Having led the title race for the entirety of the season - Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins) - after recording a win in Japan, a second in South Korea and a 6th in Costa Brava, the Argentine survived a slightly nervy wait in Sylt to deservedly be crowned the 2018 PWA Foil World Champion. After becoming the first man to win the Foil championship we recently caught up with Gonzalo for an interview, which you can read below:

Hey Gonzalo, how’s it going?

All good! back with my family in Tarifa! Very relaxed now!

How does it feel to be the first official PWA Foil World Champion?

Feels amazing! I always had the dream of winning a PWA title and becoming the very first one in Foil makes it even more special!

In the end it finished very tight for the title between yourself and Basti [Kördel] - was that a nervous wait on the last day?

Yes!!! it was a long day!! The forecast said that the wind was not going to stay long so most likely we were going to have some more foil racing. I was “mentally” prepared for it, so i had everything ready and was pretty calm. But then the waves were too big so we couldn’t go in. So it was pretty stressful watching the waves all day!!

Sylt ended up being your discard - what do you think happened?

At first I was pretty relaxed as I felt really prepared for the event. I had trained a lot and my gear was feeling super good. I did some events after Costa Brava to stay active and won them all, so I was confident I was prepared.

The event in Sylt is very particular, is very long. We have all the disciplines there, so it’s hard to predict how much racing we will have. I knew that the days we were going to be foiling could be very limited but the forecast kept on changing all the time and that plays on your mind, adding a bit more pressure knowing you can’t afford to screw up.

I had some bad decisions regards my trim and it was not easy to come back to change, kind of got caught with too much power on all my trim the first day.

The second day I took a more conservative trim and I could have gone with a lot more power. 

Regards starts and racing decisions I was pretty conservative, I didn’t want to be too far away from my main opponents for the overall, so tactically that didn’t help me to have great races but in the end i took the overall tittle and that was my goal!

Every event this year saw a different champion - which makes it quite exciting and hard to predict from a spectators point of view - do you think that that trend will continue next season or do you think it will become like Slalom where there are a few big names dominating the top?

I think it will continue like this year, many guys will be able to win an event. And that’s super exciting to see I think. The level will be higher and a lot more guys will come in from other disciplines, so yes I think it will be super exciting!

This season has seen a variety of wind strengths and some variation in courses… what would you say your favourite foiling conditions are?

I liked the powered up races in Japan and Korea, with flat water and gusty winds, so it was very fast and tactical. The crossings were close, and I think the racing was on a different level, a level of excitement we had never experienced before. I liked the windy race in CB that I won too, I think that because I live in Tarifa I am many times in the water foiling even when it’s windy, so whenever we had windy races this year I was up there getting top spots. It’s always nice to feel you are good when it gets hairy…!

Where was your favourite event of the year and some of the highlights?

I think I liked Japan the most and the M course race we did there was definitely the highlight of the season for me. It was super challenging and there was a lot of lead changes but I took it in the end. 

Did you have any low points on tour?

I left Costa Brava with a sour feeling as i finished 6th and I knew I could have done a lot better.

What is the best thing about being on tour?

I love competing in different locations and meeting passionate windsurfers around the world is pretty cool too.

And the worst?

Being away from my wife and baby!!! Arriving to the airport with way too many bags to check in as well is pretty bad…

You are working on R&D for both Starboard/Severne and Foil - what would the main differences be for example between a Slalom sail and a dedicated Foil sail? 

We worked very hard on our foil range with Starboard/Severne and Starboard Foils. I am very happy how all my gear worked. 

All our stuff is super easy to sail, so in the end that helps you to win races, especially on foil you need to be very comfortable all the time…if you are fighting with your gear then it is impossible to have a good race. 

The Hyper Glyde, our dedicated foil sail from Severne has a bigger range, a softer feel,  a tighter leech and an overall easiness when on air compared to our Mach1, our slalom dedicated sail. We won 3 out of 4 PWA events so i think we did a very good job. 

How did you celebrate winning the first official Foil world title?

I had a nice dinner with most of my friends on the last day in Sylt, we are competitors but when the contest is done most of us are super good friends. 

Then I think I celebrated the whole last week with my wife and baby, just enjoying time with them. 

What will you be up to over the winter months?

I will go to Argentina to visit my family and friends, haven't been there for a while! And I am most probably going to Australia all of January and February to the Severne head quarters with Matteo [Iachino[, to start the early development for ’20 and to prepare for the ’19 season. 

Thanks for the interview Gonzalo and congrats again on winning your first Foil world title! Have a great winter and see you next season!

You can stay up to date with all of Gonzalo Costa Hoevel’s latest news and adventures via his Social Media Channels:

Instagram: @gonzalocostahoevel 

Facebook: @gonzalocostahoevel 

Federico Morisio (JP / NeilPryde): “I truly love Cape Town and it's always one of the best trips of the year! This year I especially focused on waveriding, training and I got some epic sessions with sick waves between Cape Point, Haakgat and Scarborough! Lots of crashes, a broken tooth, broken gear and many KMs of driving but aaaall completely worth it! I hope you enjoy the video and share it with your friends! ;)

Check out more videos and follow me on:

Instagram www.instagram.com/federicomorisio

Facebook www.facebook.com/federicomorisio/"

If you missed the earlier link here it is again: youtu.be/XpJNh5tZ3TY

Whether you are looking to develop wave, freestyle or slalom gear Maui can over it all with a bit of driving and you can see former top competitor - Micah Buzianis (JP / S2Maui) - putting some of his new slalom equipment through its paces @ vimeo.com/294508153

Art Szpunar: "Micah Buzianis testing the 2019 S2Maui Venom race sail on the wide open Pacific swells of Maui's North Shore."

The Swiss finished this season ranked 10th overall and is progressing Foilstyling at an amazing rate... already landing paskos, culos, burners and shifties to name just a few.

If you haven't seen Balz in action already then you definitely should - https://vimeo.com/293711467

If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like to be a professional Freestyler… now you can thanks to Yegor’s brilliant new point of view video, which you can see @ youtu.be/PDfTRuTG67Y

Yegor Popretinskiy: “Have you ever wanted to play a video game about windsurfing? Realistic, with smooth physics, from third-person perspective, with user-friendly controls, games like Tony Hawk, Kelly Slater or EA Skate? I always dreamed about it! Watch my new 1 min video where I hope I could pass you sense of presence in such a game and drive of windsurfing. To be continued…”

Seems like Stone lucked out and now there’s an epic video to show just how much as he and Scott McKercher take apart reeling turquoise blue walls!

You can see ‘Australian Dessert’ @ https://vimeo.com/292264338 - Does windsurfing get any better?

Wave

Women’s 

Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) ends her best year on the PWA Wave World Tour - 2018 vice-world champion - on a high after winning her first wave event since 2016. This year’s contest saw a range of starboard and port tack conditions, but with the finals being completed in port tack this also marks the Aruban’s first success on port, which will only enhance her world title credentials going forwards. Offringa ends the season with a superb record of 3 second places and a victory.

With Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) unfortunately forced into a late withdrawal from the final contest of the year, due to injury, that meant that coming into Sylt the Women’s world title was already decided with her sister - Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) - successfully defending her world crown for the 5th consecutive year, which is Iballa’s 10th overall and 28th for the legendary Moreno twins. Meanwhile, Daida completes the overall podium.

Lina Erpenstein (Severne / Severne Sails) walks away from her home event by recording her first podium since Gran Canaria in 2017. The German was only stopped by an on fire Sarah-Quita Offringa in the semifinals, but was able to defeat her good friend, and fellow German, Steffi Wahl (Sailloft Hamburg) in the battle for 3rd and 4th. Erpenstein finishes 2018 ranked 4th in the overalls, while Wahl records her best finish at an event since completing the podium in Tenerife in 2016.

Meanwhile, after missing the first event of the season in Morocco due to visa complications - Justyna Sniady (Simmer / Simmer Sails / AL360) - completes her comeback to rise to 5th in the overall rankings after outperforming Arrianne Aukes (Fanatic / Duotone / Maui Ultra Fins) here.

Men’s

Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / Duotone / Shamal Sunglasses) ends 2018 with his 3rd wave world title, but the road to his second world title in 3 years was anything but straightforward  with the Spaniard having to endure an emotional roller coaster as the race for the world title took several dramatic twists and turns. 

Firstly, Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) eliminated Fernandez in the quarterfinals of the Single Elimination, and with Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) and Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing) both facing shock first round exits at the hands of Qualifiers - Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) and Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails) - that opened the door for fellow world title hopeful - Ricardo Campello (Brunotti Boards / Point-7). And the 33-year-old took full advantage as he went on to win the Single Elimination and thus assume the No.1 spot in the overalls.

Fernandez then almost staged just the comeback he needed by winning 5 heats in a row, but Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) would prove to be the Spaniard’s downfall again - leaving Fernandez in 3rd place and just one place short of the top 2 which would’ve guaranteed him the world title. Fortunately, for Fernandez, Traversa then defeated Campello twice to derail the 33-year-olds title challenge while guaranteeing Fernandez his 3rd world title,

Traversa climbs into the overall top 10 - 8th - for the first time this season with a timely victory helping to somewhat save his season as in the Canaries he recorded two 17th places. However, over the last 10 days he returned to something close to his best form and ends the season with a flourish.

Campello will no doubt be disappointed not to have captured his first wave world title, but the 33-year-old should be able to reflect on this season in a very positive manner after still finishing as the vice-world champion, which is his best overall result since  2011 - when he also finished 2nd overall.

Meanwhile, 3-time world champion - Philip Köster - completes the overall podium followed by Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Sunglasses), Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing), Adam Lewis (Fanatic / Duotone / SWOX), Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD Sails), Traversa, Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / SWOX), while Dany Bruch (Bruch Boards / Flight Sails / AL360) completes the top 10 as Marc Paré (Simmer / Simmer Sails) just misses out. 

Elsewhere, Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails), made quite a name for himself as the giant killer of the event as the Frenchman claimed the scalp of Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing) twice and 3-time world champion - Philip Koster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) in Heat 30b to eliminate Koster from this year’s title race, while Ruenes walks away from Sylt with an excellent 6th place.

Freestyle 

Gollito Estredo (Fanatic / Duotone) completed a stunning comeback in the Double Elimination to be crowned Freestyle World Champion for the 9th time, while denying teammate Adrien Bosson (Fanatic / Duotone) a first world title. As the 29-year-old so often does, he produced his highest scoring heat of the Double Elimination in the Super Final - when it mattered most - posting a score of 130 points to only enhance his reputation as not only the Freestyle King, but also as one of the best competitors on the tour. Gollito seems to thrive under pressure where others may falter.

Bosson should be delighted with his performances this season and deservedly ends the year as the vice-world champion, which is the first time he has broken into the illustrious overall top 3 - bettering his efforts from 2016 & ’17 - when finishing 7th and 6th overall. The Frenchman produced a dynamic and explosive performance to win the Single Elimination in impressive fashion, and his ability to land the biggest air moves on both tacks now makes him one of the most dangerous sailors on the tour. 

Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) was forced to fight his way back through the Double Elimination after Bosson dispatched of the Bonairean in clinical fashion in the quarterfinals of the Single, and that’s exactly what 22-year managed to do as won 5 heats on the spin to fight back into 3rd place for the event and overall rankings.

Meanwhile, Yentel Caers (JP / Point-7) finishes the season ranked 4th after a 7th place finish, while fellow Belgian - Steven Van Broeckhoven (JP / Gun Sails / Shamal Sunglasses) returns to the overall top 5 for the first time since 2014. SVB finally enjoyed an injury free competition year and was able to show the kind of form associated with the 2011 world champion.

