Maciek Rutkowski makes a statement of intent: “They will say you're not good enough. They will say you reached your ceiling. They will say you don't have enough talent. Or that you don't have that winning mentality. Basically they will say or at least think that you're never gonna make it.  

Your only weapon against them is confidence. 

I made the huge mistake of doubting myself. I will do that no more. You wanna know why? It might not show today or tomorrow, it might not show the next contest or the whole season. It might not even show the next. But the work put in will always pay off. And if I need to work another 5 years to get there, so be it. But I will not stop chasing my dream.”

You can next see Maciek Rutkowski - and the whole of the men’s slalom fleet - in action at the Fuerteventura PWA World Cup which takes place between the 26th-30th July.

Now the 32-year-old, who finished 16th overall last year, has just released a brand new edit from Pozo, which sees him training for the upcoming Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival, which runs between the 9th-15th July.

You can see Josep Pons’ latest performance by visiting @ vimeo.com/222361606

Hey Lina, firstly can you tell us a bit about yourself - how long you’ve been windsurfing? what originally made you want to windsurf?

Hey! I´m 20 years old and I´m from the centre of Germany. I’ve been windsurfing for 7 years now. My father is a windsurfer and that’s why I always spent my school holidays somewhere near the ocean. When I first got planing on the windsurfing gear, I got addicted. Two years ago, I finished school and then started to travel on my own. Since then I got to sail a lot more and also got to see many nice places.

What makes you so passionate about windsurfing and waves in particular?

I just love the feeling of planing over water. Sometimes it feels like flying. I also love jumping and surfing. Waves are always different and every wave offers new challenges. Making a good turn means to time your movement perfectly with the wave. When everything works out it feels amazing - that’s probably the best feeling in windsurfing for me.

You spent last winter in Western Australia - how much time have you spent in Australia and what keeps drawing you back their each winter?

This year I was there for almost three months. We had so much wind and waves that I lost count of the days on the water. For me WA is a perfect place for training as you can sail in so many different conditions, from side off down-the-line to side jumping. Also I really like the Australian laid back mentality. The locals are very nice and you get in touch quickly. 

Are you landing anything new since last season or is that a secret?

Haha, no I don´t really have secrets in windsurfing. I’ve been working on backwards rotations, both back and pushloops. The landing still challenges me many times, but I feel like I get closer every session.

Where is your favourite spot and what are you favourite conditions?

I love those conditions, when it’s possible to jump and wave ride at the same time. Consistent wind for 4.0m, with waves, from onshore to side offshore - those are my favourite conditions I´d say. I probably don´t have ONE favourite spot, as I like to change location and conditions. Coronation Beach, Jaeger’s [Stone] home spot in Western Australia comes pretty close though.

Furthermore I realised that I love to sail in Germany on the Baltic Sea as well. As the conditions are not so consistent, I feel like you just appreciate a good day much more than usual. Then, everyone is happy and it’s cool to be sharing this stoke with good friends and other passionate windsurfers.

Last year you finished 6th overall - how do you feel about that? And what are your aims for the 2017 season?

I am very happy about my result last year. The training I had done the winter before paid off and I also enjoyed competition more, as I felt more comfortable with my sailing. 

For this season I don’t think about numbers. I just want to come out of the water and be happy about my sailing and performance. Well, actually, sometimes during competition I forget to think about what I´m doing. So one goal this year is to take my brain with me on the water haha.

You are currently in Pozo? How’s it going over there? It must take a bit of adjustment compared to WA?

It´s really cool to be back. As it’s the fourth year in a row that I’m coming, it feels a bit like coming home. The people on the street and in the shops recognise you and ask you how your year went. It´s nice to see all the faces again and really fun to sail together. Especially as the competition is still a month away the atmosphere on the water is still kind of relaxed. People try funny things and cheer for crashes or good moves of the others. I really like it when it is like this, less competitive I´d say.

For me, sailing in Pozo is definitely different compared to sailing somewhere else. First of all I have to get used to the stronger winds again and also to the onshore angle. Anyway, I already notice that I’ve progressed this year and I’m looking forward to try these things in Pozo.

What would be your perfect day?

Wake up in my van, change into the wetsuit and go for a surfing session with friends. Then have a nice breakfast with fruits and of course a good coffee. Afterwards I´d probably relax a bit and play the guitar. 

Then some sailing starting in the afternoon and finishing with a nice sunset session in the evening. By night I’d be having a BBQ with friends and sit and sing with the guitar by a campfire. I’m matching the stereotypes I guess.

