Interview with Raceboard World Champion Alex Buchau

Q- What were the wind and sea conditions at the Worlds? How many competitors?

AB- I arrived there two days before the first race. Fresh water and flat conditions, no waves. The first two days we had good winds from 12 to 18 knots. Sunny, nice temperatures of 20 – 25 ºC.

There were 69 raceboard competitors including women.
This event seemed at the beginning to be at a very high-level with people coming from all around Europe, and also the rest of the continents.

The first Championship day was a test race, and as many other times, the wind went away. So we had a hard pumping race for practicing in the race area.

Q- How many races were completed? Did you have the win “in the bag” or did it come down to the last race?

AB- Next day began the truth: two races in very light and shifty wind conditions. Due to my weight (85 kg.) and wrong tactics these were my worst results. It seemed to be a very high level of competitors.

The next three days were “mine”: winds between 10 and 17 knots were perfect for me to win seven of the windiest races. The other ones I finished 4th, 7th and 3rd. The combo sail & board was really working very well. By then 12 races were scored, so two discards- so my first day could be “cancelled”. I was then 1st, with a 13 point advantage over the 2nd place competitor.

THEN came the last day: it was really hard because the wind was did not come in as forecasts predicted (12-15 kn.). The winds were from 6 to 9 knots, and shifting direction constantly.
In the first race of the day I could manage thanks to good tactics, to finish 2nd- I was happy knowing I could defend in light winds with this magnificent sail when taking the best tactic decisions. So, I was confident for the second and hopefully last race of the day and the championship. Here I did a 9th saving my 1st place overall despite low winds.

BUT the race committee decided to run a third race- without planning conditions!… something that annoyed most competitors, and of course me: in light and shifting winds you never know what can happen. I started well and enjoyed good tactics till the last upwind, where the wind dropped and shifted 90 degrees. So from 3rd at the buoy I dropped to 13th at the next mark. At this moment I didn’t know if it would be enough to maintain my 1st overall. So- I pumped more than ever before and managed to arrive 13th.
I was not sure about the overall classification, as I did not see most of my competitors nearby- so the suspense was kept until we arrived at beach.

15 races in conditions from 6 to 17 knots, sunny days, flatwater… a complete Championship!

Q- Where are you training? Do you have training partners? Did you have an intensive training schedule before the event?

AB- Formentera (Spain ) is my home, sweet home. It’s a small island with a diversity of wind and sea conditions. We train all year round.
In Raceboard I don’t have any training partners, so most of the training I did was with RSX racers that are here with me. Only the two last months before the event I trained with the Raceboard, but alone.

Q- There are many new board designs in raceboarding, which of the new designs appear to be the most competitive (upwind, downwind, lightwind, strongwind)? Which board did you use for the event?

AB- The Exocet D2 seems to be a killing board for flat water and low winds up to 8 knots- it needs a lot of technique to ride it.

The new Phantom 377 bat wing was for me the best one. Very strong in downwind. Very good planning ability. Works well in all winds.

I used an old F2 race 380 as I was not able to find a new Phantom, for the next season I will use the Phantom.

Q- Did you adjust the RB trim during the race? How did the RB react?

I used the Blade RB during all the event, even in higher winds I used the RB 9.5. It is an easy to trim sail (down- and outhaul ), and also very sensitive to it. And of course, when you are racing, adjustment of the outhaul upwind and downwind is necessary. Also the downhaul can be adjusted, but it is not essential.

A feature of the RB is that the cams are working very well, even at high downhaul tensions, so the sail is very confortable and clean. Also I find the RB very easy to rig and de-rig.

For batten tension I suggest the same system as in Formula sails: a lot of tension for the lowest 2 battens, then progressively less tension until the uppermost batten where it is best to leave very light batten tension.