8/30/2011

Day 5_ 2 rounds on 2 different spots !

Incredible day of intense action today for the riders of the 3rd edition of “La Reunion Wave Classic” : 2 official rounds have been completed on 2 different spots ! The forecast was not wrong when announcing bigger waves and stronger wind.

Round 1 – Etang Salé : surf, surf and only surf !

That’s on the spot of Etang Salé the riders meet this morning. 15 to 20 knots side offshore wind, 6 to 8 feet perfect barrels, in 15mn, everything was set up and the organization could launch the first heats of this 1st round. 2 best waves count, surf only. Local sailor Steven Pichot, new caledonian Colin Sifferlen and Guadeloupean Camille Juban took the honours on this first round. Pichot with a good wave choice and great turns, Sifferlean with clean airs over the section and Juban with a 360 attempt and a high goyter behind the wave in the last minutes of his heat. Youg german Leon Jamaer did not have luck as he ripped his sail in the middle of his heat. Around 3pm, the 1st round was completed but as the conditions were not really improving, the organization decide to move to Ravine Blanche for another 2nd round in more radical conditions…

L'Etang Salé for perfect down the line action ! ©Open Ocean Media

Round 2 – Ravine Blanche : stronger, radical and extreme !

And that was a good choice to move because as the riders arrived on the spot, they could see that it will be another story than riding the cool tubes of Etang Salé ! 30 knots of wind and mast high hollow waves ready to crunch the gear… Wow ! No time to loose. 15mn later, everything was set up again and the first heat was launched at around 4pm. And that was extreme from the start with epic action, extreme and radical show as we like it on the “Reunion Wave Classic” events since its creation ! This time, the riders decided to add one jump to the judgements but still, with 2 best waves to surf to get points. Facing the raging elements in this 2nd round, these are again Sifferlen and Juban who provided a good show with a perfect wave choice and great moves pushed to the max. This time, local sailor Sylvain Bourlard got first in his heat against Steven Pichot who won this morning in Etang Salé. No chance this time for Pierre Godet and Julien Taboulet who both broke their mast from the start as they were again fighting in the same heat !

Ravine Blanche and its radical conditions ! ©Open Ocean Media


Afters these 2 rounds, it’s time to score the points that each riders brought to their respective teams and it’s actually Steven Pichot’s team that leads the team ranking. But it’s not over yet as we expect for tomorrow more extreme conditions around l’Etang Salé with bigger waves ! Stay tuned !

Do not forget you can still watch from now the first video teaser of the third edition in our "videos" section.

Find all the results, some news and photos of the day later on our Facebook page, and a few action shots in the "photos" section of our website.

Day 5_check @ l'Etang Salé...

We're about to leave St Pierre to move to l'Etang Salé. The infos we have from there are that it's windy and some waves are already breaking. We will be on the spot in about 1h or less.
Then check our facebook page to know what's going on and where we are during the day.

8/29/2011

Day 4_"Day off"...

As predicted by the forecast, the cloud cover was important today on the southern island of la Reunion. It even has rained on St Pierre this morning.

Around 10 am, the riders went to Etang Salé where, according to the 1st informations, there would be sun, some wind and some waves. Unfortunately, the clouds still extended up to this beautiful black sand beach where we also had some rainshowers. Not enough wind to "ride" the waves but enough waves to surf, simply. The riders will agree for a break after three days of intense sailing in the waves of Ravine Blanche.

Lunch was then taken on a beach located a little further in the south, previously unexplored in the previous editions of the “Reunion Wave Classic". The wind was skicking in, but the waves were too small. After a last hope by returning to the spot of Ravine Blanche, the riders finally went back to surf to Etang Salé, just to relax before going back on the water to face the waves and the wind announced tomorrow and especially on Wednesday.



Cool spot ! But too small waves... ©Open Ocean Media

1st video teaser !

Enjoy our first video teaser produced by Steph Fournet and Leena... We hope you enjoy the first production.

Day 4_Rainy day, but...

9.45: it's raining this morning in St Pierre ! Not really windy so far but it's sunny around l'Etang Salé. Come back later but this time on our Facebook page for updated news, around 11. ;-)
The 1st video trailer is on the way and will be put online today. Stay tuned!

8/28/2011

Friday Sept 2nd, Beach cleaning & Beach Party !

The association Reunion Windsurf organizes a beach cleaning in Ravine Blanche next friday September 2nd, from 4.30pm. Join the Facebook page of the event to confirm if you wanna join or not in order to know how many people will then take part to the planned BBQ and meal (10 €/pers).

Steven Pichot and his band will be there again to bring the beach on fire, playing live as they did on the past editions of the RWC !

The ocean does not belong to us, we belong to the ocean. We need to respect it. So we hope to see you numerous for help !


A first report on local TV...

That was broadcasted on Télé Kréol 2 days ago in the evening...

Another report in the local press...

Seen in today's local newspaper "Le Quotidien"...



Day 3_Another try in Ravine Blanche !

It started pretty good today in Ravine Blanche where the wind and waves were finally much more better than yesterday : perfect mast high glassy barrels with a moderate side shore wind ! So it did not took long to the riders to jump into the water to enjoy these top conditions for a short warm up before a first possible start planned at 1pm.



Unfortunately, the wind decided to play with the nerves of the sailors as it dropped down right after the 2nd call at around 2pm. Not enough to launch a first official round today, so the organization decided to send the boys on the water again in the afternoon for another free session, also because there was a massive crowd that gathered on the beach to watch the show on this sunday.

Some riders could take the best out of these tricky conditions as there were still some nice sets to score. A good timing was required not to break any gear and this is what Jules Denel (ripped sail and broken mast) and local rider Sylvain Bourlard (destroyed sail) has learned today ! Pierre Godet and Steven Pichot went out again at the end of the the afternoon to score some more sets despite a very light wind.



Well, that was not the best day since the start of the event so far, but the forecast is still looking really good from tuesday with big swell and strong wind. No need to stress about tomorrow so, as this monday should see another day without much wind.



Find some news and photos of the day on our Facebook page, and few action shots in the "photos" section of our website.

The local beach of Ravine today... ©rwc2011/Calvet

Sylvain Bourlard, before he destroyed his sail ! ©rwc2011/Calvet
 

Day 3_Looks like it's gonna be another day in Ravine Blanche...

9h51 : Briefing is on the way but it looks like the action happen in Ravine Blanche again today. Stay tuned via our facebook page from now on to know what's going on...