Pro Tour

Hydrofoil Pro Tour

Race Report - HydroFoilProTour

Day 1


St. Francis and Crissy Field are hosts to the 2016 Hydrofoil Pro Tour starting today, Thursday, August 4th. This is the second stop of four international races in the Hydrofoil Pro Tour which brings together a fleet of 45 racers. These are the fastest water based, wind powered racers on the planet. Colorful kites, fast sailing action, and one of the most iconic locations to sail, San Francisco, makes for an amazing venue for incredible athletes. Come on down to Crissy Field between 1pm and 5pm through Sunday to watch some of the best, fastest sailors in the world.

Rio? Olympics? This is faster. With bids into the Olympics for future games, hydrofoil kite racing continues to make headlines in the sailing community. These racers ride carbon fiber hydrofoils that look like samurai swords. They float above the water on the latest composite technologies used in board design. Power comes from colorful kites that look like paragliding kites harnessing the wind. The kites are tuned for speed. Insane speed. In 10mph winds the racers are achieving 30-40 mph speeds on cutting edge technology.

The sailing started hot today with lead changes left and right. Wind lines, pressure zones, nerves, gear failures, all play a part. One mistake can cost several places at a minimum. It is truly amazing watching first hand the skill, speed, technology, and tight competitive racing happening on the water. There are five races per day starting at 1pm that span the bay from the Golden Gate Bridge downwind to Fort Mason.

Day 2
Mother nature setup an epic race venue today, the second day of racing for the San Francisco stop on the Hydrofoil Pro Tour. The clouds backed out past the Golden Gate Bridge. The wind has been solid all day. Classic Crissy Field conditions have laid the groundwork for amazing racing throughout the fleet. The racing today has been epic.

Much of the day has seen 2x world champion Johnny Heineken and 2x French Foil Champion Nico Parlier battling head to head on the water. One jibe, Johnny is ahead. Another tack, Nico gains the lead. Kiting at 35 plus mph within 30 feet of each other is incredible to watch. Then there is keeping their kites clear of each other and not making a mistake. One mistake, bammm! Hitting the water can easily cost a hundred feet minimum at these speeds. All of this happens out in the public water ways of the San Francisco bay. Boat traffic, tankers, wakes, wind lines, tides, they all play a role in trying to disrupt nerves and skill.

Racers from around the world have come together to race head to head at speeds faster than anything else on the water. The fleet has racers representing the USA, France, Uraguay, Mexico, Slovakia, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Canada, South Africa, Slovenia and Venezuela. Kite racing, having started here in San Francisco with the St. Francis Yacht Club, has grown into an incredible global passion that comes together at world class events like the Hydrofoil Pro Tour. By the end of day 2, the top five racers are currently Nico Parlier, Johnny Heineken, Joey Pasquali, Nico Landauer, and Stefaans Viljoens.

Incredible organization and support on the water is provided by the St. Francis yacht club with support boats, buoys, start boats, safety boats, timing, and score keeping. A huge thanks to all the volunteers helping make this such a smooth and amazing event. Tourists and locals alike pass by and ask about the races. It is truly captivating watching these athletes competing on the water. Come on down and check it out! 1pm to 5pm at Crissy Field, through Sunday. Tomorrow sees a distance leg from the Golden Gate Bridge to Berkeley and back!

Day 3
In the first day of racing we have Nico Parlier from France leading the standings. Two time world champion Johnny Heineken from San Francisco, USA, currently holds second two points back. Joey Pasquali from Sausalito, USA, grabs third overall just 5 points back on the first day. The next three days will see some incredible racing among all fourty five racers battling for top honors.

The Hydrofoil Pro Tour combines with the San Francisco Bay Challenge today. The racing starts in front of Crissy Field, rounds a weather mark near the Golden Gate Bridge and then becomes an open course downwind to Berkeley Marina and back. The SF Bay Challenge has been one of the longest running races in the bay. Tactics become critical based on navigation, obstructions, boat traffic, and pressure zones. Planning properly for wind conditions throughout the entire bay is always a mild guessing game. Looking for the leeward buoy and the Berkeley pier becomes a landmark guessing game for the racers, especially the first timers.

Today also provided some entertainment with the local outrigger paddle boats racing along the shoreline of Crissy Field and sharing the National Park with other watermen. Both kiters and windsurfers raced the course with Johnny Heineken finishing in just over 45 minutes and Nico Parlier a mere 19 seconds behind. You can not drive to Berkeley and back in that time! The bullet finisher for the windsurfers finished in just over 88 minutes. That is on a formula board meant for speed. The hydrofoil kite racing is truly amazing in terms of speed.

The majority of kite racers stayed pretty tight, within 15 minutes at the finish. The windsurfers hotly contested their category staying close throughout, within about five minutes overall This is a great race as well as a bay tour. Starting in the cloudy, windy skies at Crissy, heading down to the sunny skies and lighter winds of the east bay, and then powering back to Crissy Field gives a great tour in a fabulous backdrop of the entire width of the San Francisco Bay. The race today counts as a standalone score as well as one race for the Hydrofoil Pro Tour.

With one more day left in the tour, the standings are still up for grabs for many of the riders. Johnny gained a point on Nico today making tomorrow critical and up for grabs. Third is pretty locked up by Joey Pasquali. Fourth and Fifth will be a hot battle between Nico Landauer and Stefaans Viljoen.