Where’s one location you’d love to go but haven’t been to yet?

I’d love to see and sail in South America. Peru and Chile, that would be my dream. Also I’d love to see more from Northern Europe and sail in Scotland or Ireland.

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

It would probably be Christoph Walz. I really like his intelligent humour and love him as an actor. Also to me he seems really interesting as a person as he’s into people and politics.

Most visited website?

Probably WindGuru and windsurfing.tv

A phrase/motto you live by?

I don’t really live by a motto, but I try to appreciate the things I have, what I get to see and experience. I don’t want to think too critically or about what is bad or could be better, but be happy with what I have.

Thanks Lina - good luck with the rest of the preparation before the Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival.

You can stay up to date with all of Lina Erpenstein’s latest news and adventures via her Social Media Channels:

Facebook: @erpensteinlina 

Instagram: @linaerpenstein 

DO WHAT YOU LOVE #1 // La Bretagne: “Sometimes, windsurfing is about the performance, but most of the time it is about having a good time with friends. Every trip is an adventure, this time Thomas did two little trips to visit his good friend Robin Goffinet in Brittany, and of course the plan was to sail the famous break of "Ile-aux-vaches". Robin is a great windsurfer but also a passionate surfer who started shaping surfboards in 2003. He now builds some beautiful crafts under his label "ROBsurfboards", all by himself and with a personal approach: he wants his boards to last, he likes to do everything by himself to keep his spiritual and financial freedom, he is not scared to try new things and his workshop opens only once a week so he can focus on his art instead of dealing with people. His talent and dedication made him an happy and successful shaper, who still finds time to windsurf when his homespots are on fire.”

You can see Do What You Love #1 - La Bretagne by visiting @ vimeo.com/222186925

You can see Kevin Pritchard talking about one of the key areas, which he thinks helped him to still be able to battle it out against the best sailors in the world and win in his latest video @ youtu.be/I7sZMcHwP-s

Kevin Pritchard, one of the best windsurfers in the world, was asked how he managed to win Aloha Classic, the biggest windsurfing event of the year, at an age of 41?..."Well, I didn't really change much, except for I just started riding all the time!...It's something that drives me to keep going”

1. You will always come second…

That’s because the wind and ocean are where their heart is. It’s not that they don’t love you, but the rush of chasing a forecast and scoring epic conditions is a feeling hard to beat.

2. Eventually, you’ll become a surf widow or widower.

Friend: “Why didn’t [said significant other’s name] come to [said important event]?” 

You: “The wind and waves were all time.”

3. Don’t expect to spend quality time with them at the beach.

Think that dating a windsurfer will lead to great weekends chilling on the beach together? Forget it. A windsurfer won’t be able to stay on the beach as soon as it’s 15 knots or more - so prepare to get good at entertaining yourself... At least you can watch them do what they love, right?

4. Their idea of a career will be a lot different than yours.

Windsurfers aren’t unfocused or irresponsible, they just have a different set of priorities and scoring the best conditions possible comes top of that list. Career goals? Pretty much any job that will give them more time on the water, because you know the saying a bad day on the water still beats a good day in the office. 

5. The first thing they’ll do when they wake up is check the forecast…

And if it’s good you can pretty much rule out spending any time with them as they’ll be straight out the door and heading to the beach quicker than you can say goodbye.

6. If there hasn’t been any wind for more than a week, prepare to deal with a grumpy, irritated human who will behave more like an angry toddler than an adult.

They literally have no idea what to do with themselves when they haven’t been on the water for a week and if the drought goes on longer than that god help you. 

7. If there’s a storm of the century on the horizon, they’ll drop everything, grab their gear, and head in that direction - even if it means booking flights and heading to a different country or continent. The majority of windsurfers love a road / air trip and they’ll be nothing you can do to stop them.

8. Enjoy lie ins at the weekend after a long week?

Nope that’s another thing to wave goodbye to if you date a windsurfer and the conditions look good… even if it is zero degrees outside, raining and Sunday morning. THEY DON'T BELIEVE IN LIE INS…

Pozo Izquierdo is home for Daida and more often than not she takes full advantage on her home waters to dispatch of the rest of the competition. In fact the only recent, slight blemish on an otherwise perfect record came in 2012 when Daida was making her return from fighting off skin cancer - and even then she still placed 2nd behind Iballa.

