West Aussies Take National Titles

The Kiteboarding Australia Formula Kite Nationals were held in Townsville over the weekend of October 27- 28, with a strong PKR presence sailing at the championship.

Phil Rowlands, Alty Frisby, Andrew Cooksey and Mani Bisschops represented WA well, taking out the Open, Youth and Masters title's between them. Local PKR rider and Fremantle Sailing Club Foil academy coach Ryan Palk supported the sailors over the event also, as part of the the Foil Academy coaching and development program at FSC.

Conditions were testing for all, with the tropical breezes effected by the large Magnetic Island to the East. As a foiling location, conditions are world class when it is on, but when the wind comes from the direction of the island, things get really funky, with some big swims for the fleet at times.

A good mix of conditions was seen throughout the event, with Mani Bisschops emerging as the one to beat, with great average speed, execution and some smart sailing, taking out the title and the HydroFoil Pro Tour final that was being run in parallel. 'Things worked out really well here, I just controlled what I could and it all played out my way' said Mani.

Alty and Cooksey had some big battles on the water with some extremely close racing. Phil Rowlands was at times the fastest on the course, with some untimely crashes costing him some positions, there was certainly no shortage of speed from the fastest Doctor in Perth.

Kiteboarding Australia are currently deciding where to put next year's nationals, fingers crossed it is back in Perth!

Overalls

1: Mani Bisschops

2. Scott Whitehead

3. Alty Frisby

Full results can be found here: https://www.regattatoolbox.com/results?eventID=Gpgk1DtN3i