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Fuerteventura Grand Slam 2008 - 2008/07/19 09:25
The 2008 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam - Event Preview
17.07.08 -
The PWA rolls on to Fuerteventura for the final stop on the Canaries tour.
Leaving the shores of Pozo behind, the PWA World Tour makes a short leap over to Fuerteventura for the third and final stop in the Canaries. The event takes place in the southeast corner of the island, on Sotavento beach.
Hosting the action is the world famous Rene Egli Windsurfing Centre, which sits in prime position just a stones throw from the waters edge. The idyllic location, with its white sands and azure backdrop proudly boasts a wealth of heritage, being one of the most enduring fixtures on the PWA world tour, with a history of epic contests stretching back over more than twenty years.
2008 sees both the men’s and women’s fleets competing for top honors in the slalom and freestyle disciplines.
Slalom
The biggest names in racing will be congregating on Sotavento beach to fight for crucial points in the race for the World Title.
Confirmed so far are: Tour leader, multiple World Champion, and last year’s event winner, Antoine Albeau (Starboard, NeilPryde). Former World Champion and tour runner up, Kevin Pritchard (Starboard, Gaastra, Dakine, MFC). Current number three, Finian Maynard (RRD, NeilPryde). Windsurfing legend, Bjorn Dunkerbeck (T1, North Sails), alongside dangerous rivals Cyril Moussilmani (Fanatic, North Sails) and Micah Buzianis (JP, NeilPryde, MFC).
In the line up of the women’s fleet are; Swiss legend, World Champion and current tour leader, Karin Jaggi (F2, North Sails), who will be doing battle with 2007 runner up Valerie Ghibaudo (Tabou, The Loft, Dakine), current tour number two, Iballa Moreno (North Sails), and slalom’s most recent addition, Lee Korzitz (Fanatic, Gaastra).
Freestyle
In the men’s fleet, Venezuelan Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (Fanatic, North Sails, MFC) enters this event riding high on the back of his last two victories in Austria and Lanzarote. Also present will be 2007 World Champion, Brazil’s Marcilio ‘Brawzinho’ Browne (Mistral, Gaastra), current tour number three Kiri Thode (Starboard, Gaastra), and the ever creative Everon ‘Tonky’ Frans (F2, Gaastra).
In the women’s fleet, expect to see Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard, NeilPryde) fighting to defend her season lead from hungry opposition, in the form of current number two Daida Moreno (North Sails), the ever improving Junko Nagoshi (Simmer Sails, Dakine) and slick trickster Laure Treboux (Fanatic, North Sails) to name but a few.
Join us at www.pwaworldtour.com where you can follow the action with our live event ticker, daily news summaries, video footage, awesome photo galleries, online elimination ladders and more!
Or, for more information contact the PWA office via info@pwaworldtour.com
PWA / Andrew Buchanan
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Re:Fuerteventura Grand Slam 2008 - 2008/07/19 09:31
Ross Williams and Kevin Pritchard warming up.
Pic - PWA/John Carter
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Re:Fuerteventura Grand Slam 2008 - 2008/07/21 20:59
The 2008 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam – Day One
19.07.08 -
Antoine Albeau and Valerie Ghibaudo take an early lead on the opening day of competition in Fuerteventura.
Challenging conditions and an ample dose of surprises marked the start of competition in Fuerteventura, and set the scene for the forthcoming four days of race action.
First to christen the racecourse was the men’s fleet. The opening rounds tested the nerves of all involved, with the wind gusting from the minimum required 7 knots, all the way up to over 20 knots.
Returning to the Professional circuit after an 8 year break, Jamie Hawkins (Exocet, NeilPryde) was one of the day’s first casualties. He false started in the very first heat of the competition. Kurosh Kiani (Starboard) made the same mistake, meaning the pair failed to qualify for the semi final.
There was more upset in the opening round, when the fiercely competitive Josh Angulo (MauiSails, Dakine) struggled to dial into the fluky conditions, and ended up finishing last in heat two. Adding to the surprises, seasoned racers Ross Williams (Tabou, Gaastra) and Arnon Dagan (Fanatic, Gaastra) slipped up when they false started in heat four, denying them a chance to compete in the next round.
