The Mauritius Attitude Challenge (MAC) is an event inspired by the fun and party atmosphere of Défi Wind but with a Mauritian twist of turquoise water, trade winds and coral reef! The 2018 competition took place in mid July and was blessed with great conditions and a win for a team of British sailors! We hear from the organizer and a selection of competitors on what made it such a great event to be a part of.
DIFFERENT EVENT
Kevin Greenslade – “This is a windsurf event with a real difference for sailors from competent freerider to pro with an opportunity for the two to mix and form teams. Racing takes place on any of Mauritius’s three main lagoons on the island with the destination decided by the best forecast and wind direction for the following days to come. This year’s race format was set over 5 days with 4 days of competition and one day of rest. As with Défi wind the emphasis is on long distance and giant slalom races with rabbit style boat starts.
Christopher (Christo) Tyack is the event organiser and Mauritian windsurfing guru. The event is a real family run affair with Christo’s brother Emmanuell as race officer, sister Lydia on admin. and Natasha (local sailor Julian Maurel’s wife) and the rest of the Mauritian windsurfing family pulling together to make the event run smoothly.
LOGISTICS
Travel from the UK to Mauritius is fairly easy with direct flights flying daily from Heathrow with one of the event sponsors - Air Mauritius. Air Mauritius provide a 10% discounted flights to all competitors pre-entered through the event registration system online. These competitors also benefit from one free windsurf bag and a second bag at the price of 100 Euro return. Fights are roughly between £600-800 and accommodation £60 and up per night. Entry fee is around £80, which is an incredible bargain when you consider it includes a couple of meals, a fair few free beverages, free hoody, t-shirt and rash vest!
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