The top 10 is completed by Italy’s Jacopo Testa (RRD / RRD Sails / AL360) - 6th - Belgium’s Dieter van der Eyken (Severne / Severne Sails) - 7th - France’s Sam Esteve (JP / NeilPryde) - 8th - Italy’s Mattia Fabrizi (Patrik / Challenger Sails - 9th - who produced an amazing comeback from the first round of the Double Elimination to finish joint 7th in Sylt, and last but not least Switzerland’s Balz Müller (MB-Boards / Severne Sails), who wowed the crowds with not only his regular freestyle, but also his foil freestyle as he continues to push the boundaries of the sport.

Slalom

Matteo Iachino came into the last event of the year tied on points with Antoine Albeau, but leading on countback, so in Sylt the title race would come down to whoever beat who as long as they finished in the top 8 or better. 

In the end the battle went in the favour of Albeau, who recorded two solid 3rd places from the two eliminations to finish 2nd and claim an incredible 25th world title, while also successfully defending his world crown from last year as the 46-year-old continues to show no signs of slowing down.

 For Iachino, 2018 will still go down as a successful year. After all the Italian still finishes the year as a vice-world champion, but undoubtedly this will still be a bitter blow to take having led the tour since South Korea in May. Coming into Sylt Iachino had qualified for 16 out of the 17 Winners’ Finals - 94% - this season, but crucially missed out on the opening final here. Iachino then hit back immediately with a bullet, but unfortunately for the Italian no further racing was completed. Expect to see Iachino involved in the title race again next season.

Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins) did everything in his power to stop both Albeau or Iachino from winning the 2018 PWA Slalom World Championship by winning the event after a bullet and a 4th place, but it wasn’t enough this time around and the Frenchman finishes 3rd in the overalls. This was also Mortefon’s first victory since Costa Brava in 2016 and as one of the ‘Big Top 3’ he’ll be heavily involved again next season.

Elsewhere, Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / Duotone) just missed out on the top 10 for the first time this season - 11th - but the flying Dutchman won’t be disappointed as 2018 represents his best year to date on the world tour - 4th - which is Vonk’s first time in the overall top 10. The future looks bright for Vonk!

The top 10 is completed by Julien Quentel - 5th - Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Shamal Sunglasses) - 6th - Pascal Toselli (JP / Loftsails / Chopper Fins) - 7th -  who may be slightly disappointed with how the season ends having occupied a place in the top 4 for almost the entire season - Cyril Moussilmani (RRD / Severne), Mateus Isaac (JP / NeilPryde) - 9th - and Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins) - 10th - with the latter two breaking into the overall top 10 for the first time in their careers.

Meanwhile, Nicolas Warembourg (JP / NeilPryde), Basile Jacquin (RRD / Point-7) and Andrea Ferin (RRD / Challenger Sails / AL360) all record their first top 10 finishes at events - 8th, 9th & 10th respectively. 

Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui) may have made a slow start to the season by his recent standards, but improved drastically after Costa Brava as the Frenchman finishes the year with 3 top 10 results. But he saved his best until last to earn his first podium since 2012 to battle back to 13th overall for 2018.

Foil

Coming into Sylt there had been 3 Foil events - Japan, South Korea and Costa Brava - each of which had yielded a different winner in each location - Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins), Mateus Isaac (JP / NeilPryde) and Amado Vrieswijk- would Sylt provide another different champion? Yes! 

Who? Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses), who coming into Sylt had recorded a 10th and two 14th places. However, Iachino won 4 out of the 5 Foil Eliminations completed here as he destroyed the rest of the fleet and it seems the Italian has made rapid progress since the last event in Costa Brava. 

Back to the race for the first official Foil world title and Gonzalo Costa Hoevel just hung on to be crowned world champion. The Argentine discards the result here - 10th - and wins on countback after finishing tied on points with Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails) - 30,300 points - with the German finishing as the vice-world champion. 

Antoine Albeau completes the overall podium as he too holds a better discard than fellow countryman - Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / GA Sails / Chopper Fins) - with the two sailors tied on 30,100 points after Cousin earned his second podium of the year - 3rd. 

The overall top 10 is completed by; Mateus Isaac, Julien Bontemps (JP / NeilPryde), Amado Vrieswijk, Matteo Iachino, Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde) and Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui) - 5th-10th. 

That concludes the 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam and with it another fantastic year on the PWA World Tour - congratulations again to all of this year’s champions we’ll be back with more world class windsurfing in 2019. Stay tuned!

Project Blue Life - Dedicated to Effective Climate Protection 

Actually it is no news anymore that the time has come: CO2 reduction and compensation is the most important subject for everyone. 

A very interesting fact is that Mangroves are the most valuable plants on earth.

Mangroves are the most sustainable, simple and efficient tool for CO2 compensation for every private person and for businesses of all kinds. 

We are the ones together, honoured to spread this information to the world, inviting thousands and millions of people to participate and share.

Thanks to Svein Rasmussen and Dr. Arne Fjortoft as our foundation partners of Blue Life, we have developed a system that turns events of all kind into tools for climate protection. This actively involves the competitors as well as spectators and digital users and viewers.

For more details about the Blue Life project visit @ windsurfworldcup.com/en/blue-life/

Result 2018 Wave Mercedes-Benz PWA Super Grand Slam - Women’s Wave 

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU - Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)

2nd Iballa Moreno (ESP - Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins)

3rd Lina Erpenstein (GER - Severne / Severne Sails)

4th Steffi Wahl (GER - Sailloft Hamburg)

Overall Rankings 2018 PWA World Tour - Women’s Wave

1st Iballa Moreno (ESP - Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins)

2nd Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU - Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)

3rd Daida Moreno (ESP - Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins)

4th Lina Erpenstein (GER - Severne / Severne Sails)

5th Justyna Sniady (POL - Simmer / Simmer Sails / AL360)

Result Men’s Wave 2018 Mercedes-Benz PWA Super Grand Slam

1st Thomas Traversa (FRA - Tabou / GA Sails)

2nd Ricardo Campello (BRA/VEN - Brunotti Boards / Point-7)

3rd Victor Fernandez (ESP - Fanatic / Duotone / Shamal Sunglasses)

4th Alex Mussolini (ESP - RRD / RRD Sails)

5th Jaeger Stone (AUS - Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Sunglasses)

6th Antony Ruenes (FRA - Tabou / GA Sails)

7th Leon Jamaer (GER - JP / NeilPryde)

7th Philip Köster (GER - Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins)

9th Josep Pons (ESP - Simmer / Simmer Sails)

9th Adam Lewis (ENG - Fanatic / Duotone / SWOX)

9th Klaas Voget (GER - Fanatic / Duotone)

9th Marcilio Browne (BRA - Goya Windsurfing)

Overall Rankings 2018 PWA World Tour - Men’s Wave

1st Victor Fernandez (ESP - Fanatic / Duotone / Shamal Sunglasses)

2nd Ricardo Campello (BRA/VEN - Brunotti Boards / Point-7)

3rd Philip Köster (GER - Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins)

4th Jaeger Stone (AUS - Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Sunglasses)

5th Marcilio Browne (BRA - Goya Windsurfing)

6th Adam Lewis (ENG - Fanatic / Duotone / SWOX)

7th Alex Mussolini (ESP - RRD / RRD Sails)

8th Thomas Traversa (FRA - Tabou / GA Sails)

9th Robby Swift (ENG - JP / NeilPryde / SWOX)

10th Dany Bruch (GER - Bruch Boards / Flight Sails / AL360)

Result Men’s Freestyle Mercedes-Benz PWA Super Grand Slam

1st Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (VEN - Fanatic / Duotone)

2nd Adrien Bosson (FRA - Fanatic / Duotone / Maui Ultra Fins)

3rd Amado Vrieswijk (NB - JP / Severne)

4th Steven Van Broeckhoven (BEL - JP / GunSails / Shamal Sunglasses)

5th Sam Esteve (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)

6th Jacopo Testa (ITA - RRD / RRD Sails / AL360)

7th Mattia Fabrizi (ITA - Patrik / Challenger Sails)

7th Yentel Caers (BEL - JP / Point-7)

9th Balz Müller (SUI - MB-Boards / Severne)

9th Dieter van der Eyken (BEL - Severne / Severne Sails)

9th Loick Spicher (SUI - RRD / RRD Sails)

9th Nic Hibdige (ENG - Tabou / GA Sails)

Overall Rankings 2018 PWA World Tour - Men’s Freestyle

1st Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (VEN - Fanatic / Duotone)

2nd Adrien Bosson (FRA - Fanatic / Duotone / Maui Ultra Fins)

3rd Amado Vrieswijk (NB - JP / Severne)

4th Yentel Cabers (BEL - JP / Point-7)

5th Steven Van Broeckhoven (BEL - JP / Gun Sails / Shamal Sunglasses)

6th Jacopo Testa (ITA - RRD / RRD Sails / AL360)

7th Dieter van der Eyken (BEL - Severne / Severne Sails)

8th Sam Esteve (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)

9th Mattia Fabrizi (ITA - Patrik / Challenger Sails)

10th Balz Müller (SUI - MB-Boards / Severne Sails)

Result 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam - Men’s Slalom

1st Pierre Mortefon (FRA - Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins)

2nd Antoine Albeau (FRA - RRD / NeilPryde)

3rd Antoine Questel (FRA - Starboard / S2Maui)

4th Ross Williams (GBR - Tabou / GA Sails / Shamal Sunglasses)

4th Cyril Moussilmani (FRA - RRD / Severne)

6th Matteo Iachino (ITA - Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses)

7th Julien Quentel (SXM - Patrik / Avanti)

8th Basile Jacquin (FRA - RRD / Point-7)

9th Nicolas Warembourg (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)

10th Andrea Ferin (ITA - RRD / Challenger Sails / AL360)

Overall Rankings 2018 PWA World Tour - Men’s Slalom

1st Antoine Albeau (FRA - RRD / NeilPryde)

2nd Matteo Iachino (ITA - Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses)

3rd Pierre Mortefon (FRA - Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins)

4th Jordy Vonk (NED - Fanatic / Duotone)

5th Julien Quentel (SXM - Patrik / Avanti)

6th Ross Williams (ENG - Tabou / GA Sails / Shamal Sunglasses)

7th Pascal Toselli (FRA - JP / Loftsails / Chopper Fins)

8th Cyril Moussilmani (FRA - RRD / Severne)

9th Mateus Isaac (BRA - JP / NeilPryde)

10th Tristan Algret (GPE - Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins)

Result 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam - Men’s Foil

1st Matteo Iachino (ITA - Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses)

2nd Nicolas Goyard (FRA - Tabou / GA Sails) 

3rd Alexandre Cousin (FRA - Patrik / GA Sails / Chopper Fins)

4th Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails)

5th Mateus Isaac (BRA - JP / NeilPryde)

6th Antoine Albeau (FRA - RRD / NeilPryde) 

7th Sebastian Kornum (DEN - JP / NeilPryde)

8th Julien Bontemps (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)

9th Steve Allen (AUS - Patrik / Severne)

10th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (ARG - Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses)

Overall Rankings 2018 PWA World Tour - Men’s Foil

1st Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (ARG - Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses)

2nd Sebastian Kördel (GER - Starboard / GA Sails)

3rd Antoine Albeau (FRA - RRD / NeilPryde)

4th Alexandre Cousin (FRA - Patrik / GA Sails / Chopper Fins)

5th Mateus Isaac (BRA - JP / NeilPryde)

6th Julien Bontemps (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)

7th Amado Vrieswijk (NB - JP / Severne)

8th Matteo Iachino (ITA - Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses)

9th Sebastian Kornum (DEN - JP / NeilPryde)

10th Antoine Questel (FRA - Starboard / S2Maui)

Antoine Albeau successfully defends his world title: “I’m super happy to win my 25th world title. I’m happy with how things went here I was consistent in the slalom and managed to get in the lead. Bring on next season!”

