The 18th Annual US Open Windsurfing Regatta was held on Wednesday May 26 - Monday May 31st 2004, Corpus Christi TX.

The Regatta was organized by the Velocity Games, Inc. More than 150 competitors from all over the world competed for the coveted US Open title. This was the first year to feature the first-ever Velocity X Challenge, aggressive elimination-style competitions. Mano a mano. Thousands of spectators travelled to watch the top windsurfing event in the nation.

US Open History -

In 1982 a group of local windsurfers created the Corpus Christi Sailboard Association and began organizing a number of events in and around the Corpus Christi area. In 1987 a local dentist, Charles Allen, decided the events needed to be taken a step further and created the concept of a professional and amateur event to be called "The US Open". He approached the city's daily newspaper, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times who agreed to be the title sponsor and organizer of the event. The first US Open was held on Memorial Day weekend in 1988.

The Caller-Times made a commitment to sponsor for five years; and through their efforts the U.S. Open is considered one of the premiere windsurfing championships in the world.  The "Caller-Times US Open" also put Corpus Christi on the map as a top sailing destination year round, drawing thousands of visitors to the city each year.

2004 Results -

The conditions were demanding, several masts were broken, probably a few egos, and one start line collision left racer Allen Bernau with what was first thought to be a broken leg, but then found to be an equally painful but not as serious bruised tendon. He raced again two days later.

Despite suffering from two OCS (pre-mature starts) and being disqualified after an incident with Micah Buzianis in a third race, Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (ARG) went on to win the US Open by a large margin. His speed was superior throughout the series, and Gonzalo collected seven firsts, two seconds and a fifth after discards. A truly impressive performance.

Behind the Argentinean it was a hard fight for podium positions. Micah Buzianis (USA) followed in second place, nine points adrift of Gonzalo, but only two points ahead of Phil McGain (KA) in third. Jimmy Diaz (USA) placed fourth, and Devon Boulon (ISV) fifth only four and five points behind Buzianis respectively.

19th US Open will be May 25th to the 30th, 2005. Next years event should even bigger than than this year due to the whole games being shown live on ESPN.