Some 120 of the world's best sailors and windsurfers have converged on Penghu for the annual King of Wind competition, to be held today through Friday on the windswept archipelago. They will be competing in three categories for prize money totaling US$35,000.
This is the third consecutive year that the prestigious international competition is being held in Penghu. The group of 64 islands is not only famous for winter winds that routinely reach 35 knots, but also offers a postcard setting for the competitors, the spectators that come to watch and take in the beauty of the islands, and the cameras from MTV and HBO that will be capturing all the action.
The three classes of competition include IFCA Slalom World Championships. It's a fully sanctioned championship event that will see a fleet of 60 to 80 windsurfers competing for US$15,000, the largest purse up for grabs at this year's King of Wind. Win lose or draw, these same windsurfers will also go head-to-head in the Formula Windsurfing Grand Prix, where an additional US$10,000 is at stake.
Perhaps the most exciting event returning to Penghu is the Olympic-class 49er World Cup. Sailors of these fast and agile boats will be competing for US$10,000 in prize money. Since its introduction at the last Sydney Olympic games, 49er sailing has been wowing audiences around the world even as the men and women who sail the boats hone their skills in this newest and most extreme category of sailing.
The event gets its name from the length of the boats, a 4.9m vessel with a shape reminiscent of the Starship Enterprise. The spinnakers with which they're outfitted have a huge capacity that allows them to skim across the water, often at twice the speed of other sailing vessels.
The boats are crewed by two people, who are attached to the mast by wires that allow them to hang off the sides of the boat, using their weight to counteract the force of the wind and -- with a lot of skill and a bit of luck -- prevent the boat from overturning. Even a slight wind is enough to send these boats flying, but the gales that blow through Penghu can literally launch them over the tops of waves.
In such extreme conditions, just staying on the boat can test a sailor's competence.The three main islands of the archipelago are connected by bridges and close in on each other to form a horseshoe-shaped inland lake in the middle of the Taiwan Strait.
It's in this ideal setting that the King of Wind will earn his or her title, provided mother nature allows the event to go forward. At last year's King of Wind, the penultimate and final rounds of the 49er competition were canceled due to winds that exceeded 35 knots, far to ferocious to consider sailing in.
This year's event was moved from October to September, in part to beat the fierce winds that scour Penghu during the winter months. While it looks unlikely that strong winds will scupper this year's competition, the sailors won't be too upset if it does -- one of the sponsors of this year's event is Corona beer. MTV will also be offering a mix of local and international performers to entertain the crowds.
For more information about King of Wind 2004, visit the organizer's Web site at http://www.kingofwind.com.
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