Moving onto the semi finals, Finian Maynard (RRD, NeilPryde) was robbed of a position in the race final after an unfortunate collision. “At the first mark I was coming in second behind Steve (Allen), doing a nice tight gybe, when Micah (Buzianis) came in from the side and T-boned me. I got fully taken out, and my sail went turtle as well, so I had no chance of catching the guys up. But what can I say, that’s racing you know”. Micah Buzianis (JP, NeilPryde, MFC) went on to take second place, behind Stave Allen (Tabou, Gaastra) in first.
In the second semi final, Ben Van Der Steen (Exocet, Simmer) failed to tune into the conditions, finishing uncharacteristically in last place.
Antoine Albeau (Starboard, NeilPryde) didn’t need much prompting to take the lead, and won by almost an entire reach, leaving Patrik Diethelm (F2, North Sails) to front up the chasing pack and ultimately claim second place.
The final was dominated by Albeau, who needed little more than the first reach before he sat untouched at the front of the fleet. In second place, Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (NeilPryde) pieced together a solid heat to fend off Micah Buzianis who was hot on his heels round marks three and four. A blistering final blast to the finish rewarded him with second, close behind, Buzianis took third. Padding out the top spots, Allen had a good start to the event to take fourth, and Albeau’s protégée Julien Quentel (Starboard, NeilPryde) crossed the line in fifth.
In the losers final, Bjorn Dunkerbeck (T1, North Sails) made amends for a blunder in the semi finals, and took a convincing victory. Similarly, Van Der Steen also got to grips with conditions to recover with a second place finish, ahead of Ludovic Jossin (F2, The Loft) in third.
The women’s fleet completed two races over the course of the afternoon, which witnessed a return to form for Valerie Ghibaudo (Tabou, The Loft). The legendary French racer looked like she may have dropped off the pace, following a disappointing 7th place overall at the last women’s slalom event in the Costa Brava.
Not one to be underestimated, Ghibaudo dominated both races to claim back to back first place finishes. In a similar style, Lee Korzitz, racing in her second ever PWA slalom event, managed to muscle her way to finish second in both races. The feat puts rest to any rumors that her podium finish in the Costa Brava was a one off lucky result.
Sarah Hébert (Starboard, Naish) started well to take third position in her first race, but dropped down to seventh in the following bout. Conversely, Alice Arutkin (Starboard, North Sails) had a slow start, finishing in seventh, but picked up her game in race two to come home with a solid fourth place finish.
Freestylers Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard, NeilPryde) and Junko Nagoshi (Simmer, Dakine) made sure they left their mark on the day. Offringa nailed an impressive fourth place finish in her first race, and Nagoshi put the hammer down in race two, to walk away with third place.
A surprise result was Karin Jaggi (F2, North Sails), who kicked off the event with a shocking last place in the first race, and fifth in the second. The World Champion now sits in ninth place overall, and has work to do to climb back to her familiar ranks on the podium.
Sailor of the day
Taking the prestigious title of ‘sailor of the day’ is Kevin Mevissen (RRD, MFC). New to slalom prior to this event, and a total underdog, the Dutch freestyler claimed an impressive fourth place finish in his first ever slalom heat. He may well be one to watch as he gains experience in the discipline.
Tomorrow’s skippers meeting is scheduled for 11.00am, with the racers hitting the water from 11.30am onwards. Be sure to tune into pwaworldtour.com to follow all of day two’s trials and tribulations.
© PWA / Andrew Buchanan
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Re:Fuerteventura Grand Slam 2008 - 2008/07/21 21:00
The 2008 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam – Day Two
20.07.08 -
Six more epic slalom races round off a successful second day of competition in Fuerteventura.
In Brief
In the men’s fleet, Antoine Albeau (Starboard, NeilPryde) further cemented his event lead by winning two out of the three men’s races. Hot on his heels, Kevin Pritchard (Starboard, Gaastra, MFC, Dakine) snapped up his first victory of the event in the remaining race.
In the women’s fleet, Valerie Ghibaudo (Tabou, The Loft) stamped her authority on the day’s proceedings, by winning two out of the three women’s races. Marking a return to form, Karin Jaggi (F2, North Sails) emerged victorious in race four but remains seventh overall following her early disastrous results.
Men’s Fleet
Race 2: Premature starts for Taty Frans (Starboard, North Sails) and Ludovic Jossin (F2, The Loft) signalled the end of their progress in the first of the day’s eliminations. Also slipping up, Ross Williams (Tabou, Gaastra) and Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (NeilPryde) uncharacteristically failed to qualify for the semi finals.
