2001 spark7.com Windsurfing World Cup Neusiedler See Day 3

Last nights Upside Down party definitely went off. There were large numbers of competitors wearing sunglasses this morning. Unfortunately there was no wind in the morning which gave enough time for the party tigers to relax a bit.

Around noon the wind picked up out of a south, south- easterly direction, but stayed on the light side and allowed no competition. Lots of spectators enjoyed the warm weather and the beach feeling. Quiksilver organized a splash pipe contest which saw the young austrian freestyler Bernie Seidl (Arrows/F2) as a winner. Second place went to a female member of the crowd who improved her chances by flashing the judges on the way down.

There was more action to see when Josh Stone (JP/ Neil Pryde) and Beat Steffan (Mistral/ North) headed to the beach for some filming, where they made a remake of the television show "baywatch" something that made everybody laugh.

Olympic gold medal winner Christoph Sieber also used the oportunity to present prizes to the public as his sponsor, and event sponsor Motorola gave away their newest mobile phone.

Austrian newcomer Chrisi Sammer (Arrows/F2) was first to be tempted by the increasing breeze to try out his big sails in the lightwind conditions:
"It is pretty light outside and defintly not steady enough to run the contest, but it is a good chance to get a ride on the new lightwind equipement. And anyway it is necessary to get rid of the hangover from last night"

Nik Baker (Mistral/ North) took the opportunity relax and have some treatment on his recovering ankle:
"I had surgery on my ankle during the winter, but during the event on Gran Canaria my board kind of flicked up and hurt the spot again. Austria is good for a change when you come from G.C. I mean look at it, no rocks, nice gras, nice mountains- just the water is a bit colder"

The Jet 2 Web internet cafe, which is part of the setup right on the beach, attracted a lot of interest today, including Danish sailor Michael Viscovich (Proof/Simmer):
"I´m writing to the danish windsurfing magazine about whats happening over here; about the competition and whats going on all around. I advanced in the first round together with Eric Troostheide, which gives some time for relaxing until the next round"

Despite some late afternoon promise the wind remained elusive and did not really reach close to competition strength. This evening offers party time again when the miss Burgenland contest starts in Podersdorf . Forecasts continue to predict mixed fortunes for the next few days.