Final results!

Official results are on the CORK webpage HERE.

And video from the awards are HERE.

he last day of the Worlds started out looking like we would have the same conditions as the Canadians. The wind was up and the bay was whipped with whitecaps. By the time competitors hit the racecourse, the rollers were big (boats would disappear beneath the six foot swell), but the wind was diminishing steadily, so by the third and last race it was marginal trapezing. Marco, Marcus and Chris Sutherland each scored a bullet, and with nine races, two drops were allowed. Demonstrating he is both an ace in light and heavy air, congratulations go to Marcus Hamilton who won the 2008 Velocitek Contender World Champions (and who announced he's taking a break from racing the Contender for a little while). Marcus acknowledged it was not an easy regatta to win, with Marco Versari and Soren breathing down his neck. Apparently the cure for stress relief is finding a lot of jagerbombs post-racing.

Marcus' fellow Aussie, Chris Sutherland, was the recipient of the Master's trophy, Cristoph Engel won the Youth, and yours truly barely squeaked by Vanessa to win the Women's trophy (which I've already slightly damaged but will repair in short order). I would like to extend a huge thank you from the North American Contender fleet to all of the competitors who came to Kingston and made this such a great event. Travelling here was not an easy feat, so we really appreciated the time and expense you incurred to take part. A special thanks to Schappi and Vanessa who stepped up to get the containers from Europe and the UK packed up. I don't think anyone hasn't learned a lot from watching the competition and talking to the international sailors post-racing. I would also like to say thanks to all the local boys and girls who really pulled this all together behind the scenes. While I was sitting on my butt sending out emails, keepers were being made, boats were being imported and towed to Kingston, events were being coordinated, and the competitors were being helped in every way possible. Also, none of this would have happened without the great help we got from CORK. Thanks to their experience with world class regattas, we didn't have to worry about any of the racing logistics, there were no issues with the courses that were set, there were lots of crash boats out keeping an eye on everyone, and they've certainly inspired more of us to volunteer to run these kinds of events.

Neil Smith, who in a moment of weakness agreed to be the 2009 ICA Chairman, has been doing an outstanding job of taking video of the Worlds and sending it out so everyone can follow the regatta. If anyone else has any photos to share, send them to me and I'll post them on the blog.

Thanks again and safe travels home!