Gonzalo Costa Hoevel on becoming Foil World Champion: “Stoked to win the first ever official PWA World Title. I feel amazing. This wasn’t my best week in Sylt, but over the year I managed to perform well. Congrats also to Basti [Kördel] for finishing 2nd. Thanks to my sponsors, family and friends for all the support.”

Sarah-Quita Offringa on winning first wave event since 2016: “Hey PWA, Wauw !! The year is ending on a high note for me.

I feel like this year my wave efforts are coming together.

I know now what the judges are looking for in jumps and wave rides, I feel like last year my wave riding was a bit hit and miss whereas this year I feel more consistent and confident, I understand my gear much better and how to set everything up, especially the fins, you won’t believe it, but waves almost needs as much tuning as slalom hahaha. 

Winning in Maui was wicked, but this event definitely means a lot to me. We had both Starboard and port tack heats. 

And the cold adds to the challenge of competing. So, finally  that actually makes it a bit cooler (pun intended) to win here. 

The variety of conditions also just added to the fun and excitement of competing here this year.

I think I’ve done some of my best turns and wave rides ever, and I’m happy those were during my heats.

And I think it’s mostly because the level is really high across the fleet, so whoever I was up against really made me want to do better.

Big, big congratulations to the top 4 for this event, Iballa, Lina and Steffi.

The men’s contest was also great to watch, congrats to Thomas, Ricardo and Victor there!”

Congrats to all the winners - we’ll be back on Tuesday with the event summary. 

Result 2018 Wave Mercedes-Benz PWA Super Grand Slam - Women’s Wave 

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU - Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)

2nd Iballa Moreno (ESP - Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins)

3rd Lina Erpenstein (GER - Severne / Severne Sails)

4th Steffi Wahl (GER - Sailloft Hamburg)

Result Men’s Wave 2018 Mercedes-Benz PWA Super Grand Slam

1st Thomas Traversa (FRA - Tabou / GA Sails)

2nd Ricardo Campello (BRA/VEN - Brunotti Boards / Point-7)

3rd Victor Fernandez (ESP - Fanatic / Duotone / Shamal Sunglasses)

4th Alex Mussolini (ESP - RRD / RRD Sails)

5th Jaeger Stone (AUS - Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Sunglasses)

6th Antony Ruenes (FRA - Tabou / GA Sails)

7th Leon Jamaer (GER - JP / NeilPryde)

7th Philip Köster (GER - Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins)

9th Josep Pons (ESP - Simmer / Simmer Sails)

9th Adam Lewis (ENG - Fanatic / Duotone / SWOX)

9th Klaas Voget (GER - Fanatic / Duotone)

9th Marcilio Browne (BRA - Goya Windsurfing)

Result Men’s Freestyle Mercedes-Benz PWA Super Grand Slam

1st Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (VEN - Fanatic / Duotone)

2nd Adrien Bosson (FRA - Fanatic / Duotone / Maui Ultra Fins)

3rd Amado Vrieswijk (NB - JP / Severne)

4th Steven Van Broeckhoven (BEL - JP / GunSails / Shamal Sunglasses)

5th Sam Esteve (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)

6th Jacopo Testa (ITA - RRD / RRD Sails / AL360)

7th Mattia Fabrizi (ITA - Patrik / Challenger Sails)

7th Yentel Caers (BEL - JP / Point-7)

9th Balz Müller (SUI - MB-Boards / Severne)

9th Dieter van der Eyken (BEL - Severne / Severne Sails)

9th Loick Spicher (SUI - RRD / RRD Sails)

9th Nic Hibdige (ENG - Tabou / GA Sails)

Result 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam - Men’s Slalom

1st Pierre Mortefon (FRA - Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins)

2nd Antoine Albeau (FRA - RRD / NeilPryde)

3rd Antoine Questel (FRA - Starboard / S2Maui)

4th Ross Williams (GBR - Tabou / GA Sails / Shamal Sunglasses)

4th Cyril Moussilmani (FRA - RRD / Severne)

6th Matteo Iachino (ITA - Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses)

7th Julien Quentel (SXM - Patrik / Avanti)

8th Basile Jacquin (FRA - RRD / Point-7)

9th Nicolas Warembourg (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)

10th Andrea Ferin (ITA - RRD / Challenger Sails / AL360)

Result 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam - Men’s Foil

1st Matteo Iachino (ITA - Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses)

2nd Nicolas Goyard (FRA - Tabou / GA Sails) 

3rd Alexandre Cousin (FRA - Patrik / GA Sails / Chopper Fins)

4th Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails)

5th Mateus Isaac (BRA - JP / NeilPryde)

6th Antoine Albeau (FRA - RRD / NeilPryde) 

7th Sebastian Kornum (DEN - JP / NeilPryde)

8th Julien Bontemps (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)

9th Steve Allen (AUS - Patrik / Severne)

10th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (ARG - Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses)

Heading into the final day we decided to take a quick look at how things currently stand and who needs what to win…

Wave

Women’s 

Just the top 5 women remain in the Women’s Wave Double Elimination - Maaike Huvermann (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins), Steffi Wahl (Sailloft Hamburg), Lina Erpenstein (Severne / Severne Sails), Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) and Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) - and there is a small chance that tomorrow morning may offer the opportunity to finish the contest with 18-20 knot northerly winds and 2-3 foot waves currently predicted. With this in mind the Women’s Wave fleet will meet at 8am tomorrow morning with the action commencing from 8:30am - if conditions allow.

Slalom and Foil

Tomorrow will also be the final roll of the dice for the Slalom and Foil and with the forecast on offer there’s definitely the possibility that Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses) could get the chance to keep his title hopes alive. The Italian was leading the rankings coming into the final event of the year, but a semifinal exit in Elimination 1 has seen Iachino lose pole position to Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde), who is on the verge of a 25th world title after recording two solid 3rd places. As long as Albeau remains ahead of Iachino he will win the world title and has a 5.7 point advantage of Iachino heading into the final day.

Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins) leads the event, but his title chances look slim as the Frenchman would require both Albeau and Iachino to drop out of the top 8, which is not out of the question, but fate is out of his own hands.

Meanwhile, in the Foiling, Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins) does not have the world title wrapped up. The Argentine still leads the overall rankings, but now has Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails) on his tail. If things were to finish as they are now then Costa Hoevel and Kördel would finish the year tied on 30,300 points with Kördel missing out on countback. However, if the German can climb one place to 3rd then he would win the world title - *assuming Costa Hoevel finishes outside the event top 10 - currently 10th. To do that though Kördel would need to catch Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / GA Sails / Chopper Fins), who currently has a 12 point advantage.

So, the title races will come down to tomorrow, when hopefully the wind will play ball to create an exciting end to the 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam.

Skippers’ Meeting Times Day 10 (All Times GMT+2)

- Wave skippers' meeting 8am - first possible start 8:30am.
- Slalom/Foil skippers' meeting 8:30am - first possible start 9:30am.

Throughout the day there had been much dispute and speculation that the shore break was too big to foil with it being dangerous to enter and leave the water, but just before 2pm Maciek Rutkowski (I-99 / Challenger Sails) proved that it was more than doable, with the tide and waves dropping, as he walked straight out and began foiling. After which, the decision was made almost immediately to run full fleet foil races in 5-9 knots of wind.

Foiling

Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses) held a perfect record at the start of the day having won both races completed on Day 2 and the Italian still boasts a perfect record after being able to discard a 5th place in Elimination 3 after winning the next two races. In Elimination 5 Iachino did brilliantly to overtake Nicolas Goyard (Tabou / GA Sails) as the two of them headed for the finish line. Iachino now holds an almost unassailable lead with two days to go with a total score of just 2.8 points from 5 races.

Meanwhile, Nicolas Goyard rises one place into 2nd after enjoying an excellent day which saw the 22-year-old win the opening elimination, before finishing 11th in Elimination 4 - which he discards - and then finishing 2nd in the last race of the day.

Elsewhere, Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / GA Sails / Chopper Fins) also climbs one place, which sees him complete the event podium as things stand with Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) dropping to 6th place, while Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui) suffered a day to forget as the Frenchman drops from 3rd to 14th.

After a poor first day, Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails), bounced back brilliantly as he recorded two 3rd places and a 4th from the 3 races completed today, which sees the German rise to 4th in the current event rankings after being outside the current top 10, but more importantly that would put him on course to finish on the overall podium as things stand. 

Mateus Isaac (JP / NeilPryde), who won an event in South Korea earlier this year, climbs three places to 5th, while Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde), Julien Bontemps (JP / NeilPryde), Steve Allen (Patrik / Severne) and Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins) complete the top 10.

Title Race

In terms of the title race - Gonzalo Costa Hoevel - remains on course to win the first official PWA Slalom World Championship with the Argentine and his main rivals - Antoine Albeau and Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) - all looking like they will all discard this event meaning there is no change at the top of the rankings as things stand. 

The forecast for tomorrow looks very light on paper with just 5-7 knots being predicted, but as the last couple of days have shown the forecast can’t really be trusted, so anything can still happen. 

Skippers’ Meeting Times Day 9 (All Times GMT+2)

- Slalom Skippers' Meeting - 10:30am - first possible start 11am
- Women’s Wave Fleet have been given a lay day.

To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Germany — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Project Blue Life - Dedicated to Effective Climate Protection

Actually it is no news anymore that the time has come: CO2 reduction and compensation is the most important subject for everyone.

A very interesting fact is that Mangroves are the most valuable plants on earth.

Mangroves are the most sustainable, simple and efficient tool for CO2 compensation for every private person and for businesses of all kinds. 

We are the ones together, honoured to spread this information to the world, inviting thousands and millions of people to participate and share.

Thanks to Svein Rasmussen and Dr. Arne Fjortoft as our foundation partners of Blue Life, we have developed a system that turns events of all kind into tools for climate protection. This actively involves the competitors as well as spectators and digital users and viewers. 

