The RS:X World Windsurfing Championships 2013,
organised by the Búzios Vela clube with the agreement of the Confederacao Brasilera de Vela e Motor,
will take place in Buzios, Brazil from February 2nd to 7th.

Event Website /  Notice of Race /   Sailing Instructions

VIDEO: 2013 RS:X Worlds - Day 2 Highlights - on ISAF TV

Dempsey Makes It Two

Great Britain's Nick Dempsey claimed his second Men's RS:X title in Buzios, Brazil whilst Lee Korzits (ISR) came into the final day having already taken the women's crown.

Dempsey led the fleet coming into the final race and was nine points ahead of Dutchman and London 2012 Olympic Champion Dorian van Rijsselberge (NED). On the water both sailors raced their own race and the Dutchman managed to play the shifting winds to win the race. However Dempsey came through in second which was enough to secure the title for a second time.

"I'm very happy. The race was really difficult because of the wind and I was a little anxious, but everything was good at the end," said Dempsey.

Another happy chappy was Greek sailor Byron Kokkalanis who came into the final day tied on 41 points with local sailor Ricardo Winicki and Israel's Nimrod Mashich. It was winner takes all in the final race and Kokkalanis did what he needed to do and came through the Medal Race in third place.

"I had to fight with Bimba and luckily this was my turn. I knew he was going to fight to be third so my goal was to end in front of him. I had a lot of problems in the past year, lost the European Championship on the tiebreaker and the third place in the worlds by one point so today was my day," said a jubilant Kokkalanis.

In the women's fleet Korzits had already wrapped up the title to clinch her third in a row. Maayan Davidovich (ISR) had looked odds on favourite to make it an Israeli one two, but Bryony Shaw (GBR) fought hard to ensure this was not the case and a fourth place in the Medal Race compared to Davidovich's ninth meant she took silver and the Israeli sailor took bronze.

 RSX Worlds 4th Day of Racing - Lee secures Gold medal

The RS:X Worlds will end tomorrow in Buzios, Brazil, but the Israeli-Lee El Korsiz is already celebrating another title, the third in a row. With light winds, the Race Committee did only two of the three races scheduled for today and Lee won the first and was 18th in the second, which became her discard. With this result, she opens 21 points lead that secures her Gold medal.

"I have 21 points over Maayan, which is enough to secure the championship. I am very happy, it's my third consecutive title and now I'll have to do one more tattoo," she said showing a big star tattoo that represents each one of her victories.

Among men, the Brazilian Ricardo Winicki, Bimba, made the second best average of the day, finishing second and sixth. He returned to fifth place overall, tied with Byron Kokkalanis GRE third, and Nimrod Maschia ISR in fourth.

"Being back in the top ten in the world is great. I'm feeling good, feeling at home. On the second race I chose the wrong side, doing the first rounding in 18th, but I managed to recover. The Windsurf is very fast and it's not possible to do a match racing at the medal race. You have to sail like it's the first race of the championship, go out there and win," he said.

If the day was good for Bimba, Dutchman Dorian van Rijsselberge, the Olympic champion in London, cannot say the same. He could not sail well in light winds and dropped to second place, nine points behind the British Nick Dempsey, the silver medallist in London 2012.  . . . (read more)

What A Difference A Breezy Day Makes

One day made all of the difference at the 2013 RS:X World Championship in Buzios, Brazil as new leaders emerged overthrowing the early front runners.

The third day of competition saw three races across the men's and women's fleet and gusts of up to 18 knots on the race course. The world's best came to the forefront as London 2012 Olympic Champion Dorian Van Rijsselberge (NED) took the lead in the Men's fleet and three time World Champion Lee Korzits (ISR) took firm control in the Women's.

The top two in the Men's RS:X fleet shows the regular battle between London 2012 gold and silver medallists van Rijsselberge and Nick Dempsey (GBR). The Dutchman has opened up a six point lead over the Brit after the fleet split into gold and silver for the third day of racing.

"The wind was good and I'm happy with my results. I'm leading now, but nothing is decided yet. We still have one more day of races before the medal race and Nick and Nimrod are doing a good job. Everything is still very tight and anyone can win," said the London gold medalist.

A close fight for third is ongoing with one point separating Piotr Myszka (POL), Byron Kokkalanis (GRE) and Nimrod Mashich (ISR).          Read more . . .

After five races and one discard, Greek Byron Kokkalanis leads the RS:X Worlds in Buzios.  The wind increases in Manguinhos beach and the sun shows up again.

The second day of racing in the 7th RS: X Worlds was typical of Buzios, home of the competition. The wind of 15 knots from the east allowed the race committee to do the three races scheduled, with an average duration of 30 minutes each. With five races completed, the sailors discarded the worst result, which has changed the score sheet a lot.

