Kite Foiling takes over Townsville

In gusty winds and choppy seas, the worlds best hydrofoilers gave the thumbs up and launched into the 2015 Kite Foil Gold Cup in Townsville last weekend. "It was super tough battling the strong breeze 20 to over 30knots." Said Australia's new national champion, Marvin Baumeister. "We got blown off a few times and lots of big crashes, but I had good angles and speed both up, and downwind." Riding 9m foil kites, the racers biggest battle was surviving the 2-3m swell. With foil masts only a meter high, racers had to fly in tune with the swell to avoid breaking through the back of waves. This added another element to what was already fierce competition between the leading pack. Some tight battles were seen between Marvin, Jalen Andreatta and Matt Taggart from Ozone, who were nipping at the heels of Maxime Norcher, Johnny Heineken and Axel Mazalla. The latter three ended up taking the event podium places by the time the wind eased on Sunday, with the Australian champion being Marvin in 12th place overall. Also standing out from the crowd was the english rider Olly Bridge, here for a little training before the Red Bull Lighthouse to Leighton in WA. The 2015 event has just opened for registration, and Olly is hoping to defend his title, and race record again this year against Australia's fastest racers. On the beach, the public loved the action on the water. The Townsville Strand Esplanade was lined with spectators watching the races despite the strong winds, and of course were stoked that a local (Marvin) walked away with the Australian title. Geographically, Townsville is perfect for foiling with a steep enough gradient to get the foils going close to the beach and in full view of spectators. The reliable trade winds from the SE are always suitable for racing (if anything, sometimes a little too windy!) and with such a strong group of foilers there, events are always well run. Next up for racers in Australia is the Lighthouse to Leighton in WA, that's being held on the 5th of December. Registration is now open, so get your name in the hat to compete!