For more details about the Blue Life project visit @ windsurfworldcup.com/en/blue-life/

Result Women’s 2018 Wave Mercedes-Benz PWA Super Grand Slam - Single Elimination

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU - Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)

2nd Iballa Moreno (ESP - Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins)

3rd Lina Erpenstein (GER - Severne / Severne Sails)

4th Steffi Wahl (GER - Sailloft Hamburg)

Result Men’s Wave 2018 Mercedes-Benz PWA Super Grand Slam

1st Thomas Traversa (FRA - Tabou / GA Sails)

2nd Ricardo Campello (BRA/VEN - Brunotti Boards / Point-7)

3rd Victor Fernandez (ESP - Fanatic / Duotone / Shamal Sunglasses)

4th Alex Mussolini (ESP - RRD / RRD Sails)

5th Jaeger Stone (AUS - Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Sunglasses)

6th Antony Ruenes (FRA - Tabou / GA Sails)

7th Leon Jamaer (GER - JP / NeilPryde)

7th Philip Köster (GER - Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins)

9th Josep Pons (ESP - Simmer / Simmer Sails)

9th Adam Lewis (ENG - Fanatic / Duotone / SWOX)

9th Klaas Voget (GER - Fanatic / Duotone)

9th Marcilio Browne (BRA - Goya Windsurfing)

Result Men’s Freestyle Mercedes-Benz PWA Super Grand Slam

1st Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (VEN - Fanatic / Duotone)

2nd Adrien Bosson (FRA - Fanatic / Duotone / Maui Ultra Fins)

3rd Amado Vrieswijk (NB - JP / Severne)

4th Steven Van Broeckhoven (BEL - JP / GunSails / Shamal Sunglasses)

5th Sam Esteve (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)

6th Jacopo Testa (ITA - RRD / RRD Sails / AL360)

7th Mattia Fabrizi (ITA - Patrik / Challenger Sails)

7th Yentel Caers (BEL - JP / Point-7)

9th Balz Müller (SUI - MB-Boards / Severne)

9th Dieter van der Eyken (BEL - Severne / Severne Sails)

9th Loick Spicher (SUI - RRD / RRD Sails)

9th Nic Hibdige (ENG - Tabou / GA Sails)

Current Ranking 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam - Men’s Slalom
*After Two Eliminations 

1st Pierre Mortefon (FRA - Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins)

2nd Antoine Albeau (FRA - RRD / NeilPryde)

3rd Antoine Questel (FRA - Starboard / S2Maui)

4th Ross Williams (GBR - Tabou / GA Sails / Shamal Sunglasses)

4th Cyril Moussilmani (FRA - RRD / Severne)

6th Matteo Iachino (ITA - Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses)

7th Julien Quentel (SXM - Patrik / Avanti)

8th Basile Jacquin (FRA - RRD / Point-7)

9th Nicolas Warembourg (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)

10th Andrea Ferin (ITA - RRD / Challenger Sails / AL360)

Current Ranking 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam - Men’s Foil
*After Five Eliminations

1st Matteo Iachino (ITA - Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses)

2nd Nicolas Goyard (FRA - Tabou / GA Sails) 

3rd Alexandre Cousin (FRA - Patrik / GA Sails / Chopper Fins)

4th Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails)

5th Mateus Isaac (BRA - JP / NeilPryde)

6th Antoine Albeau (FRA - RRD / NeilPryde) 

7th Sebastian Kornum (DEN - JP / NeilPryde)

8th Julien Bontemps (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)

9th Steve Allen (AUS - Patrik / Severne)

10th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (ARG - Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins)

Friday Outlook

The forecast for tomorrow currently predicts southwesterly winds of 16-25 knots and 3-4ft waves, so with this in mind, an early skippers’ meeting has been called for the Women’s Wave fleet - 8am - with the hope that we will be able to complete the Double Elimination with only a maximum of 5 heats to run.

The forecast then suggests that is could be windy for the rest of the day, which would provide the opportunity to switch back to Slalom or Foiling - and with the waves not guaranteed to be suitable - the racing fleets will meet at 9am for their skippers’ meeting with a first possible start at 10am (GMT+2).

Skippers’ Meeting Times Day 8 (All Times GMT+2)

- Wave Skippers' Meeting - 8am - first possible start 8:30am
- Slalom Skippers' Meeting - 9am - first possible start 10am

That meant that the Men’s Wave fleet took centre stage, and with the 2018 Men’s PWA Wave World Championship at stake, there was plenty to fight for, but you couldn’t have scripted the drama and twists and turns that followed. Meanwhile, the Men’s Wave World Title wasn’t the only World Title decided on Day 6 as the contortionists of the windsurfing world also fought it out to the bitter end in the Freestyle.

Wave

Men’s

An Emotional Rollercoaster

Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / Duotone / Shamal Sunglasses) had to endure an emotional rollercoaster today as he chased a 3rd Wave World Title. Things started brightly for Fernandez as the Spaniard sailed tactically astute heats to successfully defeat - Leon Jamaer (JP / NeilPryde), Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails), Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Sunglasses) and Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD Sails) - as the 34-year-old progressed into the top 3, while moving to within one victory of guaranteeing himself the world title. 

Meanwhile, Ricardo Campello (Brunotti Boards / Point-7) could do nothing but sit and watch as Fernandez threatened to derail Campello’s own hopes of capturing a first wave world title as he stormed back through the double.

Cue Heat 34 and the Start of the Drama 

Having won 5 consecutive heats in the Double Elimination, now there was only one man standing between Fernandez and a 3rd world title. The man in question? A certain Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails), who eliminated Fernandez in the quarterfinals of the Single Elimination and put Fernandez’s title hopes in jeopardy in the first place.

The heat itself wasn’t so dramatic, but with almost nothing between them, this is where the confusion set in as incorrect information quickly filtered to Fernandez, who thought he had just won his third world title. However, at this point, the result hadn’t been fully verified or officially confirmed, which led to Fernandez having to be delivered the horrific news that Traversa had in actual fact won the heat by just 0.07 of a point and that he wasn’t world champion at all.

The Villain and the Hero 

Having just played the villain by putting a spanner in the works of Fernandez’s world title aspirations, Fernandez was placed in a strange position, not only having to deal with the heartbreak of not being world champion - yet at least - but also now having to root for Traversa, who had just eliminated him, as all his hopes now rested in TT’s hands.

Agonising Wait

However, in order for that to happen, Traversa would have to defeat Campello not once, but twice, which is no easy feat on any given day - but even more so with Campello himself gunning for the title. That left Fernandez with an agonising wait, which must have felt like a lifetime.

Fortunately for Fernandez, and not so fortunately for Campello, Traversa produced the goods at the critical times to win both the Final and the Super Final, and with it, Fernandez’s emotional rollercoaster was complete as he was now officially the 2018 Men’s PWA Wave World Champion. 

The win was also fitting for Traversa, who up until now had endured a tough competition season, but over the last 6 days TT has proven, once again, why he is one of the best wave sailors in the world. Traversa may have been low on confidence coming into the event, but at least walks away from 2018 with his first event victory since his title winning year in 2014 - while perhaps reminding every one of his ability, which has never really been under question.

Ricardo Campello, will no doubt be disappointed not to have captured his first wave world title, but the 33-year-old should be able to reflect on this season in a very positive manner after still finishing as the vice-world champion, which is his best overall result since  2011 - when he also finished 2nd overall.

Elsewhere, Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails), continued his giant killing ways as he claimed the scalp of 3-time world champion - Philip Koster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) in Heat 30b to eliminate Koster from this year’s title race, while Ruenes walks away from Sylt with an excellent 6th place. 

We’ll take a look at the overalls and other results in the event summary.

Freestyle

With Jacopo Testa (RRD / RRD Sails/ AL360) eliminating Yentel Caers (JP / Point-7) in Heat 46a that meant that Adrien Bosson (Fanatic / Duotone / Maui Ultra Fins), who won the Single Elimination yesterday, and Gollito Estredo (Fanatic / Duotone) would have a straight battle for the 2018 Men’s PWA Freestyle World Championship.

Gollito was waiting in Heat 50 where he would eventually face - Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) - who had been on somewhat of a rampage in the Double Elimination. The Bonairean, who performed below par in yesterday’s quarterfinal, returned with a bang as he fought his way back into 3rd place after winning 5 heats on the bounce. Firstly defeating Nic Hibdige (Tabou / GA Sails), who earns his first top 10 result, Mattia Fabrizi (Patrik / Challenger Sails), Jacopo Testa, Sam Esteve (JP / NeilPryde) and Steven Van Broeckhoven (JP / Gun Sails), but after such an intense period of sailing he could not quite muster the performance to defeat Gollito.

Title Showdown

Having finished 2nd in the Single Elimination, Gollito would need to beat Bosson twice to be crowned Freestyle World Champion and given the way Bosson performed yesterday that was not going to be easy. However, in the Final looked underpowered on 4.4m and while he still sailed exceptionally well again he suffered a narrow 116 points to 117.3 points defeat as the title race was forced into a Super Final.

At this point, a victory for Bosson would force a sail off for the world title, while a victory for Gollito would secure a 9th world crown.

For the sail off Bosson changed up to 4.8m which gave him more power and for a long time he was going blow-for-blow with Gollito, but the 8-time Freestyle World Champion has an uncanny knack of raising his game when it matters most and that’s exactly what the Venezuelan did again as he posted the highest scoring heat of the day - 130 points - to complete a superb comeback and win an incredible 9th world title, while only further enhancing his reputation as not only the King of Freestyle, but also the competition machine.

Meanwhile, Bosson walks away from this season as the vice-world champion, which is the Frenchman’s best result of his career so far, and he should be hugely proud of what he has achieved this year. 

We’ll take a look at the full result in the event summary.

After a few days rest it looks as though the Slalom and Foil fleets could be in action again tomorrow, with moderate to fresh, west-south-west winds currently forecast. The skippers’ meeting times can be found below:

Skippers’ Meeting Times Day 7 (All Times GMT+2)

Slalom Skippers' Meeting - 10am - first possible start 11am

Wave Skippers' Meeting - 4pm - first possible start 4:30pm

To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Germany — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Project Blue Life - Dedicated to Effective Climate Protection

Actually it is no news anymore that the time has come: CO2 reduction and compensation is the most important subject for everyone.

A very interesting fact is that Mangroves are the most valuable plants on earth.

Mangroves are the most sustainable, simple and efficient tool for CO2 compensation for every private person and for businesses of all kinds. 

We are the ones together, honoured to spread this information to the world, inviting thousands and millions of people to participate and share.

Thanks to Svein Rasmussen and Dr. Arne Fjortoft as our foundation partners of Blue Life, we have developed a system that turns events of all kind into tools for climate protection. This actively involves the competitors as well as spectators and digital users and viewers.

For more details about the Blue Life project visit @ http://windsurfworldcup.com/en/blue-life/

Result Women’s 2018 Wave Mercedes-Benz PWA Super Grand Slam - Single Elimination

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU - Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)

2nd Iballa Moreno (ESP - Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins)

3rd Lina Erpenstein (GER - Severne / Severne Sails)

4th Steffi Wahl (GER - Sailloft Hamburg)

Result Men’s Wave 2018 Mercedes-Benz PWA Super Grand Slam

1st Thomas Traversa (FRA - Tabou / GA Sails)

2nd Ricardo Campello (BRA/VEN - Brunotti Boards / Point-7)

3rd Victor Fernandez (ESP - Fanatic / Duotone / Shamal Sunglasses)

4th Alex Mussolini (ESP - RRD / RRD Sails)

5th Jaeger Stone (AUS - Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Sunglasses)

6th Antony Ruenes (FRA - Tabou / GA Sails)

7th Leon Jamaer (GER - JP / NeilPryde)

7th Philip Köster (GER - Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins)

9th Josep Pons (ESP - Simmer / Simmer Sails)

9th Adam Lewis (ENG - Fanatic / Duotone / SWOX)

9th Klaas Voget (GER - Fanatic / Duotone)

9th Marcilio Browne (BRA - Goya Windsurfing)

Result Men’s Freestyle Mercedes-Benz PWA Super Grand Slam

1st Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (VEN - Fanatic / Duotone)

2nd Adrien Bosson (FRA - Fanatic / Duotone / Maui Ultra Fins)

3rd Amado Vrieswijk (NB - JP / Severne)

4th Steven Van Broeckhoven (BEL - JP / GunSails / Shamal Sunglasses)

5th Sam Esteve (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)

6th Jacopo Testa (ITA - RRD / RRD Sails / AL360)

7th Mattia Fabrizi (ITA - Patrik / Challenger Sails)

7th Yentel Caers (BEL - JP / Point-7)

9th Balz Müller (SUI - MB-Boards / Severne)

9th Dieter van der Eyken (BEL - Severne / Severne Sails)

9th Loick Spicher (SUI - RRD / RRD Sails)

9th Nic Hibdige (ENG - Tabou / GA Sails)

Current Ranking 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam - Men’s Slalom

*After Two Eliminations 

1st Pierre Mortefon (FRA - Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins)

2nd Antoine Albeau (FRA - RRD / NeilPryde)

3rd Antoine Questel (FRA - Starboard / S2Maui)

4th Ross Williams (GBR - Tabou / GA Sails / Shamal Sunglasses)

4th Cyril Moussilmani (FRA - RRD / Severne)

6th Matteo Iachino (ITA - Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses)

7th Julien Quentel (SXM - Patrik / Avanti)

8th Basile Jacquin (FRA - RRD / Point-7)

9th Nicolas Warembourg (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)

10th Andrea Ferin (ITA - RRD / Challenger Sails / AL360)

Current Ranking 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam - Men’s Foil

*After Two Eliminations

1st Matteo Iachino (ITA - Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses)

2nd Antoine Albeau (FRA - RRD / NeilPryde)

3rd Nicolas Goyard (FRA - Tabou / GA Sails)

4th Alexandre Cousin (FRA - Patrik / GA Sails / Chopper Fins)

5th Julien Bontemps (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)

6th Amado Vrieswijk (NB - JP / Severne)

7th Antoine Questel (FRA- Starboard / S2Maui)

8th Mateus Isaac (BRA - JP / NeilPryde)

9th Arnon Dagan (ISR - RRD / NeilPryde)

10th Steve Allen (AUS - Patrik / Severne)

Project Blue Life - Dedicated to Effective Climate Protection

Actually it is no news anymore that the time has come: CO2 reduction and compensation is the most important subject for everyone.