Since then the 39-year-old has won every year since and it looks like she’s going to be incredibly to tough to beat this time around - especially after watching her latest video as she gets tuned up for the Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival with trademark one-hand backloops, stalled forwards, tweaked pushloops and aerials plus much more.

You can see Daida Moreno’s latest Pozo performance by visiting @ vimeo.com/221553409

Noah Vocker (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) has caught the eye whilst competing in the PWA Youth Division over the last few years with the 17-year-old consistently challenging for top honours in the battle of the next generation. 

As some of you may know Noah suffered from Lymphedema in his left leg, which could have potentially cut his promising career short, but thankfully the surgery that Noah had in April has been a success and he is already back on the water and he plans to compete in Pozo next month. We recently caught up with Noah to see how life is going post-surgery. 

Hi Noah, How’s it going? Earlier this year you underwent surgery - for those that don’t know can you briefly explain what the problem with your leg was?

Hi! All good, starting to feel ready for the summer! Yes, I had my surgery at the beginning of April. I have a Lymphedema, this is an abnormal collection of high-protein fluid just beneath the skin. I have it in my left leg, but it also may occur in other parts of the body including the breast or trunk, head and neck, or arms. Lymphedema usually develops when lymphatic vessels are missing or impaired due to a hereditary condition (primary lymphedema). This caused a large swelling in my leg and made my leg super hard because of the fibrosis. Now, after 2 months post-surgery, I’m starting to sail and having my normal life again. The leg is still swollen, the whole new system I got into my leg has to grow and adapt it self. 

It seems like all went well with the surgery as you are now back on the water - how long were you off the water for and how good does it feel to be back out there?

Yes, as I said before, I was out of the water for 2 months, now I’m starting to sail again. It feels great to be in the water again, I have missed it haha! I have physiotherapy everyday, this helps the swelling to come down and makes the leg super soft.  

Realistically what would’ve happened to you and your windsurfing career without the surgery?

My leg wouldn’t have stopped swelling, this means it would have got massive and I would have lost the mobilisation of my leg. I would have maybe sailed for 2 more years if I was lucky and then have to stop because of the swelling and the non-mobilisation.

There’s just over a month to go before the start of the 2017 PWA Wave World Tour - will we see you in Pozo again this year? Are you looking forward to it?

Yes, only 1 month to go until the first stop of the PWA Wave Tour. I’m going to Pozo 10 days before to get back into the rhythm and the hard conditions of Pozo. I haven’t used my 3.4m for a year now, it’s going to be strange again ahahaha.  I’m looking forward to compete in the main fleet as this year, the Canaries will be top 48 fleet. I hope I get a place in there, and I look forward to my last year in the Youth division, let’s see how that goes! I Can’t wait to meet everyone again and have some good times with friends!

Thanks Noah - great to hear the surgery was a success - see you in Pozo.

You can stay up to date with all of Noah Vockers’ latest news and adventures via his Social Media Channels:

Facebook: @Noah Vocker F-210 

Instagram: @noahvocker1 

Last year Stillrich started to find the winning formula as he recorded two top 10 finishes from the 3 events he competed at, which saw him rewarded with his best overall ranking yet - 12th - and it looks as though the Canarian is ready to kick on again over the coming year… especially when you watch his latest video which features trademark super tweaked pushloops, front and backside 360s as well as much more.

You can see Alessio Stillrich’s latest short clip by visiting his Facebook Athlete Page @AlessioStillrich

As normal Stone’s latest video is packed with radical action with an excellent blend of massive jumps and signature turns.

You can see Jaeger Stone’s later video by visiting @ vimeo.com/220924993

Hey Victor, how are you and how’s your winter been? 

I’m very well, thanks. Winter has been amazing. I spent lots of time on Maui, 3 weeks in Cape Town and one and half months at home in Almerimar. Time went very fast but I’ve sailed a lot this winter so I can´t complain. 

It’s not long until the start of the new season now - how are you feeling about the start of your title defence? 

Well, I’m feeling good. I’m sailing a lot and I love how my new Fanatic boards and North Windsurf sails are working. My motivation is 100% to start the tour this year so I can´t ask for anything else.

Does it feel any different to you coming into the start of the season as the defending world champion for the first time since 2010 when you won your first world title? 

I feel great, I think every year is different because we start from zero, so I just try to be as prepared as possible every year for Gran Canaria. I’m so happy that I have won my 2nd title after 6 years, so I just hope to get another title in the next 6 years, haha…

It seems like a lot of the sailors are already heading for Pozo - when are you heading there? 

