Catalunya PWA World Cup

June 13, 2015 Created by Chris Yates

Day 5: A frustrating day as the wind teases the competitors for the majority of the afternoon

The outlook for the penultimate day of the Catalunya PWA World Cup was much more positive than Friday’s prospects as the golden sunshine returned and by late morning the wind was already showing signs of picking up. Unfortunately though the wind remained just below the competition threshold for much of the afternoon - teasingly fluctuating between 5-12 knots.

After several hours of waiting the sailors were eventually released at 7:30pm and attention now turns towards the final day - which on paper looks more promising than today with more south forecast in the gradient wind. Hopefully this will allow the sea breeze to return and provide an exciting climax to the event.

Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde) - will be waiting on tenter hooks as he sits in a precarious lead with one day to go. The Israeli made the perfect start to the event by winning the first race, but then made a big mistake in the second elimination as he was disqualified from the first round for a premature start. If the wind fails to materialise then Dagan will claim his second ever event victory - after success in Sylt last year - however, on the other hand if the wind does arrive then it is likely he will miss out with the possibility of acquiring a discard looking unlikely.

Waiting in the wings though is Matteo Iachino (Fanatic / North), who currently occupies second place and would have a great chance of challenging for a maiden event win if the final day does produce the goods. Of course the Italian will face stern competition though with reigning world champion - Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) - breathing down his neck in third place.

Some of the biggest names in the world of slalom will also be praying for wind to give them a chance to improve their ranking both here and overall after some shock results in Korea where just two eliminations could be completed. A poor result here could potentially cost the likes of Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne), Ben Van Der Steen (Tabou / GA Sails) and Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde) a shot at the title for 2015 due to the fact they can only discard one event.

The skippers’ meeting tomorrow will be held at 10:30am with the action commencing from 11am. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to stay up to date with all the latest from the event.

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