Saturday 1 March 2014

Red Bull Storm Chase - 2013/2014

Hey guys! Long time no see! After the last post of Rytis with adorable surfers it’s my time to shine! And this week I just can’t stop myself from not writing about the latest event in the Windsurfing world that blows me away every-single-time. The event is called – Red Bull Storm Chase.



Well, for those who hear about that for the first time, I must mention that the Red Bull Storm Chase has nothing to do with bulls chasing the storm or/and waves. It is basically an event held and sponsored by Red Bull where the main idea is to catch the storms of the year and compete not only against each other but also against the Mother Nature.
The only storms that counts and fits the criteria are the ones with the speed of wind of more than 100 km/h. If you have that – green flag goes up! Pretty amazing, huh? Having in mind that such a fierce wind usually causes massive waves to explode on your sail if some mistakes become involved. As a matter of fact the Red Bull Storm Chase is by far the most skill-testing event that Windsurfing world has ever seen and tasted.

Still, let’s get a little deeper in that!

So the event started with 10 pro sailors (picked up from 50 candidates). Among those were:

·         Victor Fernandez (ESP)                 (Fanatic/North Sails)
·         Thomas Traversa (FRA)                (Gaastra/Tabou boards)
·         Julien Taboulet (FRA)                    (Naish)
·         Robby Swift (GBR)                       (JP Australia/Neilpryde)
·         Marcillio Browne (BRA)                (Goya windsurfing)
·         Daniel Bruch (GER)                       (Starboard/Severne Sails)
·         Josh Angulo (US)                          (Gun Sails/Angulo)
·         Leon Jamaer (GER)                       (Hot Sails Maui/Fanatic)
·         Boujmaa Guilloul (MA)                  (Starboard/Severne)
·         Kenneth Danielsen (DK)                (F2/Simmer Style)


The event advances by the elimination method meaning that only 6 sailors advanced to the mission 2 and only the best 4 remain in the final - mission 3.

Mission 1

As I have mentioned before this Red Bull Storm Chase consisted of 3 missions in 3 diverse and outrageous locations. The first one was in Kerry, Ireland and took place from January 28 to 29, 2013. In this stage the wind was in its harshest form from all 3 stages reaching up to 74 miles/hour!


Massive wind, pouring rain, waves without any mercy. You think that was something? Well, that was only popcorns. The most challenging aspects was not only psychological factors that made you fear for the unknown but also the blend of conditions that were by all means – brutal.


There were everything – massive air jumps, fronts, doubles, stalled loops, back loops, push loops, etc. and incredibly fascinating wave riding. Sometimes it was fun too watch how the sailors managed to ride those 1,5 mast height waves and sometimes it hurt when you watched them being eaten by the same waves...



The 6 best sailors that showed spectacular stamina and skills in Ireland advanced to the mission 2. They were as follows:

·         Victor Fernandez (ESP)                 (Fanatic/North Sails)
·         Thomas Traversa (FRA)                (Gaastra/Tabou boards)
·         Julien Taboulet (FRA)                    (Naish)
·         Robby Swift (GBR)                       (JP Australia/Neilpryde)
·         Marcillio Browne (BRA)                (Goya windsurfing)
·         Daniel Bruch (GER)                       (Starboard/Severne Sails)

Video link of the MISSION 1 that you MUST SEE



Mission 2

The second mission was held on the edge of the planet - Island of Tasmania, 240 km southeast from Australia. And that is why I just looove Red Bull Storm Chase! No borders, no constraints, nothing - just pure nature, harsh conditions and windsurfing in its most epic form. Spectacular!

So, as I have mentioned before, 6 sailors advanced to the Mission 2 and flew to Tasmania to test their abilities in the kind of different sailing-overpowered conditions in August 18-19, 2013. 



In Tasmania sailors faced the HUGE wave walls of up to 8 meters high that let pro sailors do the job on down-the-line wave riding and a wind of 50-70 knots. How does that sound for you, huh?


In Tasmania it-was-big. Again, sailors competed with each other for the Red Bull Storm Chase title and tried to prove who is the one worth to be crowned. Amazing as this whole event sounds, Tasmania was wonderful! Sky high jumps plus mind blowing aerials of the lip and adding some sugar loops - that what's made Tasmania an amazing place to compete for the crown of Red Bull Storm Chase!!!

Check it out yourself to get the general feeling of how everything went in MISSION 2!:


As the Mission 2 ended, only 4 strongest storm sailors left:

·         Thomas Traversa (FRA)                (Gaastra/Tabou boards)
·         Julien Taboulet (FRA)                    (Naish)
·         Marcillio Browne (BRA)                (Goya windsurfing)
·         Daniel Bruch (GER)                       (Starboard/Severne Sails)



Mission 3

Final ROUND! Mission 3 meant go hard or go home! 4 top Red Bull Storm Chase sailors were brought to Cornwall, England to check what they have left in them and what they can still show to impress the jury and the audience in the February 08- 09, 2014. 




The last stage of this event was much much more than a usual windsurfer might expect...
It was wild, it was immense, it was totally OFF-LIMITS. End of discussion! 

As the sailors were getting ready to show some magic tricks, the roaring and firing Celtic Sea also kept something for them! As the Head Judge Duncan Coombs said: "Its like a hundred years storm". So you can only imagine what kind of conditions the sailors had to face!



The whole action and jumps, and smashes and wave riding will be covered in the video clip below so in the end I would love to congratulate Thomas Traversa for a spectacular show he gave to us and for the first place in the Red Bull Storm Chase! He, with no doubts and question, proved to be the most ultimate storm sailors up to date!


Places:
  1. Thomas Traversa
  2. Marcilio "Brawzinho" Browne
  3. Danny Bruch


Take your time, roll back and enjoy the final stage of the Red Bull Storm Chase - the most exciting, thrilling and overpowered Windsurfing event ever made!



Hope you enjoyed it! See you soon!
Photos taken from: redbullcontentpool

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