Progressing into the finals, Jimmy Diaz (North Sails) produced the goods when they were required, walking away with victory in the losers final. In his wake, Julien Quentel (Starboard, NeilPryde) claimed second place and Arnon Dagan (Fanatic, Gaastra) third.
The final witnessed another display of Albeau’s dominance. He stole the show to walk away with his second successive race win. Buzianis (JP, NeilPryde, MFC) and Dunkerbeck (North Sails, T1) mopped up second and third respectively. Maynard (RRD, NeilPryde) and Pritchard struggled with the conditions, finishing ninth and tenth respectively.
Race 3: Volwater, Pritchard and Allen (Tabou, Gaastra) stumbled in the semi finals, when they failed to make the race final. Taking their positions in the losers final, Pritchard recovered to take the win. Volwater also found his form to finish in second, and Dan Ellis (Fanatic, MauiSails) climbed the ranks in third. Allen was left down in fifth.
In the final, the top three positions remained unchanged from the previous race, with Albeau looking comfortable in first, Buzianis rewarded for his consistency in second, and Dunkerbeck sneaked across the finish line to pip Sylvain Moussilmani (F2, Simmer) to third place.
Race 4: The first round of heats passed without major upset, as all the big names successfully advanced into the semi finals. Looking solid as a rock, Buzianis took the early lead in his semi, and a sniff of victory saw him tear away to claim the win. Volwater had another poor result by his standards, failing to make the top six and in turn, the winners’ final.
Benoit Moussilmani (F2, Simmer) took top honours in the losers final, followed by Volwater in second, who’d done just enough to stay in the top ten overall.
In the winners final, Pritchard screamed out the gates to command the race around the four gybe marks. Albeau made it his business to chase down the speeding American, but Pritchard had no intention of letting his lead slip. On the finish line, Albeau had to settle for a rare second place, leaving Pritchard to take the victory, and a massive psychological boost after he failed to make the previous two race finals. Maynard also bounced back to finish in third place, bumping him up to eighth overall.
Women’s Fleet
Race 3: Ghibaudo continued her run of dominance from the previous day, to cruise to her third race win in a row. Chasing her down in second was Jaggi, who’d clearly put her shaky first day performance behind her. Offringa (Starboard, NeilPryde) also sailed a solid heat to award her, her highest place finish so far, in third.
Moving down the ranks, Lee Korzitz failed to make the final, and then also failed to finish in the losers final, meaning she’d have to make do with fifteenth place.
Race 4: Korzitz stuttered again in the day’s second race. Successfully making it through to the final, she proceeded false start, as did rival Offringa. The pair had to settle for joint last place.
Improving, Jaggi turned up the heat to sail to victory in the final. Not far behind, Ghibaudo added a second to her near perfect run of results, and unsung racing talent Nagoshi (Simmer) nailed a third place finish.
Race 5: After qualifying for the final, Jaggi seemed to drop off the boil with a disappointing seventh place finish. Super consistent Ghibaudo continued her run of top notch results, adding another first to her impressive hoard, and Iballa Moreno (North Sails) showed up on the radar to storm home in second.
Nagoshi was rewarded for her efforts, playing a sensible game, and not pushing too hard. When the dust settled, she emerged in third place. More impressively, her consistency rewarded her with second place overall for the event so far. Not bad for a freestyler.
Sailor of the day
Kevin Pritchard earns the honour of sailor of the day for exposing cracks in Albeau’s almost impenetrable defences. Pritchard knocked the seemingly unbeatable Frenchman off his thrown to claim victory in the men’s fourth race, and give the top spot a rare breather from Albeau’s clasp.
Tomorrow’s skippers meeting is scheduled for 10.30am, with the racers hitting the water from 11.00am onwards. Be sure to tune into pwaworldtour.com to follow all of day three’s trials and tribulations.
© PWA / Andrew Buchanan
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Re:Fuerteventura Grand Slam 2008 - 2008/07/22 07:28
The 2008 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam – Day Three
21.07.08 -
A colourful backdrop of slalom eliminations and full fleet racing shook things up for a third successive day of nerve racking competition.
In Brief
Two race eliminations, and two full fleet races were completed in the men’s and women’s fleets. Winning the men’s eliminations were Finian Maynard (RRD, NeilPryde) and Bjorn Dunkerbeck (T1, North). The men’s full fleet races were won by Antoine Albeau (Starboard, NeilPryde) and Micah Buzianis (JP, NeilPryde, MFC).
