netIP Cold Hawaii PWA World Cup

Event Preview: Next stop Cold Hawaii for the wave sailing elite

The seventh edition of the Cold Hawaii PWA World Cup, which runs between the 19th-25th September —  sees a new title sponsor — netIP. — and after the opening two stops in the Canaries, it's time to return to Denmark. 

Cold Hawaii, in recent years, has proven to be a pivotal point of the season,— with both Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing / MFC) and Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) — going on to win the world title after claiming victories here in 2013 and ’14. 

Klitmøller itself is located in Northern Jutland, just ten kilometres southwest of Hanstholm. What once was a quaint little fishing village is now being heralded as one of the wave sailing gems of Europe. Its reputation is such that, Klitmøller, is now more commonly known as Cold Hawaii, due to the fact that it bares the brunt of the biggest storms in Northern Europe. Although this makes life incredibly tough for the fisherman, it is also the prime reason for Cold Hawaii’s growing reputation within the windsurfing, and surfing, world. From perfect stunt ramps to powerful, gnarly, waves Cold Hawaii provides the perfect platform for the world’s most radical sailors to showcase exactly what they are capable of.

Ones to Watch

After the opening couple of events — Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC / Shamal Sunglasses)  —  holds a comprehensive lead at the top of the rankings — particularly after his main rival  — Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) — has unfortunately been ruled out for the remainder of the season after sustaining a torn cruciate knee ligament injury while training in Western Australia. Fernandez has been in inspired form thus far and he has never finished outside the top 5 here. 

Fernandez’s main danger is now Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD), who is back in the hunt for the world title having coming so close in 2013. Mussolini has made a strong start to the season with two 4th place finishes and he’ll be hoping to sustain the pressure on Fernandez with another big performance. 

2013 world champion — Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing / MFC) — is also a major threat after the Brazilian rediscovered his best form in Tenerife. Second place in El Medano means the 27 year old enters the event in 4th place overall and he is prominently placed to make a bid for a second world title — particularly as he won this event in 2013 and has finished 3rd and 5th here since. 

Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) is the only other sailor — besides Köster — to have won in Cold Hawaii more than once with the Frenchman collecting the event title in 2012 and 2014 — making him a major player for the contest once more, but he’ll have his hands full if he wants to add to that with the likes of Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Sunglasses), Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / SWOX) — who finished joint 3rd here in 2014 with Leon Jamaer (JP / NeilPryde) — Dany Bruch (Starboard / Flight Sails / AL360 / Shamal Sunglasses), Ricardo Campello (Patrik / Point-7 / MFC) and Adam Lewis (Fanatic / NorthSails / SWOX) all ready for the third battle of the season.

Also keep an eye out for Josep Pons (Simmer / Simmer), Leon Jamaer and Jules Denel (JP / NeilPryde), who complete the current top 10, while Alessio Stillrich (Fanatic / NorthSails), Antoine Martin (JP / NeilPryde / MFC) and Dieter Van der Eyken (Starboard / Severne) shouldn’t be too far away from the action. 

Conditions currently look quite unfavourable, but with Europe being so changeable anything can still happen. For all the latest news and developments from Cold Hawaii make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com between the 19th-24th September.

To see all the latest from the event — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.