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Bintan Island Accommodation, Bintan Island - Indonesia, Indonesia’s Bintan Island, Island in Indonesia, Island Of Indonesia, Hotels in Bintan Island, Bintan Island, Info. of Bintan Island
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Resorts Accommodation » Bintan Island, Indonesia
Bintan Island Accommodation
Boardsailing Competition
The wind kicked in and the swells pumped, proving Indonesia’s Bintan Island has got what it takes to become a top international boardsailing destination
Superb weather conditions, with wind speeds ranging from 15 to 25 knots, guaranteed the third Mana Mana-Amslam boardsailing competition was a blasting success.
This year’s event, held on Indonesia’s Bintan Island from January 8 to 12, attracted 30 competitors from eight countries. The competition was again supported by Neil Pryde, a leading manufacturer of windsurfing sails. The sailmaker arranged for professionals Phil McGain and Roberto Hofmann to attend and take part in an action-packed week featuring clinics, photo sessions and the Amslam races.
At Mana Mana, McGain and Hofmann were joined by Yuyi Wakimoto, his wife Nahoho, and Hiroshi Usami — all of them representatives of Windsurf Club, one of Japan’s largest boardsailing magazines.
For the first three days before the racing the professional sailors ran clinics. But in their spare time they joined up with am!zaporean sailors TC Chua, Sukhdev singh and Mana Mana’s Peter Ho, to explore some of Bintan’s unsailed areas. The visitors were all pleasantly surprised by the wide variety of sailing conditions this big, island has to offer. As Singh, a widely travelled sailor, commented: "There are eery few places where I can use my wave and slalom boards at the same location. I used my wave board on the incoming tide and the slalom on the outgoing."
McGain and Hofmann agreed the variety of conditions at Mana Mana was ideal for local short board and wave sailors seeking, to develop and refine their skills, but were surprised at the lack of Singaporeans taking advantage of the situation.
By Wednesday — arrival and registration day — McGain and Hofmann were already well acquainted with the wave and reef locations at Mana Mana, and were demonstrating forward and backward loopsand "table tops". The high-quality moves these two professionals. were pulling off had never been seen at Mana Mana —except perhaps on video in the bar.
After some warm-up sailing on registration day, the two Neil Pryde sailors conducted more rigging and tune up clinics for the 30 eager competitors. They advised them to check, adjust and readjust their equipment constantly until "it feels right and you feel in control." McGain and Hofmann also took note of feedback from contestants about rig performance, particularly the new 1997 Neil Pryde sails.
The first race day saw excellent weather and windspeeds of 15-25 knots. Race officer Ho Kah Soon set a downwind slalom course, with five gybe marks, that finished in front of the watersports centre at Maria Mana. The competitors had to enter two elimination rounds, each one contested by 8-12 sailors. The first four finishers moved into the final heat.
Predictably enough. McGain and Hofmann won their eliminations. follow ed bygood showings from Wakimoto and T C. The final eliminations were domii6ted by McGain, with Hofmann always hot on his heels, chased by TC or Wakimoro.
After two rounds of slalom. the competitors were well primed, so it was decided to run two speed dashes to close the days racing. Held in 20-knot winds and shoulder-high swells. the first speed run had the whole fleet’s adrenalin pumping. There were spectacular wipeouts.
Although McGain and Hofmann predictably came in first and second, Singh was the surprise number three, hanging on to a 6.8m sail to finish in blazing style. For the second and final speed run of the day, the gybe mark was moved a little day, the gybe mark was moved a little closer and higher. Once again the two Neil Pr-%-de sailors finished first and second, and Were followed by TC, Wakimoto, Singh and Vincent Lam.
The second day’s racing saw another two slalom eliminations, this time over a changed course which included one tack and two more speed dashes. Even though there was little change in the leading positions, starts improved noticeably, with the sailors in each heat nicely bunched and hitting the start line right on the sound of the marshall’s gun.
The speed dashes made an impressive sight for spectators crowded on the shore. As the fleet sped towards the start line, there was plenty of boisterous good humour and cheering. After the dashes, the shouting and good-natured cursing came from the competitors, as they arrived back on the beach.
At the end of the second day’s racing, the competitors were getting into their stride. Eager for more information from the "big guys" on how to improve their performances, they attended a clinic on the dining pavilion deck that lasted till after I I pm. After the professionals had each volunteered their tuning secrets —spiced with a lot of humour — McGain finished the session with a forward loop simulation, using a fully-rigged sail on the wooden deck.
On Saturday, the last day of racing, the wind dropped to its lowest for the week, but there was still enough to compete using larger sails. After the morning’s round of slalom heats it was decided with Singapore sailors Choo Aik-how and Lawrence Ng in second and third spot. Fourth and fifth places went to Lam and Singh, whose pre-race preparation at Mana Mana over the end-of-year holidays had obviously paid off. In fact, all the outstanding Singaporean sailors were those most familiar with Mana Mana’s conditions.
By the time the last race was completed, 23 heats had been run over three days, making it the most successful Amslam yet in terms of consistent racing conditions and participant enjoyment, and confirming it’s place on the regional boardsailing calendar.
Late on Saturday evening the closing dinner was followed by a prize-giving in which a selection of Neil Pryde equipment and accessories the winners and participants. Demonstrating their sportsmanship and dedication to boardsailing.
