December 10, 2023
The Race Was
Run!!!
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2023 NOR (Notice of Race)
Thanks to the 2023 race sponsors!!!
iWindsurf.com, iKitesurf.com, SailFlow.com, Windalert.com
Liquid Surf & Sail
Adventure Sports, Neil Pryde, JP
Sandy Point Progressive Sports, Aerotech, Exocet
North Beach Windsurfing
Recap:
Plenty of wind and plenty of shore break this year. Only two competitors made it off the beach, kiters Leif Given and Ramin Afshar, popped right out and were on time for the rabbit start with Leif being the rabbit. Windfoilers Ron Kern and Fernando Martinez made two solid attempts to time things right and get off and running. Ron's second attempt failed and his kit got washed in after not making it over a wave. Disappointed Fernando and Ron decided it wasn't going to happen this year. Meanwhile Leif and Ramin were blazing upwind to the Port Everglades channel marker. Leif rounded the PE mark after 20 minutes and was flying downwind. He crossed perpendicular to Vista Park in about 10 minutes and rounded Hillsboro Inlet channel marker with an elaspsed time of about 40 minutes. Ramin was really cruising along too, but nowhere near the speed Leif was getting on his full Olympic kitefoiling kit. With nobody else to race Ramin came into Vista Park having completed half the I-to-I in about 53 minutes. Leif completed the Hillsboro to Vista upwind leg in about 20 minutes for a total time of 61 minutes 30 seconds. It was impressive to witness.
Leif Given 2023 I-to-I Winner!!!
L-R: Jesse - Liquid Surf & Sport, Dave Rhodes, Ramin Afshar, Leif Given, Ron Kern, Fernando Martinez, Mike Vogt, Gary VanDyke, Jesse's dog :-)
| December 10, 2023 Start Time: 10:06 a.m. | ||||||||
| Fleet | Elapsed Time | Finish | ||||||
| Finish | Finish | Fleet | Last Name |
First Name |
(Minutes) | Notes | Time | |
| 1 | 1 | Kite Foilboard | Given | Leif | 61 | Completed I-to-I | 11:37:00 AM | |
| 2 | 2 | Kite Foilboard | Ramin | Afshar | 53 | Vista - Port Everglades | 11:40:00 AM | |
| 3 | 1 | Windfoil | Kern | Ron | 0 | DNS | - | |
| 4 | 2 | Kite Foilboard | Martinez | Fernando | 0 | DNS | - | |
| 5 | 1 | Wingfoil | Hermans | John | 0 | DNS | - | |
| 6 | 3 | Windsurfer | VanDyke | Gary | 0 | DNS | - | |
| 7 | 4 | Windsurfer | Vogt | Michael | 0 | DNS | - | |
The 2022 Race:
After a few different dates proved challenging to run the race in December, January or earlier in February, the race that first happened in 2003 was off and running. The wait was worth it! Epic I-to-I conditions prevailed starting at about 9 a.m. Saturday morning with strong wind from the north and a non-existent shorebreak. After competitiors rigged, de-rigged, rigged, the race was started at 10:05 a.m. with Ron Kern taking off as a port tack rabbit to the upwind mark at Hillsboro Inlet. The course was start at Vista Park, Hillsboro Inlet channel marker rounded to port, Port Everglades Inlet channel marker rounded to starboard and finish at Vista Park.
Results:
| Fleet | Elapsed Time | Start:
10:05AM |
Finish | |||||
| Finish | Finish | Fleet | Last Name | First Name | (Minutes) | Notes | Time | |
| 1 | 1 | Windfoil | Martinez | Fernando | 93 | Completed I-to-I | 11:37:00 AM | |
| 2 | 1 | Kite Foilboard | Ramin | Afshar | 95 | Completed I-to-I | 11:40:00 AM | |
| 3 | 2 | Kite Foilboard | Folz | Corey | 108 | Completed I-to-I | 11:53:00 AM | |
| 4 | 3 | Kite Foilboard | Mastriana | Brien | 120 | Completed I-to-I | 12:05:00 PM | |
| 5 | 2 | Windfoil | Kern | Ron | 132 | Completed I-to-I | 12:17:00 PM | |
| 6 | 4 | Kite Foilboard | Carlson | Chas | 96 | Vista Park - Hillsboro | 11:41:00 AM | |
| 7 | 5 | Kite | Paul | Michael | 190 | Vista Park - Hillsboro | 1:15:00 PM | |
| 8 | 3 | Kona | Campbell | Steve | 53 | Vista Park - LBTS Pier | 10:58:00 AM | |
| 9 | 4 | Formula | Vogt | Mike | 149 | Vista Park - LBTS Pier | 12:34:00 PM | |
| 10 | 5 | Windsurfer | Dave | 35 | Started | 10:45:00 AM |
L-R: Norm King, Brien Mastriana, Steve Campbell, Chas Carlson, Ron Kern, Michael Paul, Mike Vogt, Fernando Martinez, Ramin Afshar, Cory Folz
Overall Winner - Fernando Martinez - Windfoil 1 hour 33 minutes.