I’m already in Pozo since June 4th. I always like to come here very early to get used to the spot, food, etc… and I also have a lot of friends here so it also feels like home to me as I’ve been coming to Pozo since I’m 14 years old every summer for 2 months.

Does it take a while to adjust and get used to sailing in Pozo again? 

It takes a bit of time but I really like sailing here as the wind is always there. Even here in Pozo conditions change a lot with the tides, wind direction and everyday I learn something new.

Last year saw you and Philip [Köster] meet in the final again and you managed to defeat him on home waters - are you ready for another battle for the event and world title? 

I would love to make another final for sure, it’s always a dream to make a PWA final with the super high level these days and for sure Philip is one of the toughest competitors here. but before the final there is a lot work to do get up there so I just want to sail as well as I can in every heat and enjoy every moment.

Last year you said that you thought that Philip was the favourite coming into the event - who do you think is the favourite for 2017?  

Well, I think Philip is still the man to beat here, his jumping and wave riding skills in Pozo are amazing but there are many other guys too, like Marcilio [Browne], Ricardo [Campello], Jaeger [Stone], Alex [Mussolini], Alessio [Stillrich] and many others are pushing really hard.

Who’s your favourite for the girls comp? 

I would say Daida [Moreno], I saw here sailing a few days ago and she looks very well prepared.

Thanks Victor.

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

Facebook: @victore42 

Instagram: @victore42 

Twitter: @victore42 

Maciek Rutkowski: “After almost 6 months away and a 28 hour drive to get back from Costa Brava I went straight to my home beach and got a serious treat. So much fun!!!After almost 6 months away and a 28 hour drive to get back from Costa Brava I went straight to my home beach and got a serious treat. So much fun!”

You can see Maciek Rutkowski’s latest video via his Facebook Athlete page - @maciek.rutkowski 

After the highs of Japan Vonk cut a frustrated figure at times in Costa Brava as he didn’t quite manage to maintain those high standards that he had set in the event prior. The 23-year-old wasn't far off, but he faced 4 quarterfinal exits after placing 5th - one place outside of the crucial qualifying positions - in 4 out of the 8 races completed. Those are narrow margins to miss out by, but they have massive impacts on the overall results meaning Vonk had to settle for a 21st place in Spain, which leaves Vonk 9th after the first three events. *No result in South Korea. After a slightly mixed start to the season, but one that offers plenty of opportunity and hope we caught up with Jordy for an interview:

Hey Jordy, how’s it going?

I’m fine thanks! Good to be home after a very busy month May. 

In South Korea it looked like you were flying, but we couldn’t complete a round, so there was no result… how good was it to then go straight to Japan and score your first podium finish?

Sure it was a shame that we didn’t finish Korea in the windy conditions, but sadly that’s sometimes the way it is. To then go to Japan and score my first podium was simply an amazing feeling. Although it was only one elimination that we completed I was more than proud of this achievement, especially in a location like Japan with lots of people on the beach - that made it even more special! 

After a winter of hard training it must be great to see your hard work paying off?

Oh yes! You gain confidence all over the winter during the TWS training and you secretly start to think of everything which could be possible this year. When that’s already happening during the first result of the year it gives even more confidence for the rest of the season.

Does earning your first podium change or open up your mindset at all?

Not really, before the tour I visited a mental coach which actually changed my mind before heading to Asia. My aim was high and of course after the podium it will stay like that.  

After the highs of Japan the tour then headed straight for Costa Brava, where you so nearly earned your first podium last year, but things didn't seem to quite click for you the same like they did in Japan or last year there - do you think there was any particular reason for that?

You can’t believe how frustrating this was! It’s hard to say what particularly went wrong. All my counting results were 18.5 or better, so it was not that I was totally out of the game, but getting kicked out 4 times in 5th place in the quarterfinals was kind of unbelievable. I think it was a little bit unlucky but I also didn’t force my luck enough. It was definitely not due lack of speed and I can’t imagine losing my jibing skills so quickly, haha, so for sure I’ll be back soon! 

After the first 3 events of the year you’re 9th overall - are you happy with your start to the season?

Mixed feelings! 9th is for sure a good position which offers possibilities to go anywhere in the ranking, but due to  having a counting 21st place, for now, I can’t say I’m super happy. But the mix of success (Japan) and a big lesson (Costa Brava) it might be the best for me in the long term, so for sure it’s a positive start to the season. 

