Desert Storm

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Louis Kruk has made his way to the Smith Creek Playa to cover the 2014 Landsailing World Championships which got underway in earnest with International 5.6 Mini's on Sunday and the other fleets yesterday. "Its was a late start", Louis said "Somewhere around 7:00 PM, and a massive dark cloud was lingering overhead" I was surprised at how cold it got when the breeze kicked in, expecting hot conditions and not being prepared for the chill."

Louis noted that the set up was quite nice, much more organized than the event he shot some 30 years ago, plus the had a bar set up right near the start lines and you could get yourself a nice cold adult beverage and watch the racing!

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Video from Tuesday!

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5.6 Mini Yacht Championship decided, and other classes begin competition, at Landsailing Worlds

Smith Creek Playa, near Austin, Nevada, USA, 15 July, 2014 - John Eisenlohr, from tiny Lakeside, Montana prevailed in the intensely competitive 5.6 Mini Yacht class that comprised the first phase of the 14th Landsailing World Championship being held at this remote site in Northern Nevada. Eisenlohr's win was a popular one, as he sailed a clean, uncontroversial race in a home-built land yacht of his own design against formidable international competition. Moreover, he temporarily disproved this reporter's claim, made yesterday, that the Mini yacht class was evolving into an expensive arms race. Eisenlohr's yacht features parts he found at local home supply stores, not purpose-built marine hardware. He is doing a great job of showing that a home builder with innovative ideas and excellent sailing skills can still do well against exotic professionally-developed machinery sailed by highly skilled international sailors.

Meanwhile, in the late afternoon following the conclusion of the Mini Yacht regatta, the many other classes in the World Championship started their racing. Results of some of these initial races are attached. The regatta for these other classes will continue through Saturday, 19 July.




A larger gallery can be found : HERE

[Dave T]

Which ones are the 5.6 Mini ??
I went to the NALSA site and could find nothing about the new class.

And these push starts are not very disabled friendly.
The Blokart Family is much more accommodating and the racing is tight and close.

What is odd, is I have been landsailing/blokarting since 07 now and have never heard of this event.
It only comes to the US every 24 years?? I guess there are lots of land sailors elsewhere, But there is only one Ivanpah.

[Charlie Tuna]

Could they have an assistant push them? Does not seem like a huge investment in a volunteers time.

Found this on the Wikipedia site:

Land yacht competitors are spread over all continents: from the vast beaches of Western Europe, Ireland and the UK, New Zealand and Brazil, dry-lake surfaces in the USA, Argentina, Australia and Africa to frozen lakes in Canada and Scandinavia (using skates instead of wheels).
National landyacht associations are united in the international landyacht federation called FISLY. This organisation sets up the racing rules. Every two years, world championships are organised. Besides that, there are lots of local races and competitions every week and annual European and Pacific Rim championships.
Racing yachts are divided in four classes by FISLY: Class 5 and Class Standart have a tubular steel or aluminium frame and mast with a glassfiber seats. The bigger Class 3 and Class 2 yachts have a lightweight glassfiber hull and wing-shaped mast and (mostly) a wooden rear axle.
Racing yachts speed up to 120 km/h (the world speed record is 202.9 km/h (126.1 mph), set by Richard Jenkins in 2009[15]... breaking the previous record of 188 km/h (116.7 mph) set in 2001 by Bob Schumacher, USA). Even at very low winds, racing yachts ride at up to three times the wind speed, reaching easily 70 km/h. Due to the lightweight and aerodynamic build, racing yachts boost to top speed in about 5 seconds. Turning markers are usually taken at full speed.

[GeoffS]

Could they have an assistant push them? Does not seem like a huge investment in a volunteers time.

Most iceboat classes allow that. It turns out you usually get a slower start with someone pushing (ca. twice the mass, same force) so it's not an advantage.

Cheers,

Geoff S.

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Reno Gazette-Journal Coverage


photo © Hilary Swift/RGJ

AUSTIN – Sven Kraja has seen a lot from the pilot's seat of a land yacht.

The world champion racer has sped along breathtaking European beaches and witnessed bloody collisions.

But until a few days ago he hadn't seen anything like the Nevada desert. For the first time in his life Kraja, 43, whipped along an open playa at high speeds for more than two minutes straight.

"It's like a motorsport," said Kraja, who not only races but manufactures sails through his company, Frog Sails. "The speed is a thrill."

A competitive racer for 28 years, Kraja, of Schleswig, Germany, is more accustomed to narrow, rougher terrain along windswept European waterfronts. On the wide, smooth playas of North America racers have more room and better conditions for long, fast runs.

Kraja is just one of hundreds of competitors racing this week in the Landsailing World Championships at Smith Creek Dry Lake in Lander County. It's just the third time since 1990 the global event has been held in the United States and it could be decades before it returns.

