James Court wins 2008 New Zealand Wave Nationals

23.05.2008

New Zealand Fanatic rider, James Court, took first place in the open mens class of the 2008 New Zealand Wave sailing Nationals. Held in challenging conditions, combining light winds and super clean mast high plus conditions, James combined his big wave knowledge and experience from past campaigns to come out on top of the 30 strong fleet.

James sums up the factors that helped him achieve this victory in his own words:
"There are more than half a dozen great wave sailors that all have the ability to win the nationals, including some fantastic local Taranaki sailors. Rather than outright skill, I think my win in the finals was a combo of a good strategy and good gear for the big and light conditions. The 81 litre Fanatic New Wave combined with a 5.7 sail had enough volume and power to get me out the back safely, up to the main break easily and to stay there. This attribute gave me priority and enabled me to pick and choose what waves I got, which is half the battle. On the wave, the New Wave 81 enabled me to carve tight and clean top to bottom lines, and most importantly feel confident and "safe" when negotiating or smacking big critical sections. I'm super stoked with this result, Thanks to Fanatic, Neil Pryde and Wild Winds."

Click here for full event report!