A very interesting fact is that Mangroves are the most valuable plants on earth.

Mangroves are the most sustainable, simple and efficient tool for CO2 compensation for every private person and for businesses of all kinds. 

We are the ones together, honoured to spread this information to the world, inviting thousands and millions of people to participate and share.

Thanks to Svein Rasmussen and Dr. Arne Fjortoft as our foundation partners of Blue Life, we have developed a system that turns events of all kind into tools for climate protection. This actively involves the competitors as well as spectators and digital users and viewers.

For more details about the Blue Life project visit @ windsurfworldcup.com/en/blue-life/

Result Women’s Wave Mercedes-Benz PWA Super Grand Slam - Single Elimination

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU - Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)

2nd Iballa Moreno (ESP - Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins)

3rd Lina Erpenstein (GER - Severne / Severne Sails)

4th Steffi Wahl (GER - Sailloft Hamburg)

Result Men’s Wave Mercedes-Benz PWA Super Grand Slam - Single Elimination

1st Ricardo Campello (BRA/VEN - Brunotti Boards / Point-7)

2nd Thomas Traversa (FRA - Tabou / GA Sails)

3rd Alex Mussolini (ESP - RRD / RRD Sails)

4th Jaeger Stone (AUS - Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Sunglasses)

5th Josep Pons (ESP - Simmer / Simmer Sails)

5th Victor Fernandez (ESP - Fanatic / Duotone / Shamal Sunglasses)

5th Adam Lewis (ENG - Fanatic / Duotone / SWOX)

5th Antony Ruenes (FRA - Tabou / GA Sails)

Result Men’s Freestyle Mercedes-Benz PWA Super Grand Slam - Single Elimination

1st Adrien Bosson (FRA - Fanatic / Duotone / Maui Ultra Fins)

2nd Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (VEN - Fanatic / Duotone)

3rd Steven Van Broeckhoven (BEL - JP / GunSails / Shamal Sunglasses)

4th Sam Esteve (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)

5th Loick Spicher (SUI - RRD / RRD Sails)

5th Amado Vrieswijk (NB - JP / Severne)

5th Dieter van der Eyken (BEL - Severne / Severne Sails)

5th Balz Müller (SUI - MB-Boards / Severne Sails)

Current Ranking 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam - Men’s Slalom
*After Two Eliminations 

1st Pierre Mortefon (FRA - Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins)

2nd Antoine Albeau (FRA - RRD / NeilPryde)

3rd Antoine Questel (FRA - Starboard / S2Maui)

4th Ross Williams (GBR - Tabou / GA Sails / Shamal Sunglasses)

4th Cyril Moussilmani (FRA - RRD / Severne)

6th Matteo Iachino (ITA - Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses)

7th Julien Quentel (SXM - Patrik / Avanti)

8th Basile Jacquin (FRA - RRD / Point-7)

9th Nicolas Warembourg (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)

10th Andrea Ferin (ITA - RRD / Challenger Sails / AL360)

Current Ranking 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam - Men’s Foil
*After Two Eliminations

1st Matteo Iachino (ITA - Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses)

2nd Antoine Albeau (FRA - RRD / NeilPryde)

3rd Nicolas Goyard (FRA - Tabou / GA Sails)

4th Alexandre Cousin (FRA - Patrik / GA Sails / Chopper Fins)

5th Julien Bontemps (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)

6th Amado Vrieswijk (NB - JP / Severne)

7th Antoine Questel (FRA- Starboard / S2Maui)

8th Mateus Isaac (BRA - JP / NeilPryde)

9th Arnon Dagan (ISR - RRD / NeilPryde)

10th Steve Allen (AUS - Patrik / Severne)

Meanwhile, during the afternoon the wind eventually settled down, while Sylt’s infamous dredging shore break came to life to provide a gnarly conclusion to the day. 

At the close of play only the top 4 men remain standing in the Men’s Wave Single Elimination and as things stand Ricardo Campello (Brunotti Boards / Point-7) leads the race for the 2018 Men’s PWA Wave World Championship after current world tour leader - Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / Duotone / Shamal Sunglasses) - was eliminated in the quarterfinals. 

Wave

Men's - Single Elimination

Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) and Victor Fernandez qualified through the round of 16 with the two highest scores of the day to set up a mouthwatering tie against each other in the quarterfinals. Traversa set the highest points tally of the contest so far against Marc Paré (Simmer / Simmer Sails) in Heat 12a - 21.84 points - as TT, who looked one of the most dangerous sailors on the opening day, continued to excel in the challenging conditions. Meanwhile, Fernandez posted a score of 17.17 points against Camille Juban (Quatro / Simmer Sails) to also progress.

In the top half of the draw both Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Sunglasses) and Ricardo Campello successfully advanced into the semifinals to keep their title hopes alive, but with fate out of their own hands they would need a favour from Traversa and that’s exactly how things unravelled with TT defeating Fernandez in Heat 14b by 14.63 points to 11.99 points as the 32-year-old continued to take maximum risk by tagging heavy, and sometimes seemingly unmakeable sections, and those risks were deservedly rewarded with victory.

With Fernandez eliminated in joint 5th place in the Single Elimination, as previously stated, that opened up the title race for Stone and Campello and they would battle it out in a massive semifinal with the winner guaranteed to be leading the title race at this stage. 

In the quarterfinals, Campello rode his luck slightly - needing a last minute wave to advance past Josep Pons (Simmer / Simmer Sails), but against Stone, the Venezuelan/Brazilian markedly raised his game as he hunts for a maiden wave world crown. In the air, the pair couldn’t be separated, but Campello proved more dangerous on the wave this time around and progresses into the final and with it takes the No.1 spot in the overall rankings.

Meanwhile, Traversa, who is already guaranteed his best result since Gran Canaria last year, took on good friend Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD Sails), who won the event here in 2016, in the second semifinal. Much like Campello versus Stone, there wasn’t much between them in the air, but Traversa was able to post a wave that almost went into the excellent range - 7.38 points - and that proved decisive with TT advancing into the final. Mussolini will now face Stone in the battle for 3rd and 4th.

Traversa may feel slightly unlucky as an attempt to run the Winners’ Final was made, but the final had to be cancelled due to it being almost pitch black halfway through the final. But even by then the 2014 Wave World Champion had already accrued a points haul of 17.88 points. However, TT should still be delighted with his performance thus far and was deservedly awarded the Mercedes-Benz Sailor of the Day after not just making the final, but also posting the highest single wave score - 9.27 points - for a brilliant frontside 360. 

While Ricardo Campello may lead the race for the world title, Victor Fernandez still has fate in his own hands, but things are now a little bit harder than they were as the Spaniard requires a top 2 finish to be guaranteed the title - assuming that he finishes ahead of Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins), who has a mountain to climb after being eliminated in the opening round. 

Elsewhere, Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails), who came through the Qualification Round moved into the top 5 after defeating Gollito Estredo (Fanatic / Duotone) in Heat 9b after landing what is becoming his signature move - an air spock - while posting a 6.45 point final wave score which included a taka to progress. Josep Pons, Adam Lewis (Fanatic / Duotone / SWOX) and Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD Sails) are the other sailors currently tied in joint 5th.

An attempt was made to run the Women’s Wave semifinal featuring - Lina Erpenstein (Severne / Severne Sails), Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins), Steffi Wahl (Salloft Hamburg) and newly crowned world champion Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins), but it had to be abandoned with the wind once again dropping.

Freestyle

Single Elimination

Gollito Estredo, who is aiming to win a 9th PWA Freestyle World Title laid down the gauntlet to his rivals today as he recorded the two highest heat scores of the day. Against Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails) the Venezuelan posted a score of 121.6 points before bettering that score against Giovanni Passani (Tabou / GA Sails / AL360) by accumulating 127.2 points as he exuded his usual flair and style. Gollito will now face Balz Müller (MB-Board / Severne) in the quarterfinals after the Swiss defeated Francesco Cappuzzo (RRD / RRD Sails / AL360) in Heat 20a.

Gollito looks to be in ominous form, but both Adrien Bosson (Fanatic / Duotone / Maui Ultra Fins) and Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne), who are ranked 2nd and 4th coming into Sylt remain the 29-year-olds most obvious threats with both men safely navigating their way into the top 8. 

However, with current world No.3 - Yentel Caers (JP / Point-7) - suffering the narrowest of defeats - 0.02 of a point - at the hands of Britain’s Jamie Howard (JP / Severne) it would seem that the Belgian is now more than likely out of the running for this year’s title, meaning Gollito has two main threats… Bosson and Vrieswijk. However, with Bosson and Vrieswijk set to go head-to-head in the next round - the quarterfinals - things are potentially playing perfectly into Gollito’s hands. 

Bosson remains Gollito’s biggest threat after finishing 2nd in Fuerteventura, but if Vrieswijk was to win their quarterfinal duel, which he could well do after posting the 3rd highest heat score of the day - 120.8 points - then even if the Bonairean was to win the event then a 3rd place finish or better would guarantee Gollito a 9th world title. Given that Gollito hasn’t finished outside the top 3 of a Freestyle event since Fuerteventura in 2015 - when he was forced to withdraw from the double elimination due to illness - that looks very unlikely, but you never know.

Elsewhere, Loick Spicher (RRD / RRD Sails), Steven Van Broeckhoven (JP / Gun Sails), Sam Esteve (JP / NeilPryde) and Dieter van der Eyken (Severne / Severne Sails) are all also safely into the quarterfinals.

Tuesday looks set to be windier than today, but the morning could prove troublesome again with heavy rainfall expected, however, that is expected to dissipate as the day progresses and with winds up to almost 40 knots, tomorrow could see a day of spectacular action. Skippers’ Meeting Times(All Times (GMT+2) for Day 5 can be found below:

- Wave & Freestyle Skippers' Meeting 8am - first possible start 8:30am
- Slalom Skippers' Meeting - 10am - first possible start 11am

To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Germany — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Project Blue Life - Dedicated to Effective Climate Protection

Actually it is no news anymore that the time has come: CO2 reduction and compensation is the most important subject for everyone.

A very interesting fact is that Mangroves are the most valuable plants on earth.

Mangroves are the most sustainable, simple and efficient tool for CO2 compensation for every private person and for businesses of all kinds. 

We are the ones together, honoured to spread this information to the world, inviting thousands and millions of people to participate and share.

Thanks to Svein Rasmussen and Dr. Arne Fjortoft as our foundation partners of Blue Life, we have developed a system that turns events of all kind into tools for climate protection. This actively involves the competitors as well as spectators and digital users and viewers.