Fernando's recap:
When we arrived at the venue at Vista Park Ft Lauderdale, the weather looked perfect for this year’s race. The wind had been offshore for some time, so there was no buildup of chop on the outside causing a high shore break. This made it perfect for getting in and out with wind foiling gear.
The wind was NE or NNE, clearly gusting to over 20 knots with some meters showing gusts of 26, so the dilemma for some racers was what size sail or kite to use. Since being on IQFoil, one-design gear I am stuck with using 9.0 m2, I was ready to hit the water and try things out early. I made a few tries and seemed manageable close to shore but definitely challenging upwind during gusts when going far out.
The first leg was upwind to the Pompano lighthouse buoy. Rabbit start worked out great with Ron being the rabbit going on port tack (away from the beach). My start timing wasn’t great as it took me a few seconds to cross behind Ron. In addition, starboard tackers hit the beach quickly, so we had to tack away from the beach 10 seconds or less after the start.
Once on port tack I was able to see Ron a bit upfront. I felt in good control and focused on pushing for speed without thinking much on upwind angle. This allowed me to go over the chop without slowing down and keeping things more stable. That clearly worked, as I saw I was leaving Ron behind at a good pace. Up to that point Ron was my reference, as I was pretty sure the kite foilers, if not at the lead already, were going to overtake me eventually.
It came to no surprise that as the port tack was taking me more and more outside on more open ocean, the chop was taller. But now I realized gusts were insane and felt close to 27-30 knots. This is when the IQ sail starts to feel very uncomfortable. I later learned that wind was over 30 knots actually. This was going to wear me out! This race was going to be crazy!
Upon seeing that my lead against Ron upwind had extended and I was already feeling I was going to exhaust myself to death, I decided to continue the race by sailing shorter tacks and staying close to shore. Now the goal was putting the weight on my seat harness and trying to rest my arms in preparation for what I thought would be a challenging downwind. The gusts were still very strong close to the shore, but flatter water made it easier. Looking at how much distance we still had to make to get to Pompano lighthouse, that upwind felt very challenging! I had some doubts about the feasibility of the race. Too windy, too far, too tiring; and if it gets any windier, we would all start getting into some good trouble! It all felt like a huge endeavor and a test to endurance. Would we be able to make it?
Having now completed more than half of the upwind leg, the constant noise from the wind in my ears was also wearing me out. Having now a clear view of the lighthouse, I started to focus on looking and getting to that lighthouse. It looked far, but now I knew I could get there if I was patient. My sailing wasn’t that great. I was sloppy, hitting chop, and tacking slowly. A crazy gust took the sail from my hands during a tack and had to do a water start. Then I was blown by another one and fell... The good news is that I was still in front of the kites and leading the race.
Rounding the lighthouse buoy changed everything. The speed of the foil going downwind makes you feel it’s not longer that windy. The noise of the wind goes away and the sail feels light on the hands. I still decided to stay close to shore on flatter water. It felt easy. I pointed as much downwind as possible to get a good rest.
After a few minutes I realized I had covered half of the leg already. It did feel on the 16-20 knot range and not as windy. I think the wind had clearly eased for some time. We were all going very fast but with half the effort of the upwind. No idea where the kites or other windfoilers were. I still took another fall when I momentarily lost my concentration trying to find the next buoy. The goal was to try to see that Everglades buoy which eventually came to sight right in front of me on my port tack going deep downwind. I was lucky since I always have a hard time finding that buoy in the middle of nowhere.
Getting there was really a pleasure but still tense since there were boats and container ships all around me creating turbulent waters. Upon rounding that Everglades buoy, I was still on the lead; no kites on sight.
I thought I was going to be on a nice single tack to the finish line at the beach but, unfortunately, the wind was so head-on that I had another set of 6-8 tacks before finishing the race. That did not feel great. Noise was back, crazy gusts, etc. but that last leg to the beach lasted less than 20 minutes. Finishing the race felt like a great accomplishment; I was looking forward to everyone else also finishing as completing such a long course is always such a thrill. Thank you, Ron, for such a great job organizing. Thank you to the sponsors. Congratulations to everyone who showed up and raced. Looking forward to next year’s race!
5th place finisher, windfoiler Ron Kern's thoughts: "My first thought as I was struggling with my 8m sail going to weather was, why am I doing this? The good news was it was windy and although I was going slow, my angle was pretty good and 5 tacks and 42 minutes later I was rounding the Hillsboro Inlet channel marker. I thought I might call it quits at Vista Park on the way to Port Everglades, but as I started downwind the ride became almost effortless and my spirits improved. That was until I got about 1¼ miles from the Port Everglades marker. My timing was bad as numerous charter fishing boats were going full throttle back to their docks and were throwing 8' wakes on top of the swell making disorganized sea conditions. I was having a hard time getting through that patch taking 19 minutes and falling 9 times in the short distance. Finally rounding Port Everglades marker, it was easier sailing back to Vista Park. I felt I accomplished something just finishing!"