After a hectic May you’ve now got a bit of time before the next event in Fuerteventura - what will you be up to between then and now?

I’ll be enjoying some days at home as I was only here 10 days so far this year! But it will also be filled with the action: Last weekend we had the first stop of the Dutch Championships which I managed to win. Next week there’ll be attending the IFCA World’s on Texel, where I will compete as well followed by the second/last stop of the Dutch Championships the weekend after. Then it’s time to relax a little bit before heading to Fuerteventura early - I can’t wait to be on the small gear again! 

Quick Fire Tips

1 quick tip to go faster?

TRY, make sure you tried every cm of your mast track, boom height, downhaul, outhaul and so on, you can only get the max out of your gear when you really know your gear. 

1 quick tip for better gybing?

Keep the amount of actions as minimum as possible. You should only need 3 actions for your feet and 3 for your hands. 

1 quick tip for better starting?

It’s mostly about experience, so just try to do as many starts as possible. 

Thanks Jordy.

You can stay up to date with all of Jordy Vonk’s latest news and adventures via his Social Media Network Channels:

Facebook: @jordy.vonk.69 

Instagram: @jordyvonk 

Pozo is world renowned for it’s howling winds and steep stunt ramps, which has earned it the reputation of being one of the best jumping spots in the world as it consistently produces perfect conditions for the world’s most radical sailors to do what they do best… go MASSIVE.

Nicolas Akgazciyan (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) is just one of those sailors there at the moment and the Frenchman has just dropped a new short edit titled ‘Magic Pozo’, which sees him clocking up some serious air miles with massive stalled forwards and tweaked pushloops.

You can see Nicolas Akgazciyan’s latest video via his Facebook Athlete Page - @NicoAkgazciyanF400

The Italian finished 8th at the recent Catalunya PWA World Cup and now he is giving you the chance to see what racing for a place in the world’s top 10 is like with a heads on perspective of a losers’ final, which was eventually won by Marco Lang (Fanatic / NorthSails), while Cucchi finished behind Finian Maynard (99NoveNove / Gun Sails) to finish 11th.

This is a rare insight into life truly in the fast lane and a must watch for anyone slalom fanatic. You can see Andrea Cucchi’s heads on perspective by clicking here. 

Last September Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) sustained a serious knee injury which required surgery, so since then he has been recuperating. 

Eight or nine months down the line the three-time world champion is now back on the water and it looks like he’s enjoying being back on the water in his latest short new video, which sees the 23-year-old on a mission to Mauritius on a forecast.

You can see Philip Köster’s welcome return by visiting @ vimeo.com/219813573

While freestyle is the 28-year-olds true passion she now also completes on the full slalom world tour and she started the season in fine form as she recorded her best result yet - 6th in South Korea.

Johanne spends much of her life on the road - chasing wind and sometimes waves - but sometimes that road leads close to home again and that’s where the majority of her latest video ‘Falling Forward’ is filmed - not quite in her homeland of Norway, but in Denmark

Oda Johanne: “Being a professional windsurfer, I have, as many others, chosen a different way of life. Often I’ve been asked what my backup plan is when I can’t windsurf anymore… Something to fall back on… I just want to fall forward =)”

You can see Oda Johanne’s latest video by visiting @ vimeo.com/218759446

Lesauvage is from France, but has also spent plenty of time honing his skills in Maui, which means he’s equally adept on either starboard or port tack. Lesauvage’s latest video is named ‘Mauiterranean’ and is well worth a watch.

You can see Loick Lesauvage’s latest video by visiting @ vimeo.com/214172636.

The opening half of the week saw the foil exhibition take centre stage, with lighter airs on offer, and there was plenty of exciting racing with five foil races being completed in total, while the weekend - particularly Saturday - provided world class slalom conditions, which saw close-calls, upsets and some very tired sailors after completing 8 eliminations in the final two days. 

Over the course of the 6 day event 13 races were completed across 2 disciplines - slalom and foil - but in the end there was only one winner with 23-time world champion - Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) - proving unstoppable after producing a truly magnificent performance. 

Foiling 

Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui) claimed victory in Japan and the Frenchman made a strong start in Costa Brava as he quickly reeled off bullets in the opening two races to open up a healthy lead at the top. Questel has been the dominant sailor when sailing in the extremely light breezes around 4-8 knots, but once the wind increases by just an extra knot or two it seems that conditions then favour Antoine Albeau, who hit back in devastating fashion by completing a hat-trick to steal the event victory from Questel, who finishes second. 