For more details about the Blue Life project visit @ windsurfworldcup.com/en/blue-life/

Current Ranking 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam - Men’s Slalom
*After Two Eliminations 

1st Pierre Mortefon (FRA - Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins)

2nd Antoine Albeau (FRA - RRD / NeilPryde)

3rd Antoine Questel (FRA - Starboard / S2Maui)

4th Ross Williams (GBR - Tabou / GA Sails / Shamal Sunglasses)

4th Cyril Moussilmani (FRA - RRD / Severne)

6th Matteo Iachino (ITA - Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses)

7th Julien Quentel (SXM - Patrik / Avanti)

8th Basile Jacquin (FRA - RRD / Point-7)

9th Nicolas Warembourg (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)

10th Andrea Ferin (ITA - RRD / Challenger Sails / AL360)

Current Ranking 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam - Men’s Foil
*After Two Eliminations

1st Matteo Iachino (ITA - Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses)

2nd Antoine Albeau (FRA - RRD / NeilPryde)

3rd Nicolas Goyard (FRA - Tabou / GA Sails)

4th Alexandre Cousin (FRA - Patrik / GA Sails / Chopper Fins)

5th Julien Bontemps (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)

6th Amado Vrieswijk (NB - JP / Severne)

7th Antoine Questel (FRA- Starboard / S2Maui)

8th Mateus Isaac (BRA - JP / NeilPryde)

9th Arnon Dagan (ISR - RRD / NeilPryde)

10th Steve Allen (AUS - Patrik / Severne)

Foil

Current world tour leader - Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins) - finds himself in 14th place after the first day, but fortunately for the Argentine fellow world title hopeful Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) was also off the pace in the first race - 13th - and thus Costa Hoevel remains at the top of the overall rankings. With less than 4 races completed Vrieswijk is the only other sailor who could deny Costa Hoevel, but in order to do so the Bonairean would have to win the event, which is now almost mathematically impossible after Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses) won both of the foil eliminations completed today - which was the first time the Italian has won a foil race and he sits pretty at the top of the overnight rankings.

However, while Costa Hoevel, may well be safe in the event that only one more race were to be completed, his situation becomes much more precarious in the event that at least 4 races are finished - particularly with Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) currently in a solid second position. If Albeau was to finish 2nd after 4 or more races the Frenchman would receive 10,200 points, which would mean Costa Hoevel would need to climb to at least 4th place to become the first man to win the Foil World title. Meanwhile, Vrieswijk would remain firmly in the hunt. The 22-year-old is ranked 6th after the opening races and if Albeau were to remain second and Costa Hoevel outside the top 4 then a top 3 finish would be good enough to see him claim the first official Foil World title, so there is still all to play for.

Slalom

Before the start of the Slalom, Matteo Iachino’s day couldn’t have been going much better after recording his first bullets on the Foil World Tour in impressive fashion. However, Iachino’s priority is undoubtedly aimed at earning his second Slalom World title, but the 28-year-old has lost the initiative in that pursuit, for now at least, after a semifinal exit in Elimination 1 - when he was pipped to the last place in the Winners’ Final by Basile Jacquin (RRD / Point-7) when rounding the final mark. 

Victory in the next race for Iachino was imperative to give himself any kind of chance to rekindle his title hopes and that’s exactly what the Italian managed to do and he clearly knew the importance of that victory as he celebrated crossing the line. Overall, Iachino was certainly the standout sailor of the day with 3 victories across two disciplines in the 4 races completed, but he now has to pray for more slalom conditions.

As things stand Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) has seized control of the title race after an assured display, which saw the 24-time world champion secure two solid 3rd places, which leaves him in a clearcut 2nd place in the current event rankings. Albeau currently holds a commanding 5.7 point advantage over Iachino and in order to be denied Iachino must find a way to overtake him. *Assuming Albeau doesn’t drop out of the top 8.

Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins) heads the current event rankings at the end of the first day of Slalom after doing everything in his power to force his way deeper into the title race, but unfortunately for him he would need Albeau to drop to at least 8th and Iachino at least 9th with under 4 races completed. The Frenchman can still be happy knowing that he can’t have done anything more today and walks away with a 1st and a 4th for his efforts. Mortefon’s title hopes are out of his own hands and while his chances are slim he is not totally out of the picture yet.

Less than 2 points separate 3rd-6th place at the moment, so the battle for the final podium of the season is also excitingly poised. France’s Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui) currently leads that race in 3rd place, but he has fellow countryman Cyril Moussilmani (RRD / Severne), Britain’s Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Shamal Sunglasses) and Matteo Iachino all within striking distance, while Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) is then only 3 points further back in 7th.

Basile Jacquin may have potentially put a spanner in the works of Iachino’s title dreams, but the 20-year-old raced brilliantly today in the tricky conditions to qualify for both Winners’ Finals and the young Frenchman is currently ranked 8th as he searches for his first top 10 finish at an event. Meanwhile, Fellow Frenchman Nicolas Warembourg also enjoyed a fine day and Is just a place further back in 9th meaning that 7 out of the current top 10 are French as they continue to dominate the Slalom scene. 

Andrea Ferin (RRD / Challenger Sails / AL360) described today as one of the best days of racing that he’s ever had and his performance today earns him the final place in the current top 10. The Italian did brilliantly on a couple of occasions to fight his way back into the qualifying places and walks away from today with two top 12 results as he too chases a first top 10 finish. 

Elsewhere, Pascal Toselli (JP / Loftsails / Chopper Fins), Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / Duotone) and Julien Quentel are all fighting for a place in the end of year top 4 and after today’s results - Toselli (15th), Vonk (11th) and Quentel (7th), the latter would be on course to leapfrog both Toselli and Vonk into 4th place. As things stand Vonk and Quentel would be tied on 48,200 points, but Quentel would take 4th on the tiebreak.

The forecast for tomorrow offers the potential of more wind and waves, so with this in mind the Wave fleet will meet again at 8am tomorrow morning with the action commencing from 8:30am (GMT+2) onwards. Skippers’ meeting times for Freestyle and Slalom below: (All Times GMT+2)

-Slalom & Foil - 9:30am - first possible 10:30am
-Freestyle - 12pm - first possible 12:30pm 

To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Germany — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Project Blue Life - Dedicated to Effective Climate Protection

Actually it is no news anymore that the time has come: CO2 reduction and compensation is the most important subject for everyone.

A very interesting fact is that Mangroves are the most valuable plants on earth.

Mangroves are the most sustainable, simple and efficient tool for CO2 compensation for every private person and for businesses of all kinds. 

We are the ones together, honoured to spread this information to the world, inviting thousands and millions of people to participate and share.

Thanks to Svein Rasmussen and Dr. Arne Fjortoft as our foundation partners of Blue Life, we have developed a system that turns events of all kind into tools for climate protection. This actively involves the competitors as well as spectators and digital users and viewers.

For more details about the Blue Life project visit @ windsurfworldcup.com/en/blue-life/

Current Ranking 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam - Men’s Slalom
*After Two Eliminations 

1st Pierre Mortefon (FRA - Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins)

2nd Antoine Albeau (FRA - RRD / NeilPryde)

3rd Antoine Questel (FRA - Starboard / S2Maui)

4th Ross Williams (GBR - Tabou / GA Sails / Shamal Sunglasses)

4th Cyril Moussilmani (FRA - RRD / Severne)

6th Matteo Iachino (ITA - Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses)

7th Julien Quentel (SXM - Patrik / Avanti)

8th Basile Jacquin (FRA - RRD / Point-7)

9th Nicolas Warembourg (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)

10th Andrea Ferin (ITA - RRD / Challenger Sails / AL360)

Current Ranking 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam - Men’s Foil
*After Two Eliminations

1st Matteo Iachino (ITA - Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses)

2nd Antoine Albeau (FRA - RRD / NeilPryde)

3rd Nicolas Goyard (FRA - Tabou / GA Sails)

4th Alexandre Cousin (FRA - Patrik / GA Sails / Chopper Fins)

5th Julien Bontemps (FRA - JP / NeilPryde)

6th Amado Vrieswijk (NB - JP / Severne)

7th Antoine Questel (FRA- Starboard / S2Maui)

8th Mateus Isaac (BRA - JP / NeilPryde)

9th Arnon Dagan (ISR - RRD / NeilPryde)

10th Steve Allen (AUS - Patrik / Severne)

Wave

Women’s

Only the top 4 women remain left standing in Women’s Single Elimination after the first couple of rounds were completed during the afternoon. Current world No.4 - Lina Erpenstein (Severne / Severne Sails) - safely advanced at the expense of Maaike Huvermann (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) in Heat 13a, but it wasn’t until later on that she really asserted. 

Meanwhile, new vice-world champion - Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) - produced the standout performance of the day as the Aruban set the highest scoring heat - 18.88 points - with her wave riding, in particular, impressing as she made the most of the marginal conditions on offer by linking powerful front and backside combinations! Offringa will now face Erpenstein in the semifinals. 

Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins), who is officially the 2018 Women’s PWA Wave World Champion already, produced an assured display to end the hopes of Marine Hunter (KA Sail), and Iballa will now face Steffi Wahl (Sailloft Hamburg) in the next round after the German defeated Justyna Sniady (Simmer / Simmer Sails / AL360).

Men’s 

Title Woes

At the start of the day, 5 sailors were in contention for the title - Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / Duotone / Shamal Sunglasses), Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins), Ricardo Campello (Brunotti Boards / Point-7), Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing) and Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Sunglasses), and while that is still true, two of those aforementioned sailors have seen their title aspirations diminish, while the odds of Victor Fernandez winning have shortened significantly after Köster and Browne both suffered shock first round exits to two sailors that came through the Qualification Round.

Giant Slayers 

Firstly, Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails) produced one of the performances of the day to take down Marcilio Browne in Heat 2b as he landed a radical air spock, but it was his wave riding that proved decisive as the Frenchman showed better timing and a more vertical approach to cause the first major upset of the day.

Then, just a couple of heats later reigning world champion - Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) - suffered the same fate at the hands of Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti), to stun the home crowd with Quentel also gaining the upper hand with his impressive wave riding. 

Köster and Browne are still in contention for the title, but things just became a whole lot harder as they would now have to mount a mammoth comeback through the double elimination. So while they are down, they are not yet out.  

Having seen a couple of his main rivals falter Victor Fernandez made no such error as the Spaniard, who is seeking a 3rd wave world title, not only progressed through his first round heat against Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Shamal Sunglasses), but also did so with a statement of intent as he posted the highest scoring heat of the day - 16.75 points. Fernandez also has fate completely in his own hands and the draw has worked out favourably for the 34-year-old as a potential route to the final does not involve facing any of his title rivals, which is huge given that a top 2 finish guarantees him the title - *assuming that Köster does not finish ahead of him. 

Instead, Fernandez’s rivals will effectively have to take each other down as they try to forge their way into the final, while having to rely on one of their fellow pros doing them a favour. Jaeger Stone and Ricardo Campello are Fernandez's title rivals left in the Single Elimination and they would be set for a semifinal showdown if they were both to advance through their second round and quarterfinal ties. Stone overcame a tricky first round draw in starboard tack conditions against Morgan Noireaux (JP / S2Maui), while Campello also comfortably advanced as he dispatched of Pablo Ramirez (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg)

Fernandez will still face a tough test in round two though as he will face Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails), who was one of the other sailors to really catch the eye as he claimed an impressive victory over Graham Ezzy (Tabou / Ezzy). TT endured a disappointing competition in the Canaries, but he looked a rejuvenated character today as he revelled in the starboard tack conditions, while looking much more like the Traversa who won the wave world title in 2014. Ezzy, meanwhile, was probably left cursing his luck to be drawn against Traversa as he would have progressed through many of the other first round ties. 