After a third successful competition and much positive feedback, the organizers of Amslam are set to promote next year’s event internationally and have also decided to offer prize money to help attract more top quality sailor.
The wind kicked in and the swells pumped, proving Indonesia’s Bintan Island has got what it takes to become a top international boardsailing destination
Superb weather conditions, with wind speeds ranging from 15 to 25 knots, guaranteed the third Mana Mana-Amslam boardsailing competition was a blasting success.
This year’s event, held on Indonesia’s Bintan Island from January 8 to 12, attracted 30 competitors from eight countries. The competition was again supported by Neil Pryde, a leading manufacturer of windsurfing sails. The sailmaker arranged for professionals Phil McGain and Roberto Hofmann to attend and take part in an action-packed week featuring clinics, photo sessions and the Amslam races.
At Mana Mana, McGain and Hofmann were joined by Yuyi Wakimoto, his wife Nahoho, and Hiroshi Usami — all of them representatives of Windsurf Club, one of Japan’s largest boardsailing magazines.
For the first three days before the racing the professional sailors ran clinics. But in their spare time they joined up with am!zaporean sailors TC Chua, Sukhdev singh and Mana Mana’s Peter Ho, to explore some of Bintan’s unsailed areas. The visitors were all pleasantly surprised by the wide variety of sailing conditions this big, island has to offer. As Singh, a widely travelled sailor, commented: "There are eery few places where I can use my wave and slalom boards at the same location. I used my wave board on the incoming tide and the slalom on the outgoing."
McGain and Hofmann agreed the variety of conditions at Mana Mana was ideal for local short board and wave sailors seeking, to develop and refine their skills, but were surprised at the lack of Singaporeans taking advantage of the situation.
By Wednesday — arrival and registration day — McGain and Hofmann were already well acquainted with the wave and reef locations at Mana Mana, and were demonstrating forward and backward loopsand "table tops". The high-quality moves these two professionals. were pulling off had never been seen at Mana Mana —except perhaps on video in the bar.
After some warm-up sailing on registration day, the two Neil Pryde sailors conducted more rigging and tune up clinics for the 30 eager competitors. They advised them to check, adjust and readjust their equipment constantly until "it feels right and you feel in control." McGain and Hofmann also took note of feedback from contestants about rig performance, particularly the new 1997 Neil Pryde sails.
The first race day saw excellent weather and windspeeds of 15-25 knots. Race officer Ho Kah Soon set a downwind slalom course, with five gybe marks, that finished in front of the watersports centre at Maria Mana. The competitors had to enter two elimination rounds, each one contested by 8-12 sailors. The first four finishers moved into the final heat.
Predictably enough. McGain and Hofmann won their eliminations. follow ed bygood showings from Wakimoto and T C. The final eliminations were domii6ted by McGain, with Hofmann always hot on his heels, chased by TC or Wakimoro.
After two rounds of slalom. the competitors were well primed, so it was decided to run two speed dashes to close the days racing. Held in 20-knot winds and shoulder-high swells. the first speed run had the whole fleet’s adrenalin pumping. There were spectacular wipeouts.
Although McGain and Hofmann predictably came in first and second, Singh was the surprise number three, hanging on to a 6.8m sail to finish in blazing style. For the second and final speed run of the day, the gybe mark was moved a little day, the gybe mark was moved a little closer and higher. Once again the two Neil Pr-%-de sailors finished first and second, and Were followed by TC, Wakimoto, Singh and Vincent Lam.
The second day’s racing saw another two slalom eliminations, this time over a changed course which included one tack and two more speed dashes. Even though there was little change in the leading positions, starts improved noticeably, with the sailors in each heat nicely bunched and hitting the start line right on the sound of the marshall’s gun.
The speed dashes made an impressive sight for spectators crowded on the shore. As the fleet sped towards the start line, there was plenty of boisterous good humour and cheering. After the dashes, the shouting and good-natured cursing came from the competitors, as they arrived back on the beach.
At the end of the second day’s racing, the competitors were getting into their stride. Eager for more information from the "big guys" on how to improve their performances, they attended a clinic on the dining pavilion deck that lasted till after I I pm. After the professionals had each volunteered their tuning secrets —spiced with a lot of humour — McGain finished the session with a forward loop simulation, using a fully-rigged sail on the wooden deck.
On Saturday, the last day of racing, the wind dropped to its lowest for the week, but there was still enough to compete using larger sails. After the morning’s round of slalom heats it was decided with Singapore sailors Choo Aik-how and Lawrence Ng in second and third spot. Fourth and fifth places went to Lam and Singh, whose pre-race preparation at Mana Mana over the end-of-year holidays had obviously paid off. In fact, all the outstanding Singaporean sailors were those most familiar with Mana Mana’s conditions.
By the time the last race was completed, 23 heats had been run over three days, making it the most successful Amslam yet in terms of consistent racing conditions and participant enjoyment, and confirming it’s place on the regional boardsailing calendar.
Late on Saturday evening the closing dinner was followed by a prize-giving in which a selection of Neil Pryde equipment and accessories the winners and participants. Demonstrating their sportsmanship and dedication to boardsailing.
After a third successful competition and much positive feedback, the organizers of Amslam are set to promote next year’s event internationally and have also decided to offer prize money to help attract more top quality sailor.