PWA Cold Hawaii 2014 – Dag 4-5

The fourth day of the KIA Cold Hawaii PWA World Cup saw the lightest winds of the week, but it was still another beautiful day in Klitmoeller as the sun burnt through the morning cloud. With no chance of official competition taking place 18 sailors participated in teams of two in the WindSup Relay Race, with the winners taking home a GoPro each.

It’s a dog’s life

After the semifinals it was Ricardo Campello (Patrik / Point-7 / MFC) and teammate Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins / SWOX), who were able to claim the victory after leading from start to finish in the final.

The remainder of the day proved to be a relaxed affair with most people basking in the sun or simply chilling out in the beautiful Cold Hawaii sunshine. During the afternoon we caught up with reigning PWA Wave World Champion – Marcilio ‘Brawzinho’ Browne (Goya Windsurfing / MFC):

PWA: You won the event here last year, which really kick started your title charge, how does it feel to be back in Cold Hawaii?

MB: “It’s good to be back. I like it here a lot. Cold Hawaii has a really mellow vibe, it’s really easy to relax here and you can take your time to do things slowly, which is what I like. I’m just a little concerned about the conditions because the forecast isn’t looking good, but it can always change.”

PWA: Starboard or Port tack?

MB: “I don’t mind, I just hope we get to compete at some stage, but I definitely had fun sailing starboard tack yesterday. It was the first time I’ve sailed starboard tack in Denmark.”

PWA: What have you been up to between here and Tenerife?

MB: “After Tenerife I went to Brazil for a couple of weeks and got to sail there a lot because we got lucky with wind almost everyday. Then I went back to Maui to pick up some boards and also scored a few good days there.”

PWA: Which boards did you bring with you?

MB: “I have the production boards in 104l, 94l, 84l and a 78l. I also have a couple of my Ho’okipa boards with me which are 82l, 88l and a 93l. I’m probably not going to be sailing my Ho’okipa boards here, they are more for La Torche, France, in case we get down-the-line.”

PWA: Which fin setup do you use and why?

MB: “My boards are all quads, I just prefer the feeling of quads and they are what I feel comfortable on, but here I may use my bigger boards as twin fins, just filling in the fin boxes.”

PWA: Thanks, Brawzhi.

With lighter east, northeast winds and smaller waves predicted for tomorrow the skippers’ meeting has been called for 10am with the first possible start at 10:30am. Although competition looks unlikely you never know, but if that proves to be the case we’ll still have exclusive interviews for you to view throughout the day.

Cold Hawaii – Day 5

Day five of the KIA Cold Hawaii World Cup saw the stunning weather continue as the mercury continued to rise, but there was still no sign of the wind or waves. However, that didn’t stop a few of the sailors from venturing out onto the water as Antoine Martin (JP / NeilPryde), Jules Denel (JP / NeilPryde), Albert Pijoan (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) and Fabian Weber (Fanatic / North / Maui Ultra Fins) participated in a tow-in display, which was won by Martin, in front of a packed out beach as the crowds began to roll into Cold Hawaii for the weekend.

The Cold Hawaii event site

With plenty of downtime today we caught up with Jaeger Stone (SSD / Severne) and Marcilio ‘Brawzinho’ Browne (Goya Windsurfing / MFC) to talk boards.

Jaeger Stone: “My favourite light wind board is my 80l quad designed by my dad. I really enjoy sailing it in light winds. Basically I feel like the quad gives me a bit more drive and speed on the wave. It has a slightly straighter outline than my thrusters, which I feel gives me an advantage in the lighter winds.”

PWA: When do you switch over to your thruster(s)?

JS: “Whenever I’m powered up on 4.8m or below, then I jump on either my 70l or 65l for moderate to high winds. I just think they give me a bit more control through my turns, as I can keep it on the rail for a longer.”

PWA: How about fins?

JS: “My dad makes most of my fins and we don’t really change them much, but we experiment with different positions quite a bit. Sometimes it’s as little a millimetre back or forward and if we still can’t make the board feel how we want it too then the fins might have to be adapted a bit.”

Jaeger Stone with his board

Next up Marcilio ‘Brawzinho’ Browne: “My favourite board right now is the production 84 litre. I had a lot of customs over the past few years and I still use something slightly different for Ho’okipa, but they have the same outline and are the same length, the only difference is that they have less edge on the rails. The 84l is just a board I like to jump on anyway, even when it’s side shore on a slow wave. That only changes when you get a bigger and faster wave then I need something a little more forgiving.”

PWA: Do you play around with fins much?

MB: “Not so much, I tend to test more boards than I do fins. I like to stick to the same fins once I know what I like. On my bigger boards I’m using them as twins and on the smaller sizes I use the same type of fins, but I put some really small quad fins at the front. When I’m sailing Ho’okipa I sail with fins that have a lot more curve and a thicker foil. I think they turn a lot better and hold a lot more.”

Marcilio Browne and his weapon of choice

Tomorrow looks like another lay day for the sailors with almost no wind predicted for tomorrow. However, we’ll have interviews lined up for you throughout the day. Don’t miss any of it by tuning into www.pwaworldtour.com where you’ll be able to view the PWA live stream and live ticker.