Congratulations to both James Briggs GBR848 and Chris Bond GBR697 for winning their respective classes of the British Open Championship and the National 11m Class. We know you’ve both worked hard this season and hope you take the time to savour and enjoy your victories.

“Just wanted to let you know that VMG Blades are the fastest fins in Great Britain… I found that I had height, depth and speed on everyone. Not a bad combo…”

“I feel very happy with the performance on the water of my kit … making this a superb way for me to end my 2009 season.”

James Briggs, GBR848, British Open Champion 2009

Well Done James & Chris! We hope you continue to win many more races with VMG Blades.

British Open Championship Report from James Briggs

The first day initially saw all racers afloat as the promising breeze dropped to 6 – 9 knots and the AP was flown. The breeze shortly returned and the start sequence was underway. The course being two laps of a box in 9 – 11 knots of breeze.

The first start was away clear with Keith Atkinson (GBR56) reaching the windward mark a boat length ahead of James Briggs (GBR848). Across the starboard reach, Keith and I were matched for pace. Keith was using the Neil Pryde RS Racing Evo2 10.7 on the SB160 with a Virus fin. I was using VMG Blades K70 with Evo2 12m and Starboard 162.

Unfortunately I had a small incident on the slipway the previous day. I slipped whilst in the water, kicked out to regain balance and slashed the base of my left foot on the fin. This lost me a little power on starboard as I was not able to fully pressure the fin owing to a dodgy taped up foot!

Completing the downwind section, I took the lead from Keith. Keith gybed early on the downwind leg and came off the plane whilst I came in wide with speed and power. Then followed a further solid lap of the course, hunting for clear air and gusts, to pull out a convincing 2 minute lead over Keith.

The second race had one attempted start which saw the wind drop and swing by 20 degrees making the the pin end of the line very favoured. After a short wait on the water, the race was then successfully away with most of the fleet starting on port. The course was an alternate course of windward, leeward followed by a box then an upwind finish. Those closer to the pin sailed to the middle of the course area gaining against those on the right side of the course. Keith led most of the fleet pushing an early start to the committee boat end. I held back from the pack to start closer to the pin.

Tim Gibson (GBR40) was first to the windward mark. I followed closely behind, a powerful downwind leg saw me gain 500m sailing deeper at the same pace compared to Tim, taking the lead by the leeward mark which I then extended until the finish.

The second day of racing presented very contrasting conditions with gusts of up to 50 knots through most of the day. There was a slight lull in the middle of the day to an average of 25 knots which unfortunately only allowed time for kit to be rigged and the course laid prior to the wind returning to full power again.

More information can be found on this from the UKWA website at http://www.ukwindsurfing.org.
Visit http://ukwindsurfing.com/results/2009/cup5_weymouth for the full breakdown of the British Open Championship results.

The new Starboard HWR board has significant changes compared to its predecessor the Starboard 162. VMG Blades recently completed tests of our fin range with the HWR in a variety of conditions. The HWR has proven to work well with all VMG fins. It is a freer board, easier to ride downwind and has a wider groove overall.

Due to Starboard’s design changes, VMG Blades are creating the ultimate fin to compliment the new boards.

 “The Starboard HWR has proven to work well with all VMG Blades fins.

… A Big Thanks to Starboard. Having the new HWR early has allowed us to start the development process for the optimum fin.”

Chris Ting, VMG Blades

 The Australian Formula racing season officially started two weeks ago and the conditions have been kicking in already. With many international and local riders testing during the ‘downunder’ season, VMG Blades is well down the path to developing the ideal fin.

If you would like to pre-order or register your interest in the fin, send an email to info@vmgblades.com.

To visit Starboard for Chris’ full report on the HWR, click here.

• 1st Place – James Briggs – British Open Championships
• 1st Place – Sean O’Brien – Australian & Oceanic FW Championships
• 1st Place – Sean O’Brien – Norwegian FW Championships
• 1st Place – Vassilis Solidakis – Greek FW Championships

“I think for me the most important thing to happen at a race event is to not have to worry about your gear. Starting off the race with the best fins means I can concentrate on my tactics, not how to tune my gear for each race. I have great fins working in all conditions now; I’m really happy with everything this season”.
Sean O’Brien - VMG Blades Team Rider
www.AUS120.com

Congratulations to James, Vassilis and Sean for their respective wins at each of these events. VMG Blades are proud that these great riders have chosen to use VMG Blades fins and we hope that they will continue to collect their competition bullets. Well done!

Results to Date

2010
1st, 2nd, 3rd Oceanic & Australian Championships (1st Australian)
1st Penang Regatta for Formula and Marathon

2009
1st British Open Championships
1st National 11m Class, Great Britain
1st Dutch National Championships (Round 3)
1st Norwegian Nationals
1st, 2nd Greek National Championships
1st, 3rd Oceanic & Australian Championships
1st, 2nd, 3rd NSW Formula Championships, Australia

2008
1st Australian Formula Championships (Australian result)
1st Greek National Championships
1st, 3rd, 1st Master NSW Windsurfing Series, Australia
2nd FW World Championships (Women)
2nd Nordic Championships
2nd Penang Cup, Malaysia

Yes! After visiting Portugal for the 2008 FW World Championship, we couldn’t resist heading over again. Many people have asked us where and when they’ll be able to try the fins. As you may have experienced with customised fins, what works well for your buddy may not be the best ride for you.

In Poland, you’ll get to try our range of fins first-hand and have the opportunity to speak to Chris about how to make them specialised for you.

We’ll be at the following events, arriving at least the day before for some pre-race tuning:

• FW Challenger: Pobierowo, 24 July – 26 July
• Allegro Cup Grand-Prix: Łeba, 30 July – 02 August
• FW European Championships: Sopot, 03 August – 08 August

So come on by and take a fin for a spin.

When you are in your groove, you know that you are sailing at your best!

Fins make a huge difference to your sailing and not all fins are created equal. VMG Blades believe that there’s a severe lack of information out there about fins. How can you ever make an informed choice? What’s worse, how can you be sure you’ve got the right fin? We want you to understand fins and how VMG Blades will truly customise the right fin for you.

In this site, we share our expert knowledge in Finology 101. This is where you’ll come to grips with things like twist, induced drag and torsional stiffness.

Read Why VMG? To understand what makes us different and the best fins for you.

You can view our Fin Range, to get a snapshot of the difference between each of the fins. In the future, you’ll even be able to make your own fin with our Fin Customiser.

Cheers,
VMG Blades