In the women’s fleet, Valerie Ghibaudo (Tabou, The Loft) continued to dominate, winning both race eliminations and one full fleet race. Karin Jaggi claimed victory in the remaining full fleet race.
Men’s Fleet
Race 5: Kick starting the day’s proceedings in a fresh 15-30 knot wind, the first round of heats followed a relatively predictable path to the semi finals. Moving into the race final, all the big names stood poised to do battle.
Accelerating off the start line, Maynard showed why he’s one of the fastest men in windsurfing, “I had a real good start, the water was nice and flat and the wind wasn’t gusting too much. My 7.8m seemed to be the right choice, and after taking the lead on the first reach, I held onto it right to the finish line”. This marked Maynard’s first victory of the event so far. Behind him, Kevin Pritchard (Starboard, Gaastra, MFC, Dakine) finished in second, and Benoit Moussilmani (F2, Simmer) in third. Surprisingly, Albeau never threatened the podium positions, and ended up taking an uncharacteristic sixth place.
Race 6: Jossin (F2, The Loft), Ten Hoeve (Fanatic) and Benoit Moussilmani didn’t help their causes by false starting in the opening round of heat. Hawkins (Exocet, NeilPryde) also fell victim to his own over enthusiasm, false starting in the subsequent semi final.
Moving into the final, Albeau tightened his grip, but not enough to stop Dunkerbeck from passing him, and sailing to his first race win. Albeau had to settle for second place, having never threatened Dunkerbeck, and Allen (Tabou, Gaastra) found his form to bag a solid third position finish.
Full Fleet Action - Race 7: Fifty one racers jostled for position before a mammoth rabbit start to christen the first full fleet race. The spectacular format tests competitors’ physical endurance, as well as tactical know how. In this case, the man with both qualities was seasoned victor, Albeau.
Breaking away and aided by clean wind, Albeau consolidated his lead as the race progressed, and ultimately won in style by a whopping margin. Fighting their own battle, Buzianis, Pritchard and Dunkerbeck were never far apart.
Eventually separating them, the final race section of tighter gybes rewarded Pritchard with second place, Dunkerbeck third, and Buzianis fourth.
Race 8: The second full fleet race turned things on their head. Poor starts by many of the big names saw Albeau finish in 21st, Pritchard, 16th, Dunkerbeck 17th, and Maynard failed to complete the race after sustaining an injury from a catapult on the start line.
Ever consistent, Buzianis remained deadly focused, and was rewarded with first position, with opportunists Volwater (F2, North) and Cyril Moussilmani (Fanatic, North Sails) padding out the podium in second and third respectively. As it stands in the overall results so far Albeau maintains his grip on the event lead but after today’s racing Buzianis has closed the gap and the pressure is now on the world champion to make no more errors.
Women’s Fleet
Races 6 & 7: Ghibaudo was untouchable in her familiar first position, claiming two more back to back victories in races 6 and 7. Offringa (Starboard, NeilPryde) and Jaggi also dialed into the conditions. Jaggi’s experience rewarded her with a third and a second, and a similarly impressive performance handed Offringa a commendable second and fourth.
Ex RSX racer, Korzitz also continued her run of solid results, finishing third in race seven.
Full Fleet Races 8 & 9: Jaggi returned to dominate the first of the 15 strong, full fleet races, weaving her way around the gybes to emerge the conclusive victor. Joining her on the podium, Moreno (North) dug deep to hold off Ghibaudo and take second. Ghibaudo made do with a respectable third place.
The final race of the day was lead by Jaggi, who looked set to dominate proceedings until she fell gybing around the penultimate mark. Seizing the opportunity, Ghibaudo slipped past to claim her seventh race win. Moreno mimicked her previous race with another second, with Nagoshi (Simmer, Dakine) close behind in third. Jaggi paid a hefty price for her fall, eventually finishing in fourth.
Tomorrow’s skippers meeting is scheduled for 10.30am, with the racers hitting the water from 11.00am onwards. Be sure to tune into pwaworldtour.com to follow all of day three’s trials and tribulations.
© PWA / Andrew Buchanan
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Re:Fuerteventura Grand Slam 2008 - 2008/07/22 07:32
Hectic full fleet racing.
Pic - PWA/John Carter
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