Elsewhere, Denmark’s Kenneth Danielsen (Flikka / Simmer Sails), Gollito Estredo (Fanatic / Duotone), Leon Jamaer (JP / NeilPryde), Josep Pons (Simmer / Simmer Sails), Moritz Mauch (Severne / Severne Sails), Adam Lewis (Fanatic / Duotone / SWOX), Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / SWOX), Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD Sails), Marc Paré (Simmer / Simmer Sails) and Camille Juban (Quatro / Simmer Sails) are all safely into the round of 16.

Moderate westerly winds are currently forecast for tomorrow morning, before being expected to strengthen from fresh to strong during the afternoon, which could see multiple disciplines taking to the water. Skippers’ meeting times for which can be found below:

Skippers’ Meeting Times Day 2 (GMT+2):

- Slalom & Foil - 9:30am - first possible 10:30am

- Freestyle & Wave - 11am - first possible start 11:30am

To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Germany — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Project Blue Life - Dedicated to Effective Climate Protection

Actually it is no news anymore that the time has come: CO2 reduction and compensation is the most important subject for everyone.

A very interesting fact is that Mangroves are the most valuable plants on earth.

Mangroves are the most sustainable, simple and efficient tool for CO2 compensation for every private person and for businesses of all kinds. 

We are the ones together, honoured to spread this information to the world, inviting thousands and millions of people to participate and share.

Thanks to Svein Rasmussen and Dr. Arne Fjortoft as our foundation partners of Blue Life, we have developed a system that turns events of all kind into tools for climate protection. This actively involves the competitors as well as spectators and digital users and viewers.

The world premier of this system will start this Friday in Sylt at the Mercedes-Benz PWA Windsurf World Cup.

For more details about the Blue Life project visit @ http://windsurfworldcup.com/en/blue-life/

Some say that variety is the spice of life and in this sense, Sylt never disappoints as you never quite know what to expect — thanks to the huge variety of conditions that this wonderful island can produce. In strong onshore winds, a colossal shore break develops — ready to crush the hopes of any unsuspecting competitors — along with powerful waves of up to three or four meters in size, which provide amazing wave sailing conditions, whilst producing a real challenge for the slalom and freestyle fleets. On the other hand, Sylt can also produce great racing and freestyle conditions, when offshore winds grace the island with their presence, although it can then be bitterly cold. One thing is for sure, to win here you need to be the complete all rounder who is willing to have their mettle tested to breaking point. 

Wave

Women’s

After the late withdrawal of Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins), due to injury, that means that the current top 3 will remain as they are. Therefore, Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) and Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) have nothing to lose in Sylt and will finish the season as World Champion and Vice-World Champion respectively, which is Iballa’s 5th world title in a row, while Offringa becomes vice-world champion in the waves for the first time. Daida completes the overall podium.

Away from the podium Lina Erpenstein (Severne / Severne Sails) will look to defend her 4th place in the overall rankings, but she’ll face a stern test from Justyna Sniady (Simmer / Simmer Sails / AL360), who is realistically the only woman who can overtake her. *Arrianne Aukes (Fanatic / Duotone / Maui Ultra Fins) can mathematically still overtake but would be required to not only earn her first podium in the waves but also win her first event. The Dutchie will be looking to defend her place in the top 5 though.

Sniady is currently ranked 8th due to being absent from Morocco due to visa complications, but is right back in contention after a 5th and a 4th. In order for Sniady to overtake Erpenstein, Sniady requires a top 4 finish or better, while beating Erpenstein in Sylt. 

Men’s

Title Race Connotations

On paper it looks like the title race will come down to a fight between current world tour leader - Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / Duotone / Shamal Sunglasses) and reigning world champion - Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) as a top two finish or better for either sailor will guarantee one of them the title as it is then mathematically impossible for any of their rivals to catch them. Whoever beats who would then ultimately win the title.

If you look solely at port tack wave events results, which Sylt is likely to be, although it can sometimes produce starboard tack wave conditions, then the last time both Fernandez and Köster finished outside the top 2 at a port tack wave event is Sylt in 2016, which isn’t too long ago… however, on that occasion, Köster was injured and therefore unable to compete. If you go back to the last time both men were fit and both finished outside the top two in a port tack wave event then you have to go all the way back to Sylt in 2009 - when Köster was just 15-years-old. So, it seems a tall order for both to finish outside the top 2.

However, stats like those are made to be broken and given the fact that the level on the World Tour is undoubtedly at the highest it has ever been, then it seems more and more likely that at some stage history will rewrite itself - especially given the fact that the podium in Gran Canaria and Tenerife has featured 6 different sailors (a completely different top 3 in both events in 2018) and there is no discard, meaning pressure will be at an all time high, so anything can happen. 

In With A Chance

In the event that Fernandez and Köster both finish 3rd or worse then that would present Ricardo Campello (Brunotti Boards / Point-7), who is still seeking a first wave world title, with an opportunity to steal the top prize. However, in order to do so, Campello would have to conjure up his first victory on the world tour since La Torche in 2014. 

Outside Shot

If Fernandez and Köster were then both to record top 4 finishes or worse then that would bring two more names into the title race equation - Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing) and Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Sunglasses) - who are currently tied in joint 4th place coming into Sylt. In this scenario, Browne or Stone would be required to win the event in order to claim the wave sailing world’s top prize. 

Elsewhere, Adam Lewis (Fanatic / Duotone / SWOX) will look to build upon his best result to date in Tenerife - 3rd - as the Brit looks to end the season with a bang. And given he did well here last year, he could well do just that.

Lewis holds a reasonable advantage over his next closest rival - Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD Sails) - who is ranked 7th overall.  The Spaniard suffered a surprise 13th place finish in Tenerife and will look to bounce back. The Spaniard won the event here in 2016 and could be a major player again.

Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / SWOX), Dieter van der Eyken (Severne / Severne Sails) and Marc Pare (Simmer / Simmer Sails) complete the top 10 at this stage with all 3 tied in joint 8th - the latter two are looking to break into the overall top 10 for the first time come the end of the year. 

Slalom

Title Race Connotations

Almost nothing separates current world tour leader - Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne / Shamal Sunglasses) and Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) - coming into the final event of the year. In fact, over the opening 5 events, there is almost nothing separating the two world title contenders and they are currently tied on 40,700 points - with Iachino only ahead on countback having recorded a better a result than Albeau in 3 of the 5 events. So. put simply it looks as though whoever beats who here will walk away from 2018 with their second (Iachino) or 25th (Albeau) world title, respectively.

In With A Chance

However, as last year in Sylt proved almost anything can happen here with Albeau finishing 10th, while Iachino had to settle for 16th. If things were to unfold like that again then Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins) could yet still claim a maiden slalom world crown. In order to do so, Iachino and Albeau would both have to finish 8th or worse - no matter if under 4 races or over 4 races are completed - while Mortefon would have to win the event. 

In the event that Over 4 Eliminations are completed and:

Iachino and Albeau both finish 9th - Mortefon must finish 2nd or better

Iachino and Albeau finish 10th - Mortefon must finish 3rd or better

Iachino and Albeau finish 11th  - Mortefon must finish 4th or better 

Iachino and Albeau finish 12th - Mortefon must finish 5th or better

Any results worse than this and Mortefon would still need to finish at least 5th due to discards

Under 4 Eliminations completed?

However, if less than 4 eliminations are completed and Iachino was to finish 9th and Albeau 8th - then Mortefon would have to win the event compared to finishing 2nd with 4 or more races. 

If Iachino and Albeau both finish 9th or worse - Mortefon must finish 2nd or better still due to discards

Elsewhere, you can expect to see Pascal Toselli (JP / Loftsails / Chopper Fins) bounce back from his worst result of the season in Fuerte. The Frenchman is currently ranked 4th overall but has Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / Duotone) and Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) breathing firmly down his neck - with the former enjoying his best season to date and the flying Dutchman will be eager to end the season on a high. 

Also likely to be involved are Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Shamal Sunglasses), Cyril Moussilmani (RRD / Severne), Finian Maynard (I-99) and Mateus Isaac (JP / NeilPryde), while a whole host of other sailors are also more than capable of battling it out for the top 10 and beyond in the final event of the year.

Freestyle

Men’s

8-time Freestyle World Champion - Gollito Estredo (Fanatic / Duotone) - comes into Sylt as the world tour leader having claimed victory in Fuerteventura and a 9th world title would look to be on the cards given the fact that the Venezuelan has won here in 2014, ’16 and ’17, while no result was gained in 2015. Gollito is one of the most ruthless competitors on the tour and you wouldn’t expect to see him give up a golden opportunity for world title No.9.

However, nothing is set in stone and anything can still happen - especially with no discard - meaning any mistakes or untimely equipment failures are likely to be severely punished.

Gollito’s closest rival coming into Sylt is fellow teammate - Adrien Bosson (Fanatic / Duotone / Maui Ultra Fins) - after the Frenchman earned his best result yet in Fuerte - 2nd. The 27-year-old finished 3rd here in 2016 and a similar performance this time around should be enough to earn him a spot on the overall podium for the first time in his career, while if he could find a way to win his first PWA Freestyle event a maiden world title would beckon.

However, both men will face stern competition at the top - firstly from Belgium’s Yentel Caers (JP / Point-7), who has quickly established himself as one of the top freestylers in the world and he’ll be extremely motivated knowing that a first world title could still be on the cards. 

Meanwhile, Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne), who has been Gollito’s biggest rival for the last couple of seasons, faces a tall order if he wants to get his hands on the sports top prize. Even if the Bonairean is able to win here his fate will be out of his hands as he comes into Sylt in 4th place. In the event that Vrieswijk was to win the event, he would need Gollito to finish 4th or worse, Bosson to finish 3rd or worse.

Elsewhere, expect to see former world champions - Steven Van Broeckhoven (JP / Gun Sails / Shamal Sunglasses) and Dieter van der Eyken in the mix again alongside last year’s world No.3 Jacopo Testa (RRD / RRD Sails / AL360) and New Caledonia’s Antoine Albert (Goya Windsurfing) plus many more.

Foil

Men’s

Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins) leads the foil discipline coming into the final event of the year after recording a 1st, 2nd and a 6th so far. The Argentine holds a two place advantage over Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde), but with a discard to come things could still easily change. A top 2 finish would guarantee Costa Hoevel the title. 

Amado Vrieswijk is one of the sailors who could benefit the most from the discard and that makes him Costa Hoevel’s biggest danger. A second victory of the season for the 22-year-old, who won his first foil event in Costa Brava, would leave Costa Hoevel needing to finish 2nd in order to defend his lead. 

Also in contention should be Sebastian Koerdel (Starboard / GA Sails), Julien Bontemps (JP / NeilPryde), Mateus Isaac, who won the event in South Korea, plus the likes of France’s Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / GA Sails / Chopper Fins) and Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui) and also Denmark’s Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde). There are many other connotations with the discard to come, but we’ll take a look at those as the foiling unfolds. 

Foiling continues to evolve incredibly quickly and it remains quite hard to predict with results varying significantly from race-to-race sometimes. The opening 3 events have produced 3 different winners… will Sylt produce a 4th? Or will Costa Hoevel, Vrieswijk or Isaac claim a second event title?

A Windy Event Ahead

Judging by the latest forecast model from WindGuru the 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam looks as it could be as action packed as last year’s edition with winds from 14 to almost 60 knots of wind currently on offer throughout the entirety of the event. With such an amazing forecast on offer - make sure you don’t miss any of the epic action by tuning into www.pwaworldtour.com between 28th September - 7th October.

