Nothing but smiles at Europe's most prestigious canoe event of the year. Hard, hard conditions in the 20km (in fact 23 km) race but that's what the North Sea is famous for...
The upwind battle was against 3-4 knots of current, waves and gusts exceeding 6 Bf... All this created a steep and short wave pattern. Pictures (To purchase from www.adsail.be) were taken from a tower at the turning mark. The down run was absolutely world class. The typical steep waves, created by the current, made it possible to catch almost every wave and stay on it... Some OC1's logged in speeds topping 28 km/hrs on the GPS...
The race was a 23 km long crazy dedication, where even the winner Martin Buday (Germany) took longer than expected. 2 Hrs 23 minutes. Upcoming talent Normen Weber finished second after 2 Hrs 29m.
Belgians Surf Ski pride Kurt Dierickx Kurt (8 th in the Molokai) ended after 2 Hrs 3 minutes and took the Surf Ski cup home ending overall 1st !
On Sunday, the wind turned offshore and flat waters made the '500 m sprints' look like polynesian romance... Norman Weber ended first but Martin still ended overall 1st, winning his 4th consecutive NOCC trophy.
Sandra Steraj (Italy) played it safe after learning from last years that the North Sea can be unforgivable..She won both the 23km (in 2 Hrs 53) and the '500 m sprints'. Sarah Jellonnek (Germany) ended 2nd overall.
Master class, winning class in the Surf Ski division !
Daman Rick from Holland ( Master class) ended second overall. In the women Surf Ski division, multiple Olympic Champion, Brigit Fisher from Germany (also Master class) ended 1st !
The NOCC found its definite concept and long term sponsor.(Peak Performance) The future looks bright. Next year, the Surf Ski division will be at least have 30 more inscriptions, meaning that it would outnumber the Outriggers Canoes. Moreover, talks have started about a fusion of the 'Life Saving games' (Surf Ski discipline) with the NOCC.
Besides heaps of kisses, cups & cheques, 2 Helium Allwave Canoes were also loted amongst all enrolled competitors ...Philips Chris (New Zealand) and Gero Jacob (Germany) both took one home...
Heaps of cameras (2 TV stations), magazine reporters and spectators have created a vibe the sport needs in Europe.
Event details, results and more pics on www.nocc.be
Posted by keizo on Fri, 07/20/2007 - 10:45pm