Arriving at the beach this morning for Day 3 of the 2010 RS:X Asian Windsurfing Championships, the wind was still pushing hard registering over 30 knots. The AP was put up with the hope of a reduction in wind speed with the dropping tide.
By 2pm the first race was underway in steady 25 - 30 knots. WIth the slightly flatter waters due to the low tide MOST sailors were able to maintain some degree of control. The results, however , were somewhat different from the first day of light wind sailing. In the mens fleet it was a battle between Hong Kong's Andy Leung , Ho Chi Ho [HKG] and Chinese Taipei's Chang Hao. It would have been a double bullet for Chang if it wasn't for a fall on two tacks in the first race . Ho Chi Ho remains in first with Andy Leung in Second with Chang only two points behind in third.
In the women's fleet , it was Vicky Chan [HKG] who took two bullets to bolster her 1 point lead over Jannicke Staalstroem [NOR] with Yuki Sunaga [JPN] in third.
The youth fleet saw more domination from Hong Kong with Dominiic Brettell taking two bullets in front of sibling Gabriel.
For most competitors this was the strongest and most consistent winds in which they had ever sailed. They are all looking forward to resume racing on Thursday following the compulsory lay day tomorrow - looks like another 30 knot day tomorrow with winds expected to lighten to ONLY 20 knots for Thursday.
The good news is everyone is in one piece - hats off to all competitors to complete two races these hard conditions.
2010 RS:X Asian Windsurfing Championships - Results after 7 Races
2010 Penghu RS:X Class Open Windsurfing Championships - Results after 7 Races