2008 World Championship Update

Mark Isabell - DN5014 Rumor has it:

From the DN Worlds Tread at: http://dnamerica.org/forum/index.php?topic=334.0

5 races were completed today, winds 12 –20. The Americans are doing well, Ron Sherry had 3 bullets, Matt Struble. has a string of 2nd and 3rd. John Dennis has been top 10 in every race. Aaron Stange and Jim Hadley are also running in the top 10’s most races. John Harper was on the receiving end of a downwind spinout collision, which removed his bow. He is OK but watching from the sidelines.

Additional info may be found at:
http://www.thinkice.de/discus/messages/7/7.html?1174229232

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Poland DN Site Tomasz Zakrzewski(P 55) reports (In 5th Place with time to write a Story, He's understandably not looking back, but for his fellow Polish Sailors! :) 4695): Jesteśmy po pierwszym dniu prawdziwych zmagań. Bojerowe mistrzostwa świata 2008 rozkręciły się na dobre. Dokończono wszystkie wyścigi kwalifikacyjne i rozegrano pięć finałowych dla grupy A. W silnowiatrowych warunkach (wiało w porywach do 10m/s), na twardym, zmrożonym lodzie, najrówniej żeglował obrońca tytułu amerykanin Matt Struble, który w wyniku pecha swojego rodaka Rona Sherry (kolizja i DNF) jest najbliżej zdobycia tytułu drugi raz z rzędu. Ron plasuje się na drugim miejscu, a tuż za nim Szwed Thomas Lindgren.

Medalowe szanse wciąż zachowuje dwóch naszych reprezentantów - młodszy z braci Zakrzewskich - Łukasz, plasuje się na 4. pozycji z jednym punktem straty do Lindgrena oraz Tomasz z czterema punktami straty.

Klasyfikacja po pięciu wyścigach:
1. Matt Struble 12 pkt.
2. Ron Sherry 14 pkt.
3. Thomas Lindgren 20 pkt.
4. Łukasz Zakrzewski 21 pkt.
5. Tomasz Zakrzewski 24 pkt.
....
11. Jarosław Radzki 47 pkt.
14. Paweł Burczyński 61 pkt.
15. Rychard Mrózek 61 pkt.
16. Adam Baranowski 61 pkt.
22. Michał Burczyński 77 pkt.
23. Jerzy Taber 79 pkt.
25. Dariusz Kardaś 90 pkt.

Na jutro przewidywany jest bardzo słaby wiatr spadający o 13:00 do 1 m/s i realnie można spodziewać się tylko jednego wyścigu dla grupy A. Ale jak zawsze z pogodą nigdy nic do końca powiedzieć nie można.

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What an adventure!

Loosely translated from the http://www.eissegeln.de/

17th February 2008 - First Day WM / EM in Lipno - Qualifying Rounds for D and C Fleets were started with only the run-D through. For weak, rotating winds led to Abruch (Abandoned?) run by C Fleet. It was sunny weather, the evening out with increasing cloudiness. The ice: rough, hard ice with old, hard snow, but they are easy to cross since only about 3 cm deep.

Niklas says there are 182 competitors, wow... stand them on end to end and it's almost a half a mile of DN's, 4 fleets, with a bunch of people we've never heard of, that are really good.

Forecast Breeze tomorrow on Lipno is in the 14-16 mph range, which with that rumbly ice, should be some great racing, and great pic's.

Language Opportunity? I'm sure it doesn't translate, but a scant five miles or so from the launch site is a village named Horní Planá, if I were there, I'd have to Czech it out... all those Bohemian Iceboat Groupies ... 1/4 way around the world, with a pocket full of Monopoly Money...that spends locally! It seems like a good Plan-ya'all. How could you not, seriously? Well some guys I know will be playing "Posum-avi" or something like that...

Sail Fast, Stay in touch, that is, hunt from behind, kill on the last downwind!

Carpe DN

4695

I just got a phone call from JD.

The team is having a great time. They are in the mountains at around 3000 ft elevation. It was too warm in Poland, so they delayed and moved to the mountains in Czech. The exchange rate is around 1400:100 so they have $1000 bills (the local iceboaters just saw Borad, and it's rumored that he lives just up the road). They are further south then poland, but the elevation makes it colder.

The ice is fast and clean, with some pepples, 3/4" light snow drifts. The new guys in the team are happy to report it's the same ice as over here.. so their runners are working good.

The've opened up a summer resort for the iceboaters and the Americans have one wing of the hotel. The resort is right on the lake and is a pretty nice regatta HQ. All the rooms have a kingsize bed with 2 mattresses (so they can pull the mattresses apart)... there's something wierd with the bathrooms too...

Today was practice day and there where 75 to 80 boats out at a time. 14 countries representing, and lots of strange sail no. (Lithuania is T)

Life without boost: Regatta life is a little tougher without boost. (JD usually drinks boost before/after racing, and in general for a meal replacement). Which brings up trying to get a meal, they're big on meat and cheese (two things that are hard to swallow, without saliva)... turns out its better to come late and point... otherwise you might have to deal with the clerk at the convience store looking strangly at your American Flag on the team jacket as you try to just get a hotdog..

Everybody is strong and ready to go.. I talked with Mike Rehe, too and they sound like they're having a great time and are excited to see how it goes... JD has a new blank, new mast, so has some tuning to do, (soften the rig a bit).. and hopefully all will go well. He was doing good today, so just some fine tunning.

I think that's it.

stay tuned for more..