Si è svolta lo scorso week-end nella lontana Australia, la venticinquesima edizione della Lancelin Ocean Classic. In pratica ancora più di una gara, un vero e proprio happening: si tratta infatti del più grande evento di windsurf che si svolge nella acque australiane (con un montepremi di ben venticinquemila dollari australiani) che ogni anno richiama tantissimi appassionati. Alla gara che prevede un wave event ed una long distance, la Lancelin Marathon, quest’anno hanno preso parte 207 concorrenti, di cui 197 uomini e 10 donne. Tra i concorrenti, visto anche il succoso montepremi, nomi famosi come Bjorn Dunkerbeck, Steve Allen, Robbie Swift, Peter Volwater, Karin Jaggi, Laure Treboux, Patrik Diethelm, Scott McKercher, Jesper Orth…
La gara è stata baciata da… Nettuno. Onde spesse anche con se con poco vento nella giornata inaugurale di venerdì, hanno permesso ai wavers di sfidarsi in surfate da brivido con la vittoria finale del buon Ben Severne. Ma anche il vento, tra i 20 e 25 nodi, ha dato una grossa mano nel prosieguo dell’evento, permettendo lo svolgimento della Marathon, dove il più veloce, Peter Volwater, ha concluso in 27 minuti il percorso di una gara veramente aperta a tutti, se pensate che l’ultimo concorrente, felice come se avesse vinto, è arrivato dopo circa 1 ora e 52 minuti.
Photo © John Carter. Altre informazioni dettagliate su:
http://www.lancelinoceanclassic.com.au

With film crew, cameras and helicopters everywhere you would be forgiven if you thought you were on a movie set. This was going to be the biggest Lancelin Ocean Classic in the events 25 year history.  All the big names had confirmed Bjorn Dunkerbeck, Steve Allen, Robbie Swift, Peter Volwater, Karin Jaggi and many more. Then of course you had all the local Australian hot shots in the small fishing town of Lancelin.
With Lancelins population of 800 people swelling to 5000 over the 4 days of the event the excitement and atmosphere was awesome.
With small swell on Thursday the head Judge decided to delay the wave sailing until the next day as the forecast was for a big swell and stronger winds on Friday.
The wave event started on Friday with a solid swell and light winds. Due to these conditions the head judge decided to count 3 wave rides with 15 minute heats. This was surely going to give the guys with local knowledge a chance to win this event as some of them are awesome wave riders and know this break really well. The semi finals bought the cream to the top with Local boy Ben Severne against previous winner Glenn Alexander and 2 of the big internationals against each other on the other side of the draw, Peter Volwater against Robbie Swift. With the wind building the stage was set for an amazing final which would feature the two winners from the semis Ben Severne and Peter Volwater. Ben Severne managed to pull off the perfect wave in the final with a clean wave 360 straight into an aerial helping him clinch the victory in a very close final.
Results:
1.Ben Severne
2.Peter Volwater
3.Glenn Alexander
4.Robby Swift
1st Ladies Laure Treboux

The iconic Ledge to Lancelin Marathon attracted over 200 competitors a great increase from the previous year. The forecast was for 18 – 23 knots which would be perfect for the legendary event that would take the competitors on a 26.25km race up the Western Australian coast. With an hour to go before the event the winds were still light and many rigged bid sails including Bjorn Dunkerbeck who rigged a 9.6m. The forecast was still for 18 – 23 knots however many thought that the wind would not arrive before the scheduled start of 1400h. 30 minutes before the scheduled start the race director decided to move the 1st mark to allow all competitors to make it on a reach this would mean a 15 minute delay for the start. This was a major twist in the 25th running of the Marathon as in these 15 minutes the wind picked up to 25 knots and with the experience of winning the previous 2 years, Peter Volwater quickly grabbed a 7.0m.
This would be the decision that would win him the race.
As the race started the wind kept picking up and the guys that gambled on the smaller gear were laughing. Bjorn struggled to hold down a 9.6 and a 131 board in the testing conditions, despite this he managed to post an impressive 5th place.  Steve Allen had a better race as he was on the smaller board and finished in 3rd behind Patrik Diethelm and Peter Volwater. This was Peters 3rd win in a row and showed that knowing the conditions and area really helps. He walked away with a cash prize of $6000 AUD not bad for a days work.
Local hot shot and previous winner Dan Engdahl came 4th which is a great result against these full time athletes.
Karin Jaggi had a great race winning the ladies division by a good margin in the testing conditions.

Results:
1.Peter Volwater
2.Patrik Diethelm
3.Steve Allen
4.Dan Engdahl
5.Bjoern Dunkerbeck

The after party was off the hook as usual with many people partying into the day light and beyond. The 2010 Lancelin Ocean Classic was everything you would expect from a world class event in Western Australia, Great Waves, Great Wind, Relaxed Atmosphere and plenty of fun. A huge thanks to all the volunteers and sponsors as without them we would not be able to run such a world class event.