It’s a perfectly clear day at Crissy Field and the San Francisco bay glows a Mediterranean teal. Suddenly, dozens of huge kites — more like mini-parachutes — lift up in the sky. Just as many wetsuit-clad athletes run down the beach, surfboards in hand. Harnesses attach athlete to kite, and some smaller folks sprint with the kite to prevent lift-off. Once in the surf, everyone jumps on their boards and across the waves they sail.
It’s kiteboarding, a once edgy and dangerous sport that’s gaining traction and credibility, largely due to the efforts of San Francisco locals. Tuesday kicked off the first ever Kiteboard Course Racing World Championship, a five-day competition drawing enthusiasts from all over the world .. Details & Pictures
The car bombing on the Spanish island of Mallorca, a very popular sailing venue, staged just before the start of the 28th Copa del Rey Audi Sailing Cup, has bought the topics of terrorism and sailing into sharp relief
Those who dusted off their atlases to find out the location of Ras al-Khaimah, in the United Arab Emirates, the proposed venue for the 33rd America’s Cup, will have been a little taken aback to see that the racing will be staged within about 30nm of the Iranian coast.
Iran is a country which does not enjoy good diplomatic relations with too many countries, and the Challenging nation, USA, in particular, and with the exceptional of Defender, Switzerland.
Many will question the wisdom and sensitivity of staging an America’s Cup so close to the shores of a nation that was close to being invaded by the USA in the reign of the last President… Details
Sarah Fisher grew up in Ohio, a couple of pit stops from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. She got hooked on the drama of the Indy 500 early, dreaming about zipping down the frontstretch on Memorial Day weekend at 220 mph.
The popular IndyCar driver is also mindful of history. She knows the Brickyard is where open-wheel racing in the U.S. was born, and for decades the signature moments have come at superspeedways like Indy, which allow the cars do what they do best: go really, really fast.
Yet Fisher—the team owner, not the driver—also knows that times change. Oval racing on the series isn’t what it used to be, which is why she wasn’t surprised when the 2010 IndyCar Series schedule unveiled last week featured more road races (nine) than oval races (eight) for the first time … Details
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A spectacular event came to an end today with the price giving held directly at the beach in front of the Pro Center Chris Schill. Finian Maynard (BVI) and Valerie Ghibaudo (FRA, Loft Sails) are the world champions 2009.
After 7 rounds of speedsailing action, giving two discards for the fleet from all over the world, Karpathos proved another time to be the perfect venue for high wind windsurfing.
The event opened with an early skippersmeeting to get used of the day with the best forecast of the whole week, and the race committee sent the fleet out to the first race at 9:00. Finian Maynard proved from the first moment that he is back and got his first bullet of the event.
The second round, again consisting of …Â Details