The 2015 Lord of the Wind Showdown on Baja officially got underway last night with a Tamale Cook-Off and rider registration that brought over 100 people to the event. Locals, visitors and competitors were treated to the best tamales that Los Barriles has to offer, as area schools and restaurants battled it out for the Tamale Title.
With a solid wind forecast of 12 to 17 knots for the entire event, Day 1 kicked off to an enthusiastic crowd on the beach as competitors started the day with Course Racing. Two-time defending champion Bryan Lake has returned to defend his overall title and showed no intention of relinquishing his crown to 2014 Kiteboard North American Kite Foil Champion Julien Kerneur, who flew in from France in hopes of dethroning Bryan and keeping his streak going.
Bryan Lake and Julien Kerneur battle it out for first on an upwind leg.
For 2015, LOTW brought on world-renowned race director Robbie Dean to manage the competitions. As the former Director of Racing for the St. Francis Yacht Club, Robbie is both a formidable competitor on the water as well as a seasoned event organizer. He is also as an active member on the Board of the AKA and IKA organizations.
This year’s event introduces a new format in which the overall champion will be based on cumulative scores from all competitive disciplines instead of just the top finisher in the final race. Divisions points will be earned from the following disciplines: Slalom, Open Kite Racing, Hydrofoil Kite Racing, Big Air and Freestyle.
Each first place men’s winner will earn $1000, women’s $250 and there is also prize money awarded for second and third places as well.
As of Day 1, Adam Withington is leading the pack in Course Racing, followed by Julien Kerneur, Bryan Lake and Chip Wasson for the Elite Class. Friday’s schedule will be devoted to Slalom Racing, with Course Racing Finals, Freestyle, Big Air and the SUP Race scheduled for the weekend.
Provisional results as of 17:49 on January 15, 2015:
Elite Fleet
| Rank | Bib | FirstName | LastName | Fleet | Nat | M/F | Sponsors | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | Nett |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 35 | Adam | Withington | Elite |  |
M | Aguera,Spotz | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| 2nd | 22 | Julien | Keurner | Elite |  |
M | Airush | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 9.0 DNF | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| 3rd | 45 | Bryan | Lake | Elite |  |
M | Tminus9 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| 4th | 15 | Chip | Wasson | Elite | %3 |