th at Audierne. See the results
Exocet Kona Cup in La Tranche sur Mer
On Wednesday 26th July, 2006, the French Kona Tour took place at La Tranche sur Mer, one of the most popular windsurfing venues on the Atlantic coast, with it's famous summer sea breeze and local windsurfing club: " Le Cercle Nautique Tranchais".
The free trials in the morning were epic, with relentless demand from the public to try the Kona board and learn windsurfing with the "Kona Tour top instructors" Anne, Loic and Jacques.
Following the morning light wind conditions -ideal for beginners-, the breeze kicked in at about 10 knots at 3 p.m., - perfect for Kona Cup racing. We had 38 participants this day, all of them trying to get to the top 10 which qualifies for the French Super Final to be held at Crozon-Morgat at August 19th. and 20th.
Renaud Derbois had a great day and wins the race, followed by Emmanuel Lalire in second and Alain Douillard in third. Congratulations also goes to young Alizé Lalire, (14 years old) for her very promising 7th place.
See the results
Exocet Kona Tour heating up
Following the first regatta in Brest, the Kona Tour completed 3 more races in a row on July 21st, 22nd and 23rd , on the beautiful Atlantic Ocean beaches of La Baule, Carnac and Lorient.
La Baule July 21st, 2006 :
The famous La Baule seaside town was home of the Kona Tour this Friday 21st of July. The program consisted of "introduction to windsurfing lessons" for beginners (a big success among the youngest), free Kona trials and of course in the afternoon the very challenging Kona Cup. The wind conditions were nice with 8-10 knots westerlies, allowing the 22 competitors to fight fiercely for a good ranking, knowing that the first ten will earn their qualification for the French Kona Cup "Grand Final" to be held on August 20th in Crozon.
See the results
Carnac July 22th 2006 :
The Exocet convoy headed by Christophe Boutet ( Aloha Attitude ) was on the beach at sunrise this Saturday , setting up the Kona Tour camp. Young windsurfers from nearby Carnac Yacht Club were all there, eager to give the Kona a try and train for the afternoon competition. This day's contest has been tactical, with gusty offshore winds, and this event was finnally won by Martin Kéruzoré. At the end of the day, the barbecue offered by Kona Cup sponsor "Hénaff" completed this successful Carnac event.
See the results
Lorient July 23rd 2006 :
The fourth stop of the 2006 Exocet Kona Tour carried high expectations, as it was happening at one of the most famous French windsurfing spots, the Kergelen beach at Larmor Plage. This was confirmed when 35 windsurfers registered for the afternoon Kona Cup, blessed by sunny weather, warm waters and consistent wind in the 10-18 knots range. During the competition, Julien Le Vexier, head of Exocet's nearby retailer Action Fun Lorient, looked like he wouldn't let the victory to one of the many young guns earger to win. However in the end he finised in a well deserved 3rd place, with Joseph Brault second and the victory went to Guénolé Bernard. Guénolé was kind enough to answer our questions;
Exocet; Congratulations to your first Kona Cup victory, could you tell us more about your windsurfing background ?
Guénolé Bernard; I'm 19 and I've been windsurfing for about 9 years. I started competing on the Aloha, and managed to become France Champion and 3rd in the world on that board. I'm also French vice Champion on Mistral.
Exo; This is an impressive record, how did you adapt to the Kona ?
GB; No particular problem, although I'd never sailed the Kona before, I instantly felt good on it. I did a little test run to get the harness lines tuned properly and that's it ! . It took me a little longer to perform perfect planing jibes, but after a couple of races I'd found the trick …
Exo; What is your opinion regarding the Kona Cup race format, and what's your secret for winning ?
GB; Well the race system is very entertaining, but also demanding as the sailing level was really high and you must give it all in every race. My secret to win is to make it upwind from the start and try to catch the gusts !! I enjoyed the Kona Cup a lot and look forward to sail at the French Grand Final in Crozon, and why not at the Kona Worlds in Thailand !
See the results
Conclusion :
After the completion of those 3 more Kona Cup days, we have 30 names that made it for the French Grand Final of the Exocet Kona Tour, that will be held on August 19-20 at Crozon Morgan, in the French Finistère province. The ice on the cake came when Exocet announced they would offer the trip to Thailand's Kona Worlds to the winner of the French Grand Final.
Big success for the first leg of the Kona French Tour held in Brest on July 16th, 2006.
The 60 competitors battled fiercely in light winds -6 to 8 knots- and under the hot sun. The sailing level was really high and the wind shifts made the races unpredictable. All the racers had a great time on the Kona and Quentin Henry took the victory before Charles Debuyer and Kevin Festock.
The first 10 are qualified for the French Kona Cup Final end of August in Crozon.
Next race will be on July 21st at La Baule, see you there !
See the results
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