The Maui race series kicked off this Saturday with over 50 competitors registered for an exciting year of slalom racing on Maui.
The series is now in its 23rd year, which spans over 2 months during the summer season.
The Neil Pryde slalom event was this weekend and finally the winds filled in enough to start the races. The Trades were blowing a good 25 knots on the outside and slightly lighter on the inside so you had to be selective with your equipment. Always having a good range in your equipment is important to be able to hold it down in the gusts and continue powered up during the lulls.
McGain took four straight victories in the earlier heats to claim his age group division 40-49. Using his 58cm Carbon Art and TR3 6.6 McGain had no trouble being well clear of the fleet at the first mark and cruising to victory over Mike Yasik and Eric Sinclair in third.
In the afternoon the winds filled in a little better so McGain took his trusty 55cm and TR3 6.3 combination. This turned out to be devastating for the rest of the fleet as McGain took another four straight victories from seasoned pro’s Pieter Bijl and Anders Bringdal. Pieter ended up second, but it was local Elon Wong who snatched third place by sailing more consistently and being able to hold it together through the inside marks. McGain had amazing speed on the first legs and was never really challenged throughout the course, as he maneuvered his way from buoy to buoy in what seemed an effortless display of slalom mastery.
Phil commented after the races. “It was good to have such great board speed over the rest of the fleet, the new boards are really flying and with such good control through the Kanaha chop, I could do pretty much as I wanted.”
