FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

"2004 Verizon Wireless King of the Cape - Day 2"

June 5 , 2004
Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

WEST DENNIS -- The day started somewhat ominously with gray skies and not much wind, lightly blowing from the NE direction. By 10am the winds had switched to the east and increased slightly to 10mph. It was time for Nevin Sayre to start the Kids Camp. Over 40 kids signed up and were ready to learn how to windsurf. The air was quite chilly but the sun was started to come out and provided some level of warmth. Definitely was the coldest event day on record to date. By mid morning the clouds were gone and it was all about sun. The winds were teasing up to 13mph by 11am and the skippers meeting was set for 11:30pm. Following the skippers meeting, the first heat was set for 12:30pm, in hopes for winds to increase by then. The day was warming slowly and surely but full wetsuits were the call.

The event started with the Novice Juniors taking the water. This young group of beginner freestylers were such a site to see. Early leaders in this crew included event veteran Solvig Sayre, daughter of Nevin Sayre, Kye Wheeler from Long Island, and Conner Baxter from Maui, Hawaii. This was Conner's first freestyle contest but he definitely had been paying attention to what the other sailors were doing and started to put together some moves to stay in the chase. The youngest sailor of the event this year was Rasmus Sayre, at age 6, another progeny of the Sayre windsurfing blood line showed the crowed that this windsurfing family will surely be a force in the future. New to the event this year was Kaylen Ballantyne, who can be seen in the Sailworld ads in most of the windsurfing magazines in North America, was out to learn this new discipline, have a great time, and did quite well for his first event.

Novice sailors had a full fleet of 6 with sailors from around the area battling it out on the water. Early leaders in this division were Chris Caron, Stewart Snodgrass, and event new comer, Jordan Keao. These sailors had quite a few tricks in their pockets for novices, but with how high the talent level has risen in this competition it is no surprise. Also giving chase to these sailors was event veteran, Ace Ali, who sails Lake Champlain and drives down from Vermont each year.

Another impressive group this year was the Amateur Juniors. These aspiring pros really are pushing the envelope in freestyle for the kids in the area and is a great place to show their talent. There are so many talented kids in this group that as each heat and round passed it was hard to sometimes tell who was taking the lead. Taking an early lead in the event was Adam Dannewitz from Long Island, one of the members of Jace Panebianco's USA Junior Freestyle Team. He has been a fast study over the past couple of years that he has competed. Putting him to the test were Brad Louw and Jeremiah Malina, who really shine in the higher winds where they can get their aerials in action. And not to be underestimated, Andrea Gillum, one of the top junior women in the competition, pushed these boys hard with her smooth transitions and style. Rounding out the group was Ben Delguercio
who is always in the running and hungry for the chase, pulling out some tricky moves when he really needs the points. This group is one of the most exciting in junior freestyle action in the country.

The staple of this event is the Amateur Men, who comprise a WIDE variety of styles, skills, and backgrounds. In this hard fought group we had sailors from as far east as Japan, such as Yasushi Mukai, and as far south as Clay Emer, from Bonaire, and from around the country. It is in this group that some of these sailors have glimmers of Pro abilities giving the right wind and water conditions, and is the breeding ground for the pro division in the local area. The competition is so tight here that most of the sailors got bullets in the first day and had 4 of the top guys tied. Some of the top guys include Jerry Evans, from Chatham, "Freestyle" Fred Vetterlein from Boston, Clay Emer from Bonaire, Peter Kimball from Cape Cod, Neil Malik from Cape Cod, Bill Reid from Ontario, and David Nagle from Falmouth. It was anyone's game after the first day of competition.

Last but, certainly not least, the Pro Division hit the water. The conditions were challenging for some of the pros more used to heavier wind conditions. With the wind teasing around 13-15mph, it proved to be a strategic call to pull off some of the classic old school maneuvers, or try to get planing and pull some of the new school moves. Bucking all convention was Kiri Thode of Bonaire, who showed the crowed what he had been working on all winter long. He is combing the old school with the new school and gave the other pros a clinic during his heat on Non-Planing Arial Freestyle Maneuvers. Many of these new fancy moves you see on the tour today include Flakas and Grubbies. He is taking these moves and pulling them off in a non-planing, flat-water mode. His "Gecko Flaka" was incredible to see while others were struggling to pull much of anything beyond sail-body-360's he pulled these out of his bag of trickery. To describe this particular move you would have to say that it appeared that he rocked his board forward, sinking the nose, while raising his fin and tail out of the water. With what little momentum he had going forward he used to spin his board 180 degrees, landing a normal flaka, all the while, not planing at all. Quite impressive and gives credence to our feelings at the King of the Cape, that lowering wind minimums and allowing for events to happen and awarding innovation like this will encourage further development in this area. We are excited and anticipating the future of this and hope other pro events can follow suit.

After three rounds of competition on the first day, we released the sailors and everyone was off to Chatham Seafood House for a night of food, music, dancing, and plenty of fun. Tomorrows forecast is looking much better with winds predicted in the 15-20mph range with higher gusts, keep your fingers crossed.

SPONSORS: Verizon Wireless, Bic Sports NA, Inland Sea Windsurfing Company, Sailworld Cape Cod, Island Sports, WindSnow&H20, Cape Cod Windsurfing, New England Windsurfing Journal, Kontiki Resorts, The Windsurfing Place Bonaire, Chatham Wind and Time, Chatham Seafood House and Iso Bar, Skylight Jewelers, Peter Kimball Construction, AWSI, US Windsurfing, Hyline Cruiseline, and Cape Cod Travelodge.

For more information please contact us at: info@kingofthecape.com, (888)465-2632, or visit our website at: http://www.kingofthecape.com/.