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wMonday, January 29, 2007 | |
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 TEAMwaterworld GIRLcampsmarch 2007: Hurghada, Egypt june 2007: Naxos, Greece november 2007: Club Robinson in Soma Bay, Egypt More info here! posted by editors at 1/29/2007 03:20:00 PM | (0) comments |
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wThursday, January 25, 2007 | |
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Miami Olympic Classes Regatta Final Day: Well... it was another day of ups and downs. I finished 17th overall which was not the result I was aiming for, but came away with plenty of positives from the regatta. We had a total of 10 races, and in 7 of those races I rounded the top mark in the top 5. For the first time in my olympic windsurfing career I was really mixing it up with the best girls. I lost places due to still being relatively new to this style of racing, but I feel like I've now got to the point now where I can sail the board well in most conditions, although I do have a weakness in marginal planing downwinds and I need to refine my racing and my board specific tactics. With great coaching and support from Kevin Black, the BC Sailing Coach I was able to work on my starts, which was the main focus for me at this event, but also to identify some of my weaknesses and make an improvement plan from them. My next regatta will be Sail Auckland in New Zealand from February 8-12th. I'll be home on the 29th for a few days... and thank you to all who sent me supportive emails! Till soon, Nikola Girke www.nikolagirke.com Day4: Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good... and today was one of those days... for me anyway. Today the weather changed, a cold front with rain and wind had us sailing in some pretty nasty conditions. The wind was offshore, shifty, extremely fluky and ranging from10-25 knots. I managed to be in about 5th or 6th in each race around the first lap, and on the second lap I got absolutely smoked. It was one of those days where the winner could lose everything and someone really deep could come out a star... Needless to say, I wasn't the star and got an 11th and 15th. Tomorrow's forecast looks to be similar... So pray that I'm lucky! Day 3: Today we had two more races. The wind was looking quite bleak again in the morning. We were postponed onshore for 2 hours before they sent us out. My main focus of the day was getting a decent start. The wind inthe first race was about 6 to 8 knots, my plan was just to get a clear lane and pump really hard . I got off the line and was fully in the game the whole race. Unfortunately I lost a couple boards on a shiftup the last beat but I finished the race in 13th, my best light air race to date. The wind picked up a bit for our next race. I got agreat start, did a couple things right on the first upwind and led around the windward mark. I held my lead around the leeward gate, I went right while those behind me went left. I tried to cover but with marginal planing conditions and tricky shifts I ended up losing abunch of boards to finish 8th. All in all, it was a great day for me... I learned lots, got off the starting line and for the first time in my "olympic windsurfing" I was leading for 2 legs of a race! Tomorrow forecasts for some more wind and 3 more races! Wish me luck! Day1,2: We just finished the second day of the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta. We had 2 races yesterday in 13-14 knots which was enough to get us planing around the course and after a long wait onshore today for the wind to fill in, we eventually got one race off in about 5 knots. I started the regatta off well with an 8th place finish in the first race. I had a plan for the 2nd race, knew where I wanted to go, but I didn't execute my plan as intended. I ended up getting my fin caught on the committee boat anchor chain and got catapulted. I got back into the game quickly to round the windward mark in 4th. Unfortunately, too tight of a rounding... and once again my fin caught the anchor chain. Twice in one race!!! Won't be making that mistake again. RRR... Anyhow, I ended up 16th in that race which was a bit disappointing. In the only race we had today, I had a bad start which never got me into the race. With 8 more races to go over the next few days there are plenty of gains to be made for me to move up the scoreboard. posted by editors at 1/25/2007 02:17:00 PM | (0) comments |
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wWednesday, January 24, 2007 | |
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 Dee Caffari!Record-breaking yachtswoman Dee Caffari offers the chance to name her new book and have lunch with her: Find an interesting article about this brave sailor at here: "If, as what we've seen happen with the Mount Everest ascents, more amateurs and romanticists start thinking about sailing around the world after watching the accomplishments of Dee Caffari, they may want to read her diary first." ... photo: onEdition for sail-world.com posted by editors at 1/24/2007 08:26:00 PM | (0) comments |
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wTuesday, January 23, 2007 | |