Both the remote location and harsh, unpredictable conditions are pushing competitors to their limits, both in terms of logistics and racing skills. Kraja's Frog Sails team arrived at the playa on a customized Citro bus they shipped from Germany to Baltimore then drove to Nevada.

Team member Kai-Uwe Eilts customized the 40-foot, 18-ton rig to haul and house the team and their gear. Eilts, a boat builder by trade, removed much of the seating, installed sleeping, bath and work spaces to accommodate the team even in Spartan conditions such as the playa.

"It's a lot of work but for us it is a lifestyle," said Heiko Hartmann, Kraja's stepfather and a competitor as well, describing the trip that was self-funded with help from Stone Island, an apparel company that sponsors Kraja. Kraja's girlfriend, Gitta Steinhusen, is also a high-level land sailor.

But the Frog Sails team and 12 others that traveled to the event from outside the United States weren't the only ones spending countless hours and untold amounts of money to squeeze every last ounce of speed out of their yachts, some of which can travel at speeds approaching 100 miles-per-hour.

Full Article

[Dave T]

I've been asking questions to others through emails I have found.

The Fisly Classes are pretty much open box rules. They require you to either purchase a custom built craft or you build your own.
The 5.6 Mini Class was created in response to the blokart's international growth. If you put a string around the rigged Blokart wheel base, it is 5.6m. HHMMMMM


From what I understand, at first FISLY and NALSA Old Guards did not take to the blokart's One Design Racing, Running Starts and Pilot weight divisions (which really matter).
I hear that newer officers running these organizations are not indifferent to the Blokart OD Class.

But because these organizations run their events so differently, I am told they will probably never be on the Playa at the same time.

Here is a shot of me leading a leeward rounding. The 2nd place kart is a professional sailor.

blokart_lead2.jpg

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LSWC Wrap Up

Selects from Louis Kruks camera on Thursday





Louis Kruk Images HERE!


















http://www.nalsa.org/Worlds2014Pages/news.html

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2014 Land Sailing World Championships Wrap Up






July 20


Excitement-laden Landsailing World Championship concludes in Northern Nevada

Smith Creek Playa, near Austin Nevada, Monday, 21 July 2014 - Sailors representing fifteen nations and four continents wrapped up six days of exciting sailing Saturday at the FISLY-NALSA 14th Landsailing World Championship at Smith Creek Playa, near Austin, Nevada. During the week, Mother Nature treated the competitors to a full array of conditions, including no wind, light shifty wind, medium winds, strong winds with dust and, on Friday, hail and rain-caused mud.

In the first of two races on Saturday, the Manta Twin and Manta Single classes were challenged by major wind direction and velocity changes and huge reversals of fortune. The latter occurred when the Manta Twin leaders ran into a big hole at the leeward mark on the third lap and were caught by back runners and the leading Manta Singles. Then the wind filled in slightly for the final weather leg to the finish line, only to drop again, leaving the majority of the fleet stranded about 100 meters and more from the finish line before finally limping across the line.

The final dinner, awards presentations and closing ceremony on Saturday evening were no less dramatic; they were held in the large event tent on the dry lake during winds clocked at up to 42 mph. The resulting dust storm inside the tent only added to the list of adversities experienced, and overcome with enthusiasm, by the intrepid sailors.

FISLY President Alan Watson (Ireland) closed the festivities by thanking NALSA and its many volunteers and community supporters for staging this major event in such a beautiful, but challengingly remote, location. Afterwards, the party went on for hours.




July 18

Rain, mud and fluctuating winds impede, but don't halt, sailing at Landsailing World Championship.

Smith Creek Playa, near Austin, Nevada, Friday 18 July, 2014 - Mother Nature served up plenty of variety today at the Landsailing Worlds. The first two races of the day, for Manta Twin and Manta Single classes, were interrupted by rain and some hail after a great start in tricky but good winds. The rain produced slippery, sticky mud on the lake surface, and the two Manta Classes were black flagged and ordered to stop where they were on the course to prevent damage to the dry lake from tire impressions and foot prints.

After a half hour halt to allow the lake surface to dry, racing was resumed in light to medium, shifty winds. All eligible classes were able to complete their minimum of three races to qualify for a World Championship. Saturday will be the final day of racing in this World Championship, and everyone is eager to get back out on Smith Creek Playa for more races before the regatta is concluded.










More images from Walter Carels HERE!

Louis Kruk Images HERE!

http://www.nalsa.org/Worlds2014Pages/news.html

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CNN's 2014 Land Sailing World Championships

CNN's Main Sail's coverage of the 2014 Land Sailing World Championships!
(click below images)




Video A The Lay of the Land CLICKY



Video B How to master landsailing CLICKY




Video C The physics of landsailing CLICKY

[Darth Warrior]

Great series, wish we got the channel on our big screen!