The Gran Canaria Vargas, Aguimes PWA Wave World Cup 2003

The waiting is almost over. The PWA wave tour is all set to kick off its season on the windswept beaches of Gran Canaria. The event will be based at Vargas, one of the islands most radical windsurfing spots. Registration will take place on the 29th April with official action commencing on the 30th through to the 4th May.

The waiting is almost over. The PWA wave tour is all set to kick off its season on the windswept beaches of Gran Canaria. The event will be based at Vargas, one of the islands most radical windsurfing spots. Registration will take place on the 29th April with official action commencing on the 30th through to the 4th May.

Gran Canaria is home stomping ground of Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Neil Pryde), Vidar Jensen (North), Marcos Perez, Jonas Ceballos (Gaastra, Fanatic) and the Moreno Sisters (Mistral, North) who will all be out to post an early season victory in front of their home crowds. Ex world champion Jason Polakow (JP, Neil Pryde) will also be in attendance after making a full recovery from an injury set back and will be looking to make a big impact on his return to PWA wave competition.

Last year the wind refused to play ball at the event headquarters but thanks to the co-operation of the event sponsors competition took place on the northern coastline of the island in dramatic down the line conditions. The event finished with two completed rounds leaving sixteen sailors sharing the event victory. Later in the season Kevin Pritchard (Gaastra, Starboard) secured the wave title at the Pozo after defeating Dunkerbeck at his home spot in a thrilling final. Dunkerbeck will no doubt be out for revenge and Vargas will be his first opportunity to set the record straight.

In the women’s competition Iballa Moreno (Mistral, North) will be back in action following her injury sustained on the opening day of the Pozo world cup last season. Iballa will have to deal with challenges from her sister Daida (Mistral, North), Swiss ex world champion Karin Jaggi (F2, Arrows) and Anne Marie Reichman (Naish) of Holland.

Vargas is a 4-5 kilometre long bay with the waves breaking on sandbanks close to the shore. The winds are usually side to side/offshore and generally work best on the northeast trade direction. Gran Canaria is famous for its nuclear winds and when the Atlantic high pressure moves into place, 40 – 60 knot winds are not uncommon.

The stage is all set and the tension is building. This is one of the biggest and will no doubt be one of the most spectacular events of the season. Keep up to date with the PWA web site for daily updates and pictures as the story unfolds.


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