Virginia Key Race recap:

Time flies and from what I recall it’s 4^th year ‘Alex the Movie Star and Co’ had organized slalom

action at VK in the end of October. This year, unlike the past, solid winds showed up only

the last possible minute and saved the regatta with at least 7 races in each class on Sunday. When

NE winds pick up at Virginia Key it’s the best place on earth to race, flat on the inside, small white caps and rollers on the outside (where the outside buoys were set) and close enough to the shore for spectators to observe speed, crashes, pile ups, etc…

54 participants,  7 fleets… We had four world class slalom racers from Europe, Australia, Brazil and US,

kids from Puerto Rico, Aruba, Curacao, Dominican Republic and US, wow!

From our ‘causeway’ gang we had only small group: me, Ahmed, Stacey and Ludovico – all had great time.

FYI: for local formula hot shots, although this is a slalom race, there was an open class that allowed for any board/sail that was won by Ron Kern on formula board.

Water Sports Swap Meet October 29 10am-1pm

One more time an opportunity to trade, buy or sell equipment. We will start at 10am until around 1pm, please keep roads clear and be nice to the cops and the sea grasses. No commercial vehicles or large trailers permitted. Adjacent to Sailboards Miami's site.
More information coming up, save the date!

Up close and personal at VK

Rec Race at the Alex Caviglia Bluewater Classic

Organizers for the ACBC are considering adding a fun or recreational race. Various options are being discussed regarding location, types of equipment, how many days (could be 1 or 2), but they need some feedback to get a feel for how many people might attend.

Assuming it is open to any type of windsurfing equipment other than formula or full-out race gear and realizing that it is a fund-raiser, who would be interested in attending? Keep in mind, registration would include the famous Friday (or is it Saturday?) night party.

New Starboard Formula 2012 !!!

I Believe it's time to start saving...

Sad news about one of our own.

August 31, 2011

What Happened To Joe Rocco?

Joe Rocco, "the Mayor of Heckscher" died windsurfing Hurricane Irene on Sunday. To meet Joe once was to have a great new windsurfing friend, generous with information, stoke, spirit, you name it. The new article inNewsday begins "Joseph Rocco, the only Long Islander to die as a result of Tropical Storm Irene, was a friend and mentor to many in the local windsurfing scene, said those who knew him." And he could sail! So what happened? In the Yahoo Long Island Windsurfing bulletin board, his very dear girlfriend Marianne tells this story:

They drove to Shirley and found one windsurfer already there (James), sailing a 4.1 on a 78 liter board. They took wind readings of 20-28 mph. Joe rigged a 3.7 for his Dill, and Marianne rigged a 3.2. Joe launched to take a few runs “to see if it was too much for me to handle.” Marianne took another wind reading, and got 45-50. James came back in as the winds were now too much for him, and Marianne decided not to launch.

Visibility was limited. A nearby spectator with a telephoto lens on his camera said it looked like Joe was separated from his rig and was following it to shore. Marianne and James tried walking along the shore to meet Joe where they thought he’d come in, but the beach was mostly gone or covered with debris so they walked down the road. The police and EMT’s showed up, went out with James to look for Joe, and told Marianne to meet them at Brookhaven Hospital.

Neither the EMT’s nor the hospital was able to resuscitate him. Marianne said Joe’s head “was very badly banged up, nose probably broken, bruising around his entire upper face. Something had obviously hit his head very badly and he hopefully didn’t even know what hit him. “

Joe was a skilled windsurfer. My guess is that he hit a piece of debris floating just beneath the surface, and was catapulted badly into something large and hard in the water. Floating debris is the hazard we usually don’t think about when storm sailing. I know I wasn’t looking for it at Mecox during my session, even though I remember things floating around out there after storms in the past.

Like Rich Simons said in the Yahoo group, this could have happened to any of us.

(photo of Joe on a better day courtesy Bill Doutney)

Posted at 09:51 AM in The Prudent Puffin (Safety), Windsurfing | Permalink | Comments (14)ShareThis

Fall Racing Season

 The event will be held in Virginia Key ( Miami )  from October 21-23. 

IFCA North American Championships 2011.
www.windsurfingtour.com for more info...