Winter's approach doesn't mean the end of fun in the surf and sun. November brings seasonal strong winds to the Penghu archipelago and the winds in turn bring hordes of windsurfers competing in the annual Penghu Pro Am, part of the five-stop Asian Windsurfing Tour.
Unfortunately, there won't be enough wind this weekend for the originally scheduled start of the tournament and the event has been postponed until next Friday, Nov. 18.
That's no problem for the windsurfers themselves, said Alex Mowday, the event's Australian organizer.
PHOTO COURTESY OF GREG NOLAN
"There's nothing worse for a windsurfer than to travel to a place and sit on your butt waiting for wind, knowing that it's going to come as soon as you're gone," he said.
This is the fifth time the Asian Windsurfing Tour has come to Penghu, which is no surprise to Mowday, who has used the archipelago as his playground-cum-research and development laboratory for the past decade.
He says Penghu's exceptionally strong wintertime winds, coupled with its temperate waters, make it an ideal location not just for hos-ting the Asian Windsurfing Tour, but also to attract the sport's top competitors in their pursuit of the world speed record.
Among the international competitors coming to this year's Penghu Pro Am is Anders Bringdal from Sweden, currently one of the fastest windsurfers in the world. Given the right wind and water conditions, he'll be trying for the world record off the shores of Penghu's Bird Island, as well as competing for the nearly US$10,000 at stake. In addition to Bringdal, five other of the world's top sailors will be flying for the event from Italy, Japan, Australia and the UK.
Amateurs will get their turn, too, with competitors from South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong and, of course, Taiwan.
Penghu's own boy wonder, Howard Chang, will be among them. Just 14 years old, Chang has been competing on the Asian Windsurfing Tour since age 12, winning the junior class in the Philippines in 2003, Penghu in 2002, 2003 and again last year. He also won the South Korean leg of the tour last year. After this year's Penghu Pro Am, Chang will represent Taiwan in Singapore, Qatar and Melbourne in Olympic-class sailing.
When it finally does begin next weekend, racing will take place at Penghu's Guanyinting (觀音亭). Three days of sailing will be followed by evening barbeces and entertainment. Check these pages next week for additional updates or scheduling changes.
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