Sailing at home, happy with the perfect conditions, Ricardo "Bimba" Winicki, won the first race of the day and with a third and a fourth place, moved up to 5th position overall. The leader is the Greek Byron Kokkalanis.

"The wind was a little more constant and I sailed easier today. On the first race, I believed in the gusts on the right side of the course. It paid off and I won. On the second race, I did the whole race in fourth, passing the French in the last downwind leg. In the last one, I had a good start and fought with Dorian Van Rijsselberge and Nick Dempsey, gold and silver medals in London Games, the whole race", said Bimba.

Read more . . .

Tension rises in Buzios during RS:X Worlds - the wind increased during the day as did the tension amongst the competitors.

In the men's fleet it is between Dutchman Van Rijsselberge (Gold London 2012), Englishman Nick Dempsey (silver London 2012), Greek Byron Kokolanis, Nimrod Mashiah, the experienced Israeli who just did make Olympic qualification and the same applies to the Pole Piotr Myszka. They are all armed to the teeth for this title fight. Also local favourite Ricardo 'Bimba' Santos, who has been in training for the title since November 2012, is extremely motivated to perform well. The Chinese slightly sank in the standings as the breeze picked up today but are still a force to reckon with on lighter days. And early leader Shahar Zubari from Israel is still in close contention.   Same in the women's fleet - the top three Shaw (GBR), Picon (FRA) and Korsiz (ISR) are extremely close.

Double world champion Lee Korsiz (ISR) is happy with the results so far and also very happy with the event in Buzios.

She explained: "Now we have really nice conditions. But it is only two days in the event. I hope for good winds tomorrow. I am better in strong wind. I have improved a lot in the light. I got much stronger. I came here in good shape. I came here being twice world champion. So I came here with a bit of pressure on. But I can tell you that I am so much enjoying the place the spirit and the people it is so much fun. Also to see all of us windsurfers back on the water again makes my heart warm. I enjoy Buzios the water and the wind, every moment, every second."

Race three in the men fleet is one with a story for a number of surfers. After a great start, Dutchman Van Rijsselberge, who at that time in the race was probably leading, was under the impression that the organization delegated a general recall. So the Olympic champion was halfway through the first leg when he returned back to the start line with about ten others. There it appeared that the race continued as usual. The ten unlucky surfers quickly turned around and some started an almost legendary catch up. Van Rijsselberge was lying 25^th and finished fourth!

Dorian van Rijsselberge took us through the day and race three. "Generally a good day for me, no shockers in results in any case. But a shocker in race three. There is a story in that. I had a great start. Halfway through the beat, I thought that we all had to go back again to the starting line. I think we have sailed back for one minute with ten men or so. I think I was 25th. I pumped so hard to recover - pheeeww."

How do you prevent things like that? "I have to be something a bit sharper eehhh … and it's too easy to blame someone else. But normally there is a boat that sails in front of the fleet if there is a general recall. But that is no such boat here. So you need to take more initiative. That did not work out for me."

The first day of racing at the RS:X Worlds in Buzios, Brazil, took a while to start. The sailors waited for more than an hour for the wind, and the Race Committee was able to do only two of the three races of the program. Divided in two fleets, the men were the first to sail. The orange fleet did the outer-trapezoid and the blue fleet, inner-trapezoid. The girls, at the third start, also did inner-trapezoid. The wind at the first start was around ten knots from southwest and at the second start, it was a little bit lighter and more shifty.

At the end of the day, the Chinese sailor Chuankun Shi is the leader of the men's fleet, while the French Charline Picon is the first among the girls. The Brazilian sailor Ricardo Winicki, also known as Bimba, celebrated the 6^th place at second race on the fickle and unstable winds: "I had a good start, but lost 10 positions on the first downwind leg. In the following legs I could sail well and recovered 11 positions. I'm really satisfied with this result."

The 7th RS:X World Championship is sponsored by Buzios City, Pro Lagos, Instituto Equipav, Aegea and is supported by Wollner, Rider, Hannover Vinhos and Bodega Ruca Malen.

Competitors have been taking to the water in the final hours before the RS:X World Windsurfing Championships 2013 begins in the fabulous South American location - Buzios, Brazil.

This the first time that the RS:X Class has staged a World Championships in South America and the first Olympic Class World Windsurfing Championships in Brazil. Buzios offers a fantastic variety of conditions situated as it is in a bay with white sandy beaches with a good point break for surfing close by.

Friday saw the formalities of competitor and equipment registration before the afternoon practice race, then the Opening Ceremony in the evening. Racing begins Saturday, continuing until Wednesday with Prize Giving and Closing Ceremony on Wednesday evening.