Thanks to the sponsors and their support!!!
2022-2023 Notices:
Email is the primary method of race communication. If you are not on the list, please email a request to ron@ronkern.com
02/17/23 -- Website updated, email sent to group with first possible start scheduled for 2/18/23 at 9 a.m.
01/13/23 -- Website updated, email sent to group with rescheduled running date February 18-19, 2023
12/10/22 -- Website updated, email sent to group.
Forecast not good for tomorrow:
SUN
N NW winds 5 to 10 kt. Seas 2 to 3 ft. Period 5 seconds.
Intracoastal waters a light chop.
The race is postponed until 1/8/23.12/04/22 -- Website updated, email sent to group. Link to email.
12/02/22 -- Website updated, email sent to group. Link to email.
11/20/22 -- NOR Posted, website updated, email sent to group.
2022 NOR (Notice of Race)
Thanks to our 2022 sponsors:
Please visit in person or online and thank them with a purchase!
iWindsurf.com, iKitesurf.com, SailFlow.com, Windalert.com
Liquid Surf & Sail
Adventure Sports, Neil Pryde, JP
Sandy Point Progressive Sports, Aerotech, Exocet
North Beach Windsurfing
Captain Kirks Water Sports
2021 Race:
The 2021 race was run on December 11, 2020, starting at 9:19 a.m. from Vista Park. Leif Given, riding a hydrofoil kitesurfer, took the top spot. He was blazing fast and was just a blur around the course completing the race in a record 51 minutes 31 seconds. Fernando Martinez rounded the first mark at the Port Everglades channel marker in second place. A few hundred yards behind was Ron Kern followed by Maria Emerson. They all sailed downwind to the Hillsboro Inlet channel marker, Fernando maintained and opened his lead on the hydrofoiling windsurfers and kitesurfers. Tim Knapp made up a lot of distance and after the Hillsboro rounding passed Ron going upwind moving into third place on the way to Vista Park. The windsurfers took spots 2 through 5. Brien Mastriana, on a kite foilboard was the second place kitefoiler. Maria Emerson riding a kite foil completed the segment of Vista Park to Port Everglades and back to Vista Park after having some trouble making it back downwind. Conditions were ESE wind in the low teens from later dropping a bit and shifting more easterly. The 79-81° air and 78° water temps were awesome. The 20th I-to-I will be held December 3-4, 2022.
L-R: Steve Campbell, Tim Knapp, Fernando Martinez, Ron Kern, Brien Mastriana, Leif Given, Maria Emerson
Thanks to our 2021 supporters who have provided prizes for our event:
iWindsurf.com, iKitesurf.com, SailFlow.com, Windalert.com
Adventure Sports, Cabrinha, Neil Pryde, JP
Sandy Point Progressive Sports, Aerotech, Exocet
Please visit in person or online and thank them with a purchase!2021-12-04 - The race won't be run this weekend. It is being postponed until 12/11-12. If you aren't receiving emails about the race, feel free to send an email to ron@ronkern.com and I can put you on the email distribution.
2021-12-03 - The race won't be run on Saturday. Check back on Saturday to see about Sunday. If you aren't receiving emails about the race, feel free to send an email to ron@ronkern.com and I can put you on the email distribution.
2021 NOR (Notice of Race - Race Instructions / Rules)
2020 Quick Recap:
The 2020 race was run on December
12, 2020, starting at 10:32 a.m. from Vista Park. Ron
Kern, riding a hydrofoil windsurfer, took the top spot.
Ron rounded the first mark at the Port Everglades channel marker
in third place. He continued to the Hillsboro Inlet
channel marker and moved into first place after Leif and Ramin
retired at Vista Park. He stayed in the lead, rounding the
Hillsboro marker and back to Vista Park with a finish time of 2
hours 3 minutes 5 seconds. Brien Mastriana, on a kite
foilboard, was next and the only other competitor to finish the
whole course. Four other entrants riding kite foils
completed the segment of Vista Park to Port Everglades and back
to Vista Park. Southeast winds with a moderate shorebreak
made launching windfoiling gear challenging. While Ron
made a successful launch at race start he didn't make the launch
look easy but did so without incident. Windfoiler Tim
Knapp wasn't as fortunate launching. He and his gear got
pushed back into the shorebreak by set waves causing a mast
break and shredded sail. The wind started in the mid teens
from the SSE, later dropping a bit and shifting more
easterly. The 79-81° air and 78° water temps were
awesome.
Above: Left - Ron Kern 1st place overall and Windfoil, Right - Brien Mastriana; Kitefoil 1st place and 2nd overall.