Objective attained... pleasant re-union

The weekend earmarked for the staging of the 20th Year After special edition of the Pozzallo Windsurf Race presented a colourful blend of happenings which for the man in the street could be considered apathetic. Yet, any seasoned seaman would look upon this as part and parcel of 'life at sea'.

The whole organisation structure was in great shape - talented competitors, ample escort surveillance, appealing auxiliary activities, enthusiastic aides, highly-regarded sponsors... but undisclosed weather conditions.

The weather is a determining factor in this sport. While Saturday, September 18 was targeted for the start, organisers had also kept September 17 and 19 as alternative dates.

On late Thursday afternoon, when the next day's forecast was predicting a North-West force 4-5 in open sea, the decision was taken to go on Friday morning.

However, overnight the situation worsened and in the morning strong gusting North-West winds were reaching force 5-6 in open seas.

Such conditions could be regarded as ideal for high-speed windsurf racing but dangerous for the escort yachts. So, at the eleventh hour a postponement decision was reluctantly taken and the race scheduled for the next day with a 9 a.m. start.

The September 18 weather forecast read a North Westerly force 2-3 wind which, although not regarded as highly exciting, would still give way to some interesting racing. The 93km race set off at 9.40 a.m. from Tignè Point.

Yet, even on this second attempt the weather played havoc again. The predicted winds never materialised and the scene was characterised with a partially idle fleet of escort boats and sluggish moving sailboards.

The two lightweight competitors, Andrew Wilson and Paul Ellul, were managing to move, most slowly, but Peter Bonello and Gabor Vagi could hardly shift.

The race dragged on for four hours, the organisers hoping for a rapid change in conditions. At 2 p.m., the decision was finally taken to cancel the race. It was evident that even if there was a wind change it was not going to be possible for the windsurfers to complete the race before sunset.

At the time, the lead yachts were still 45 miles away from the finish line.

"The safety of the windsurfers and of the support fleet is the prime objective of our committee - the fun and success aspects come after", remarked Roland Darmanin Kissaun, the Support Fleet Co-ordinator.

After getting the positions of the sailors through radio communication, Jovin Rausi, Principal Race Officer, worked out and announced the result.

The position of each sailor was taken by GPS. Wilson, the foremost sailor and eventual winner was exactly 15 miles away from the start, followed by Ellul three miles behind him. Bonello was 7.5 miles behind Ellul and Vagi 3.5 miles further back.

Sailors were picked up and off went the fleet towards Pozzallo for the rest of the organised activities.

Two unusual happenings, never experienced before were the active presence of the Guardia di Finanza patrol boats on the race path and Vagi's unpleasant anxious moments.

Vagi lost at sea

When approaching Pozzallo, with no more than five miles to go, Vagi asked to sail the remaining distance in view of a pleasant breeze that had built up.

Unfortunately, after a while, in view of bad visibility due to a sudden storm, the escort boat temporary lost sight of the US surfer.

It was here that the skipper contacted the organisers who were already in Pozzallo. The Italian coastguard police were called to assist and Vagi was eventually traced, still windsurfing, some two hours later.

The eventful and strenuous day came to an end with a welcome reception hosted by the Comune di Pozzallo.

Following a welcome message by mayor Dr Roberto Ammatuna, main organiser of the '20 Years After', Wilfred Sultana, thanked all those who made such a happy event possible, particularly the skippers of the support fleet.

Bonello, who like Vagi, resides in California US, was pleased he could be present for such a particular re-union which after all was the prime objective of this '20 Years After' manifestation.

As part of the anniversary programme, an art exhibition by Maltese artist C.S. Lawrence, entitled "Faces of Africa", was held in Pozzallo during the week of the race.

The Malta-Sicily Windsurf Race - 20 Years After was sponsored by the BoV, Globalair, S&D Yachts, Casinò di Venezia and H2 Only. Other support came from the Grand Harbour Marina and Attrans Trailers Operators.

Meanwhile, the record time of the race that of 5:56.35, established in 1984 by Jean Paul Fleri Soler, still stands. Well, who's next for the challenge and when?