WIND IN THE SAILS
By Guillaume Brodeur

The promised land of all wind sports kept its promise once again. From the end of August until mid September, the Iles de la Madeleine welcomed the best windsurf and kitesurf athletes for the Gª·Rendez-Vous AventureGª- competitions. The occasion was perfect for Velum GravityGª+s team members to admire the professional performances, but mostly to surpass their own limits in optimal wind conditions.

SPEEDS AND JUMPS

Unpredictable is the word that best describes Iles de la MadeleineGª+s temperature. One day the weather feels like the tropics and the next a storm from the North settles in!

Anyway! On Dirtsurfer inline boards, two team riders exceeded the psychological line of 60 Km/h based on hard sand of the Gª·platier de la dune du NordGª-. Alain Bourgeois and Eric Girard made the GPS odometer reach 61.6 Km/h and 60.1 Km/h respectively. Alain, who attained the highest score of 61,6 km/h, now holds the new worldGª+s speed record executed with the help of a Kitewing on a Dirtsurfer. With these new results, Eric and Alain are not so far from the worldGª+s record established by Fran+ªois-David Lenoir from France with his 71,5 Km/h on Rollerblade's Coyote off-road inline skates. Only a few more knots should do it next time for our Canadian boys!

Here are the maximum speeds recorded by the team members:

Alain Bourgeois: 61.6 Km/h
Eric Girard: 60.1 Km/h
Phil++mon Beaudet: 58.4 Km/h
Mathieu Couture: 58.1 Km/h
Timoth++ Beaudet: 56.6 Km/h
David Legault: 54.2 Km/h

In the air, Timoth++ Carter-Beaudet hit a spectacular jump of 19.8 meters. His brother Phil++mon followed him closely with a jump of 18.2 meters. This may seem like much less than Eric GirardGª+s 60 meters, the record of last winter, but Eric's record was accomplished on snow and with skis, a much lighter ride than a Dirtsurfer.

Here are the top recorded jump lengths obtained by the Velum Gravity Team:

Timoth++ Beaudet: 19.8 meters
Phil++mon Beaudet: 18.2 meters
Mathieu Couture: 17.7 meters
David Legault: 16.5 meters

THE ISLANDS CUP

During our first week, windsurfing was in the limelight with its annual Gª·Coupe des Iles.Gª- However, this year it was combined with the 2005 Canadian Championship. The biggest moment of the week was without a doubt the freestyle competition, which happened at the time when Hurricane Katrina hit the islands. According to Eric Girard, the waves were worthy of Hawaii! Check out EricGª+s website for the complete result sheets of all the competitions as well as for the weather conditions:

www.ericgirard.com

Congratulation to both our Montreal boy, Martin Van Geenhoven, for his third masculine title and Nikola Girke from Vancouver who was, for the fifth time, the best woman in the country. Despite the Gª·windsurfing has been cancelledGª- stickers found on many kitesurfer lovers' cars, windsurfers assure us that their sport is in the middle of a real comeback. To be continued... the dual between these two wind dependable disciplines!

THE BEST KITESURFERS HAVE AN AMAZING TIME

Another masterstroke for the Gª·Rendez-Vous AventureGª-: attract to the Iles de la Madeleine a 2005 PKRA world cup event. The best athletes from the professional circuit definitely made themselves noticed with their multicolor kites; impossible to resist their daring maneuvers even for those who donGª+t know much about the sport. The womenGª+s first place went to Kristin Boese from Germany and the menGª+s first place went to the Netherlander Ruben Lenten from.

www.pkra.info

A special congratulations to Daphn++ Lalibert++ from Sherbrooke who won womenGª+s third place. The members of Velum Gravity (one in particular) went crazy for the young athlete of 23 years old. ItGª+s with pleasure that Velum welcomes to its team the blonde lady with a contagious smile. IGª+ll bet sheGª+ll bring some color to the team especially with her athletic prowess. Go check out her website at www.daphneelaliberte.blogspot.com

Welcome to the Velum Gravity team Daphn++!

ERIC EXPERIENCES A Gª·SICKGª- SESSION

Eric Girard tells us:

"In the second week, the temperature and the plateauGª+s surface conditions didnGª+t permit us to beat our score of 61.6 Km/h. The tide was high and the sand was too soft, but for windsurfing, the conditions were excellent. One night, the wind blew strongly from the southwest so that the waves reached an ideal surfing size similar to Hawaii. At sunrise, the wind was still blowing, but it changed direction in less than two hours to a strong north wind to offer radical windsurfing conditions. The side-offshore wind (wind blowing against the wave, which makes the wave hold for a very long time) made some Iles de la MadeleineGª+s spots equivalent to the famous Ho'okipa area in Maui in its good days! As a result, we stayed in the water for five consecutive hours windsurfing our brains out! Even though we are familiar with hard core conditions none of us had seen such extreme conditions added to such pleasant rides! On certain waves, it was possible to relax and do up to seven bottom turns and sometimes even push up to three aerials per wave. It was just incredible! On top of everything, the landscape was breath taking. The IslandGª+s virginity with its majestic decors and its sun pierces called Gª-pieds de ventGª- completely dazzled us while we were possessed by a frantic sea!

Unfortunately, we were only a handful of riders to enjoy this amazing session. At this time period most of the tourists had left the Islands, which left the spots deserted. Yet, its exactly when the true season starts for wind addicts! There is tons of wind and the waves are gigantic!"

SO MUCH FUN

So much for the competitions, we also needed to have fun on the Islands. With the Madelinots, who are always very friendly, itGª+s never a problem. Alain Bourgeois and the movie producer Martin Durocher joined the Aux Pas PerdusGª+ Bluesmen for a memorable jam. Two weeks earlier, it was the Arianne Moffat, J-F Lemieux, Dobacaracol and Betty Bonifaci who took over the bar with the same instruments.

Many of the Island's girls went head over heals for our enthusiastic crazy team. To be honest, they didnGª+t have much choice since our friend, Nicolas, cooked his famous Pied-de-Vent cheese clam recipe. A real delight! Yet, if there was one girl who didnGª+t need to be charmed, it was Gª·Cindy-la-groupie.Gª- If all women liked sports that much and its athletes the way she did, the Velum team members would already be famous men in need of bodyguards! It wonGª+t be too long before a sport reality show will make our stuntmen into stars! Stay Tuned!

The mini-teaser video (Full length to come soon!): CLICK HERE

The photo gallery: CLICK HERE

Sincere thanks to C.T.M.A, L'Office du tourisme des +-les-de-la-Madeleine, Kitewing, Red Bull Canada, Au Diable Vert(Groovy Bar), Bor++ale, Erlik et Protaction without which this trip would have been impossible.