Project Blue Life - Dedicated to Effective Climate Protection

Actually, it is no news anymore that the time has come: CO2 reduction and compensation is the most important subject for everyone.

A very interesting fact is that Mangroves are the most valuable plants on earth.

Mangroves are the most sustainable, simple and efficient tool for CO2 compensation for every private person and for businesses of all kinds. 

We are the ones together, honoured to spread this information to the world, inviting thousands and millions of people to participate and share.

Thanks to Svein Rasmussen and Dr. Arne Fjortoft as our foundation partners of Blue Life, we have developed a system that turns events of all kind into tools for climate protection. This actively involves the competitors as well as spectators and digital users and viewers.

The world premiere of this system will start this Friday in Sylt at the Mercedes-Benz PWA Windsurf World Cup.

For more details about the Blue Life project visit @ http://windsurfworldcup.com/en/blue-life/

To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Sylt — including elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Qualifier

The sailors battling it out in the Aloha Classic will also be competing for a wildcard with the highest ranked sailor in the top 16 at the Maui event, who is not qualified for a place automatically, gaining a guaranteed wildcard into the first event of the year in 2019.

For all other sailors, value will be given to the results of the Aloha when considering wildcards for future events.

Youth’s 

The Youth’s will once again compete through the following age groups and should see a thrilling finale with the next generation continuing to go from strength-to-strength:

Under 20

Under 17

Under 15

Under 13

You’ll be able to stay up to date with all the latest from Maui @ www.pwaworldtour.com and also via various Social Media Channels.

As one of the hottest properties on the Slalom World Tour, Windsurfing.TV went behind the scenes with Jordy for a day during the last Slalom event in Fuerteventura.

You can see what a day in the life of a slalom sailor looks like by visiting @ youtu.be/9Jq9VtwWTpk

After the Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival and the Tenerife PWA World Cup - Stone finds himself in joint 4th place after a 6th and second place, which leaves him firmly in the hunt for a place on the overall podium when the final event of the year begins - the Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam - at the end of this week in Germany.

You can see Stone’s latest video @ vimeo.com/290873573 and you’ll be able to track his, and all the other sailors progress in Sylt by tuning into www.pwaworldtour.com between 28th September-7th October. 

It’s the best sport in the world, period. Show me another sport that combines such high technical skills with being out there in the element, almost Formula1-like gear development and then the difference of hero or zero being how your mind performs in the given moment. Windsurfing is super complex, has a bit of everything and I think its so easy to be so passionate about it. 

2. What quality do you like most in other people?

Honesty, realness, being themselves, positivity and stoke.

3. What annoys or frustrates you the most?

Losing. I f***ing hate losing. 

4. What do you most like in yourself?

Versatility as a windsurfer and these moments where I actually allow myself to enjoy 100%. 

5. What do you dislike in yourself?

My inability to focus for more than 5 sec, haha. 

6. What has been your best moment on tour?

The obvious would be winning a foil final and (almost) winning one in slalom this year. But there’s so many more, like meeting all my heroes: my first ever event on tour as an 11-year old kid was in Poland and I got to meet all the big guns. Then when I joined the tour in 2010 I ended up staying with KP [Kevin Pritchard] the first event and then at the party Peter Volwater grabbed me, lifted me up in the air and put me onto a subwoofer in between 2 hot chicks. I couldn’t believe it, haha! 

7. What has been your worst moment on tour?

Well I don’t really collect the bad memories, but there was nothing as bad as seeing the face of the policeman that broke into Alberto’s [Menegatti] apartment in Tenerife, after we couldn’t get in. Right there and then we knew and it was like all the positivity in the world just vanished. I will never forget that feeling and I hope I’ll never have to experienced anything like that again. 

8. Knowing what you know now, what advice would you have given yourself when your career started?

Be on the best gear possible, otherwise you’re just wasting precious time. 

9. What is the best advice you have ever been given?

Life ain’t black or white. 

10. What would be your perfect day?

Wake up next to my hot girlfriend, have some fruit, get a few barrels at the empty beach 100metres from the house, have a proper breakfast, go do some 30+ knot slalom heats with the boys, have lunch, go ride perfect waves on my 4.7, food again, quick lifting session, snack, 3 on 3 basketball game with friends, dinner, edit a quick video from the day, post it, go to the studio work on some music, finish and still make it to the beachbar party with my best friends. Easy scheduling, isn’t it?  *Think you are going to need more than 24 hours for your perfect day Maciek!

11. Do you have any superstitions?

None, and I will definitely laugh at yours!! 

12. Which living person do you most admire?

Anyone that lives 100% to their vision and identity. 

13. What is your greatest fear? 

Eternal boredom. 

14. What is your most treasured possession?

I don’t really value things much I’d much rather invest in experiences. But I love waveboards and surfboards, especially my first custom board I ever designed and the first time I tried it, it won me the nationals. 

15. If you weren’t a professional windsurfer, what would you like to be?

I’d like to be an athlete of a different sport: probably basketball, surfing or F1, but all 3 are as realistic as me going bald by the end of the year (sorry Basti)!. Maybe a bit more realistic is doing something creative, something to do with film, music or writing.

16. Where would you most like to go to that you haven’t been to yet?

Maui, and I just booked my ticket, so I’m froothiinn!! 

17. Who would you most like to have as a dinner guest, dead or alive?

Maybe Steve Jobs, Quentin Tarantino, Michael Jordan, Eddie Vedder and Lech Wałęsa. Could be a pretty interesting mix!! 

18. What App do you open first in the morning?

Instagram. As much as I love interacting with all my fans that way I’ve been trying to limit it a bit. You should still go follow me tho!!

19. Most visited website?

Windguru.cz

20. A phrase you live by?

Why not! 

Thanks, Maciek!

Lena Erdil: “Have you had Lisfranc injury or similar? or have it at the moment? comment below and share your story its always great to be able to share those kind of experiences! What did you learn during this phase of your life, are you fully functional now? I'd love to hear your experience.  

Also any questions regarding the exercises we are doing or treatment I will try and and get the PT team to answer. 

Since my injury in Pozo now 2 months ago PT Academy in Istanbul has been by my side pretty much constantly. We even did a few pre-op sessions to help the inflammation go down.  While treating my foot I am also being treated on my shoulder, which had started showing clear signs of overuse from too much windsurfing and maybe not enough stretching... 

I am off crutches now but walking is not entirely pain free, so I can see that there is still quite a recovery journey ahead off me, but I believe the hardest part is over.. I'm so thankful for Gülsah and her team always motivating me and helping me turn this Rehab phase into something all around useful.  Hope you will like this Vlog.

Many Lisfranc patients have to wear the cast a lot longer but with trust from my doctors and daily checks with PT academy I was out the cast and into the boot already after 2 weeks, which allowed us to start early with massages that would help the circulation and so on.”

You can see Lena Erdil’s latest VLOG @ youtu.be/7WHn4cCBiaM

Yarden Meir: “I spent my summer in the Sea of Galilee, in a small Kibuzz named Ginosar. The wind was there almost everyday and I got to explore new spots and meet new people. I also worked as a bartender in the night and taught Windsurfing in the mornings, to save money to train and compete as much as possible and as soon as possible.

Special thanks to:

Goya windsurfing

Quatro windsurfing

Maui Ultra Fins

Nadav Cohen

Giora Koren

Arik Gilad

Amir higgins

Hovav peled

Aloha”

You can see Yarden Meir’s latest video which showcases his unique radical style @ vimeo.com/284540264

Schmuth is already throwing himself into double forwards and is clearly highly motivated to make it to the top and you can see the German’s latest video @ vimeo.com/288771866

Stone’s explosive wave riding caught the eye as usual in both events, but he also landed the highest scoring jump of the opening two contests - forcing the judges to break the scale for a radical pushloop forward - which you can see in Stone’s latest video @ vimeo.com/288343806

1. Why are you so passionate about windsurfing?

Hard to explain after +/- 10 years having only windsurfing in my mind, it’s the sport that basically shaped my life the way it is now. Although being pretty young windsurfing gave me so much already, must be the reason I’m so passionate about it!  

2. What quality do you like most in other people?

I guess being Helpful, we’re living a crazy life travelling all the time. If you would never get a 

helping hand along the way it must be impossible to live this life.  

3. What annoys or frustrates you the most?

Windless days! I’m lucky to be windsurfing lot’s in a year, but I always feel so sorry for organizers having no wind during events. Especially this year in Holland, having so many volunteers organizing events and so far no slalom event has taken place in 2018 at home!! Really frustrating knowing how great those events could be with wind. 

4. What do you most like in yourself?

The fact that I’m doing things my way. I’ve always received lot’s of advices, but I always 

considered if they made sense to me or not instead of just following them. I think this brought me where I am now. 

5. What do you dislike in yourself?

I’m looking/thinking ahead often, which makes me sometimes forget to enjoy the moment. 

6. What has been your best moment on tour?

Jumping on the podium in Japan 2017. We all knew it was a ‘one hit wonder’ event with lot’s of seaweed, so was it fair result? Maybe not. But I think becoming 2nd in a PWA World Cup was such a dream that for me it didn’t even matter at the moment, I was simply super proud to do it. 

7. What has been your worst moment on tour?

Alacati 2015, we had a heat which got re-run 10 times. (Yes 10 times, not 9 or 11 ☺). It was a very strong first round heat and I managed to lead it 6 times, After 9 tries we were on the beach and I qualified in 4th, happy to be in qualifying position 9/9 times. They said something went wrong and we had to re-run the heat AGAIN. Guess what, the 10th time I missed out….. I’m definitely not an offensive person, but I guess you can imagine I was furious that moment. 

8. Knowing what you know now, what advice would you have given yourself when your career started?

Set your goals high and work hard for it, but sometimes give yourself a break and allow yourself to enjoy other things too. This can give you energy and motivation to make even bigger steps in the future. 

9. What is the best advice you have ever been given?

‘ENJOY’!!!!!

10. What would be your perfect day?

A proper full power slalom session in the morning, a sweet wave session all afternoon finished off with a BBQ and beers with some amazing friends. Can’t get better then that! 

11. Do you have any superstitions?

No actually not! 

12. Which living person do you most admire?

Not one particular person I most admire! I especially admire certain friends, each for different things, but best I keep that for myself ;-) 

13. What is your greatest fear? 

Must be losing beloved people! 

14. What is your most treasured possession?

I’m stoked every time I drive around in my van! It’s really something I was dreaming off for a longer time. Non-material obviously friends/family. 

15. If you weren’t a professional windsurfer, what would you like to be?

I was actually playing lot’s of field hockey before I got windsurf addicted, maybe would have done that professionally? Or work somewhere with my commercial economics university paper, think I could even enjoy that kind of work. 

16. Where would you most like to go to that you haven’t been to yet?

I’ve never been to the US! Okay I’ve been to Maui, but never mainland. That would be a destination I’d like to visit not windsurfing related. For windsurfing Mauritius seems to be a paradise! 

17. Who would you most like to have as a dinner guest, dead or alive?

The two amazing guys PWA lost in the last few years…. 

18. What App do you open first in the morning?

Must be WhatsApp, can’t remember waking up without some messages on my background! 

19. Most visited website?

A mix of Social Media, WindGuru and mailbox.

20. A phrase you live by?

No Regrets 

Thanks, Jordy. See you in Sylt.

Even more crucially though, with the likes of reigning world champion - Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) - and at the time World No.2 - Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing) - and Ricardo Campello (Brunotti Boards / Point-7) all faltering slightly, victory for Fernandez sees the Spaniard take control of the title race with one event to go.

The current world tour leader has just released a new edit from just after the completion of the Tenerife PWA World Cup, which you can see @ vimeo.com/288912027