Last gasp 2011

Every Year the PKA holds their last race of the season, called the last gasp.

Peter Lynn Teamrider Ryan McGavin reports:

Saturday

We had not a too early start to the day due to the tide times. Arrived at Pendine at 10am, it was really windy blowing about 20mph on shore, and we had light rain all day, but it didn’t affect the racing. Saturdays racing started at 11.30am. We started on the 3.2m Vapor, and in the second race we changed down to the 2.7m Vapor and also for the 3^rd race. Ryan came 1^st in all 3 races of the day, but it was a handicap race, so all national fleet pilots started with 35 penalty points, open pilots started with 6 penalty points and novice pilots started with 0 penalty points. This was to give some of the novice and open pilots a chance to win. So Ryan finished the days racing with 35 points which got him a 3^rd overall, but it worked out that 1^st place was a novice 2^nd place was an open and 3^rd place was a master pilots (Ryan McGavin).

Sunday

Arrived at the beach at 11am winds were about 10-12mph on shore with the sun shining. Racing started at 11.45am and it was a 4hr enduro, started on the 9.4m Vapor, Ryan got off in the lead but as he started the 2^nd lap at the 1^st mark he broke his lines, but lucky enough it was the closes mark to the pits, so he could run back and got the 11.2m Vapor out, but by this time he was about ¾ of a lap behind the leader and in 4^th position. During the race he slowly picked off the pilots in front to regain the 1^st position. He then quickly changed down to the 9.4m Vapor which Adrian Lavelle, who wasn’t racing that day, had got the kite out and put a new set of lines on for him. The last hour the winds picked up and had to change down to the 7.8m Vapor and stayed on that until the finish.