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 Roxy WOMENS SURF FESTIVALPhillip Island Victoria, January 22 - 28 2007 Videos, photos, daily news at http://surf.roxy.com/2007/roxypro/ ! Life scores and coverage... Currently 3ft surf, outlook: improving! posted by editors at 1/23/2007 01:58:00 PM | (0) comments |
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wSunday, January 21, 2007 | |
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 New YouTube Findings!Found 2 new YouTube vids that you might like: . 1. F2 teamrider Nina Edlund Tjernberg in style! . 2. an older "The Girls of Windsurfing" video from France, including some topless sailing... Little bit weird but still kind of "windgirls" history... At least something for the guys... posted by editors at 1/21/2007 11:26:00 AM | (0) comments |
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wFriday, January 19, 2007 | |
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 RSX North American ChampionshipsHappy New Year! This year's season started with the RSX North American Championships in Miami. We had a total of 9 races, 3 races a day for 3 days. It was my first time on the board after the holidays and it was great to be back on the water again. We had great conditions for all days ranging from 13-17 knots, a relatively windy regatta for Miami. We had a great turnout for the girls fleet with 24 boards, including many top European girls. I was using this regatta as a warm-up to next week's Miami Olympic Classes Regattta, trying to work on my starting techniques with BC Sailing coach Kevin Black. Although I couldn't callall my starts stellar, I did get off the line and had some very solid finishes. I finished 9th overall and was the first North American woman! Monday starts the Miami OCR, a Grade 1 regatta that many more Europeans will attend! Till then, Nikola (www.nikolagirke.com) posted by editors at 1/19/2007 10:26:00 AM | (0) comments |
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wWednesday, January 03, 2007 | |
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Bossa Nova: 5 Girls in Brasil
Tony, Flavia, Nikola, Marina, Romy: On one of our days off we hiked up a mountain to an old lighthouse to get a stunning view. Pictures of the girls and finally from my last day, a quick tour around Rio on the way to the airport. These pictures were taken from the top of the Sugar Loaf... what an unbelievably beautiful city. Hello and Happy Holidays I just returned from my training trip which was in Buzios, Brazil, about a two hour drive northeast from Rio, a beautiful peninsula which is one of the most sought after spots in Brazil, boasting 23 beaches. We sailed from BimbaWind Club on the protected waters side, yet just a 15 minute walk would have us on the other side of the peninsula on the beach with open ocean (cold water) and great waves for surfing. We were 5 girls in total, from across the globe (Italy, Spain, Greece, Germany and Canada), meeting here for training. There were also several guys training here as well as the Brazilians and several youth kids, which made for a great turnout on the water. We trained diligently both on and off the water, it was a fantastic environment to be in! I thought I was in windsurfing heaven. The first few days of our staywe sailed in sunny 20 knots with rolling swell in really warm water. They said that it is typical wind and weather and that this could last for 20 days. Wow... Then the weather changed; a "cold front" came which brought high humidity, no wind and temperatures still in the 30's. We had several days of "no-wind" training in anywhere from 2-5 knots and over the course of the next 10 days we saw all conditions but strong wind. Although it rained and was cloudy, I couldn't have asked for better training conditions: offshore, shifty, gusty windsranging from 7-14 knots. I was able to work on my board handling, pumping and my racing skills. A few days before I flew back home the wind picked up again, but this time to 25-30 knots. There was a weekend regatta in these extreme windy conditions, with 5 races total. Having not sailed in these conditions recently and not often, I was fighting my rig and board. I had great speed and the guts to go fast... but then I'd loose control as the wind would get underneath my board and I would blowup. Pretty scary when this happens. I finished 4th in this regatta. I had one day left to train before I flew home... and I really wanted to sail, to figure out how to stay in control in this crazy wind. I changed a few things with the tuning of my sail, and I picked up some pointers from the other girls on how to sail the seconditions. We did a 45 minute upwind to an island and then back downwind. It just got windier and windier, peaking around 35 knots on the downwind as we got closer to shore. I have never sailed in this much wind before on the RSX. I was so happy with my sailing that day, I was in control both upwind and downwind the whole session and nevergot "chucked". It was the perfect end to my three week training camp in Brazil. And now home for Christmas! In January I will be off to Miami for both the RSX North American Championships and the Rolex Miami Olympic Classes regatta. I wish you a Merry Christmas and all the best for the Holiday Season. Best Wishes, Nikola posted by editors at 1/03/2007 12:46:00 AM | (0) comments |
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