The Boracay RS:One World Windsurfing Championships kicked off this week on the beautiful Philippine island of Boracay. A strong fleet of competitors, including Olympic medalists Bryony Shaw and Marina Alabau and Techno European champion Adam Sosnowski, were greeted by plenty of sunshine and wind. Perfect conditions for this inaugural event.

Day One

Two races were completed on the opening day of racing at the 2012 Boracay RS:One World Windsurfing Championships.

In mixed and offshore conditions the Race Officer, Jerry Rollin, set a windward/leeward course – with the first two races scheduled to be run „back to back“.

The Men’s and Women’s divisions were dominated, respectively, by Geylord Coveta (Philippines) and Hei Man Chan (Hong Kong) with two „bullets“ (firsts) each.

Over in the Men’s Espoir (under 22 years of age) division neither of the two race winners are leading – that honour is with Chun Ting Lee (Hong Kong) who proved that consistency can win titles.

Day Two

Shorter races close to the shore, with the finish line just off the beach was the order of the day.

Three races were completed for all fleets, in winds occasionally gusting to 20 knots. A fast „reaching“ start was set by the race committee, which delighted both the competitors and the spectators.

It was a good day for Bryony Shaw, an Olympic bronze medalist from the UK, who won all her races today and moved to the top of the women’s ranking. Yesterday’s leader Hei Man Chan is just one point behind. These two are challenging Spain’s Marina Alabau, Olympic gold medalist London 2012, now 6 points adrift.

Two firsts and a second place keep Geylord Coveta from the Philippines in pole position on the mens overall ranking. He has a commanding lead over Chang Hao from Taiwan, winner of the last race of the day, who is seven points behind. Japan’s Kiichiro Hirata currently occupies the bronze position.

Over in the Espoir (under 22) division for men the racing is very close – with 3 different race winners. Philippino Harold Madrigal took the bullet in the first race of the day.

Chung Ting Lee from Hong Kong retains the overall lead, but only two points ahead of fellow countryman Lok Yiu To. Takahiro Komori from Japan holds onto his third place but now has a considerable gap to close.

Day Three

A strong offshore breeze greeted the race committee and competitors as they arrived at the beach front of Boracay Regency Resort & Spa this morning.

With strong winds forecast to last all day the decision was made to run slalom racing over a „figure of 8“ course set as close to the beach as possible.

The strong winds, gusting up to 33 knots, and never less than 19 knots, delivered exciting racing with some spectacular „wipe-outs“ thrown into the mix!

The format and conditions presented challenging conditions for the racers and great entertainment for the spectators.

Racer of the day was Chang Hao from Taipei, winning all three races in the men’s division, which moved him closer to the leader, Geylord Coveta from the Philippines, in the overall rankings.

In the women’s division it was 3 races, each with a different winner; but a consistent performance from Hei Man Chan from Hong Kong ensured she kept her lead over Bryony Shaw and Marina Alabau.

It was a similar situation in the Men’s Espoir (under 22) division- with three different race winners.

However, Chun Ting Lee from Hong Kong, was one of those winners and enabled him to maintain his overnight lead.

More updates from day four and the finals on Saturday to come.

More information on the RS:One.

Photos: Nenette Graf