Denmark’s Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde) records successive podium finishes after another extremely consistent display, which saw the 24-year-old record 3, third place finishes in 5 races, but this time he has to settle for 3rd - after his 2nd place in Japan.

Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins) recovered from his share of bad luck and errors in the first couple of races to finish 4th, while Brazil’s Mateus Isaac completes the top 5 - just ahead of Maciek Rutkowski (Tabou / GA Sails).

Slalom

In the slalom Antoine Albeau claimed a decisive victory after the Frenchman didn’t put a foot wrong in the 8 races completed. In fact, Albeau was so good that the worst result he recorded was a 5th place, while he won 3 races and finished 2nd on a further two occasions. Albeau’s dominant performance here sees him seize control of the title race at this early stage after making an extremely impressive start to the season with a victory and 3rd place from Japan. 

Antoine Albeau enjoys returning to life on top: “I feel super good. I knew that in the foil I had a good chance to be at the top because there’s not as much competition, yet, as in the slalom. You never quite know what you are going to get in Costa Brava, but it looked like we would get wind at the weekend and in the end the weekend was unbelievable and we were even able to use our medium boards, which was great. It’s been a long time since we were able to complete so many races (8) and in the end I managed to record superb results in both the light and medium winds. So, yeah overall I’m really happy because this is more or less the first contest of the season where you can really find out where you are in terms of speed against everyone else - and now I can see that I’m going good, so I’m pretty happy. See you in Fuerte.”

Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails) almost saw his podium chances fade away after a shock quarterfinal exit in race 5, before an even bigger surprise as he suffered a second round exit in the very next race. Fortunately for the Frenchman 8 races were completed, which brought two discards into play and after this blip he responded in the perfect fashion by claiming his first bullet of the season in Elimination 7, which slingshotted the two-time vice-world champion from 6th to 2nd place. Mortefon has made a solid start to the season and currently sits 2nd in the overall rankings. 

Reigning world champion - Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7) - endured an indifferent week, but he showed his champion qualities to battle through and snatch the final place on the podium from Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / LoftSails), which could yet prove pivotal in deciding the title later this year. Iachino may have not looked as consistently quick as he did last season, but even through all of his difficulties over the last 6 days, the Italian was still able to claim one bullet, while he’s still firmly in contention for the title in 3rd place overall. 

Pascal Toselli agonisingly missed out on a place on the prestigious podium by just one-point having been in the top three for the entire event up until the last race. Toselli missed out on the last winners’ final, which proved critical, but he’ll still have been happy to bounce back after a disappointing result in Japan - where just one race was completed. 

Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) rises to 4th in the overall rankings after recording a solid 5th place in Costa Brava - with the Brit sailing extremely consistently again. Williams completed a couple of miraculous comebacks in a couple of races and he looks set to be challenging for the overall podium again in 2017.

Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde) said he lost a bit of confidence after Japan, but you wouldn’t have known it given the way he destroyed the field in the opening race of the week and that victory clearly meant a lot with his emotions clear to everyone as he celebrated as he crossed the line. The Israeli then sailed consistently for the remainder of the event to finish in 6th place, but things could’ve been even better had he not suffered a broken mast in the 4th race, which resulted in a quarterfinal exit. 

Movers and Shakers

Elsewhere, Finian Maynard slips one place to 5th in the overall rankings after a 13th place finish here, while Gonzalo Costa Hoevel rises two places to 6th. Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui) moves into 8th overall after a 10th place finish.

Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails) hangs on to his place in the overall top 10 after a 14th place finish in Costa Brava. The German looked set for a top 10 finish, but then suffered his worst results in the final two races to miss out. 

Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) may have made a great start to the season in Japan by claiming victory, but he had an event to forget here in Costa Brava and he’ll want to quickly erase this result - 20th - from his memory, while trying to make sure he resets before returning to action in Fuerteventura. Quentel slips from 1st to 7th in the overalls. 

Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / NorthSails) also slides down the rankings to 9th after recording his best result ever in Japan - where he finished second - but for whatever reason he couldn’t quite find that form over the last 6 days, but you’d expect to see him bounce back from a disappointing 21st in the coming events.

Former youth world champion - Tristan Algret - Starboard / Severne / Mystic / Chopper Fins) missed the event in Japan due to his studies, but showed why he’s one of the most exciting young talents on the tour to secure an excellent 7th place with his best result going in the 2nd race when he claimed 2nd. 

Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7) finishes 8th in Costa Brava, while Marco Lang completed an impressive comeback to claim 9th. The Austrian faced quarterfinal exits in 3 out of the first 4 eliminations, but then found his form to record 4 top 10 finishes - including a 3rd in Elimination 6.

Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic) suffered a mixture of bad luck and poor decision making to cost him a top 10 finish. The Bonairean’s harness line snapped on the final reach, in the second round of Elimination 2 - when he was comfortably qualifying, which resulted in his exit, before suffering another second round exit from Elimination 7 after catapulting while posing for the camera when leading Heat 6 to leave him in 12th place.

Elsewhere, Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne), may be much more associated with radical freestyle as the reigning vice-world champion - but the young Bonairean showed he's also capable of mixing it with the best in the business on the race course as he qualified for his first winners’ final this week. The 21-year-old also finishes in the top 16 for first time at a slalom event - while also placing 10th in the foil.

Other, young,  promising talents include 18-year-old Basile Jacquin (Starboard / Point-7), who qualified for 3 successive winners’ finals in Eliminations 5-7 - and more than held his own as he recorded a superb 2nd, before finishing 4th and 5th as well. Also fellow Frenchman - Nicolas Goyard (RRD / Point-7 / Mystic) - looks one to watch after the 21 year-old finished 2nd in the opening race, before seeing his hopes fade. 

The last 6-days in Costa Brava provided plenty of world class racing, which was very welcome after a couple of unlucky events in Asia - in terms of the wind. The slalom tour now takes a short break after a busy month of May and the world’s fastest sailors will return to action in Fuerteventura in July. The PWA would like to thank everyone involved with the event and we look forward to returning for the 20th edition of the Catalunya PWA World Cup in 2018.

To view previous news and photos from Costa Brava — including elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

You can find out more about Costa Brava via their dedicated website - www.costabrava.org

Where’s Next on the PWA World Tour?

After concentrating on the race course for the opening events of the 2017 PWA World Tour it’s now time to turn our focus towards the waves as the most radical sailors in the world prepare for their first battles of the season in Pozo, for the Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival, which starts on the 9th July and runs until the 15th. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to follow all of the explosive action as it happens via the PWA live stream.

Current Ranking 2017 PWA World Tour - Men’s Slalom

1st Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)

2nd Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins)

3rd Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses)

4th Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses)

5th Finian Maynard (99NoveNove / Gun Sails)

6th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins)

7th Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti)

8th Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui)

9th Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / NorthSails)

10th Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails)

Result 2017 Catalunya PWA World Cup - Men’s Slalom

1st Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)

2nd Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins)

3rd Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses)

4th Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / LoftSails / Chopper Fins)

5th Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses)

6th Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde)

7th Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / Chopper Fins)

8th Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7)

9th Marco Lang (Fanatic / NorthSails)

10th Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui)

Result Foil Exhibition Catalunya PWA World Cup 

1st Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) 

2nd Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui)

3rd Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde)

4th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins) 

5th Mateus Isaac (JP / NeilPryde)

6th Maciek Rutkowski (Tabou / GA Sails)

7th Nicolas Goyard (Starboard / Point-7)

8th Malte Reuscher (JP / NeilPryde) 

9th Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins)

10th Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne)

Slalom

Antoine Albeau was in imperious form yesterday, which put him in a commanding position heading into the final day - and even before the completion of the 6th race,AA basically had the event victory sewn up as only two other sailors from top 10 of the overnight rankings qualified for the winners’ final - (Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) and Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7) - and from there he asserted his dominance even more as he claimed a 3rd bullet in Elimination 6, before placing second in Race 7 to build an unassailable lead. Albeau - who is now 44-years-old - shows no signs of slowing down as he schooled his younger rivals on how to dominate an event. In his interview, Albeau, sounded extremely confident and it would be no surprise to see him add to his 23-world-titles come the and of the season after this performance. 

Pierre Mortefon suffered a surprising second round exit in Elimination 6, which saw the vice-world champion drop from 3rd to 6th on the final day, but the 27-year-old responded in perfect fashion by going on to win the 7th Race, which slingshotted the Frenchman back into second place, which is ultimately where Mortefon finishes the event - he was leading the winners final in the 8th race as well, but the wind shut down before it could be completed and his result wouldn’t have changed.

Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7 / Shamal Sunglasses) looked to be in a jubilant mood when it was revealed that he had snatched the final place on the podium from the grasp of Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / LoftSails / Chopper Fins) - after enduring a somewhat difficult week. The reigning world champion has battled through this week to still earn a creditable 3rd place, but he doesn't look to have that same blistering pace which he possessed last year. However, the Italian now has 7 weeks before Fuerteventura in which to try and figure things out and he’s still prominently placed after winning one elimination. 

Pascal Toselli will be devastated to have missed out on the podium - having been in the top 3 until the final race. The Frenchman has enjoyed an couple of days racing, but ultimately Toselli misses out on the podium by an agonising point. 

Last year’s world No.3 - Ross Williams - ends the third event of the year in a solid 5th place with the Brit showing his usual consistency, which saw him finish outside the top 10 on just two occasions out of the 8 races completed. 

Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde) - won the opening elimination in convincing fashion, but the Israeli competes the week in 6th place. Dagan was unlucky yesterday that a broken mast saw him leave to settle for a 30.5 in Elimination 4 - and although the result was discarded you have to feel that it may have affected his mentality heading into the final day. 

Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / Chopper Fins) rises one place to 7th from the overnight ranking, while Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7) falls two places to 8th - after a couple of premature stats on the final day.

Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui) discards one of this results from today to complete the top 10.

Movers and Shakers

Marco Lang (Fanatic / NorthSails) completed a superb comeback on the final day to deservedly earn his place in the overall top 10. The Austria suffered a mixture his fair share of bad luck, but battled through to finish in the top 10 - with a 10th place being his worst result in the last 4 races completed - with the 31-year-olds best effort coming in the opening race of the day when he finished with a fantastic 3rd place. 

Taty Frans (Starboards / GA Sails / Mystic) escapes with a 12th place from Costa Brava after a disastrous couple of elimination's, but the Bonairean would’ve been almost guaranteed a place in the top 10 had he not been too busy smiling at the camera, when leading the quarterfinal of Elimination 6, which saw him catapult over the handlebars.

Having finished in the top 10 in a single elimination for the first time ever - Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) - went a few places better today as he qualified for his maiden winners’ final in which he finished 7th - which sees the Bonairean finish 13th overall in Costa Brava 

At 6:30pm the closing ceremony as the winners’ were deservedly presented with third trophies in front of the crowd. 

Result 2017 Catalunya PWA World Cup - Men’s Slalom

1st Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)

2nd Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins)

3rd Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses)

4th Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / LoftSails / Chopper Fins)

5th Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses)

6th Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde)

7th Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / Chopper Fins)

8th Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7)

9th Marco Lang (Fanatic / NorthSails)

10th Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui)

Result Foil Exhibition Catalunya PWA World Cup 

1st Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) 

2nd Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui)

3rd Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde)

4th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins) 

5th Mateus Isaac (JP / NeilPryde)

6th Maciek Rutkowski (Tabou / GA Sails)

7th Nicolas Goyard (Starboard / Point-7)

8th Malte Reuscher (JP / NeilPryde) 

9th Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins)

10th Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne)

Slalom

Sailor of the Day

Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) was without doubt the standout sailor of the day - as he so often is - the 23-time world champion produced a scintillating display to claim two, firsts, a second and a fifth to cap an exceptional day which deservedly sends him into a commanding lead at the top of the event rankings with one day to go. Albeau’s never say die attitude was never more prevalent than in Elimination 3 when facing a semifinal exit, but on the final reach Bruno Martini (RRD / Point-7) succumbed to having Albeau breathing down his neck and the Frenchman snatched the last place in the winners’ final, which he duly went on to win. AA is now in an extremely strong position heading into the final day and it’s difficult to see anyone stopping him from here.

Fellow countryman - Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / LoftSails / Chopper Fins) - rises one place into second after enjoying a fine day - with the only blip coming in the third race when he was eliminated in the semifinals. In the race prior, Toselli secured the opening bullet of the day in impressive fashion and he immediately discards the 14th place finish from Elimination 3 after qualifying for every other winners’ final.

Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins) completes an all French top 3 heading into the final day and the reigning vice-world champion sailed consistently for the majority of the day - recording results of 2nd, 3rd and 4th - with the only blemish coming in race 5 when he suffered a surprise quarterfinal exit, which he discards. Aside from that the 27-year-old hasn’t finished worse than 6th and remains on course for the podium. 

Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde) led the event rankings at the start of the day, but slips to 4th at the end of today’s proceedings. The Israeli was firmly in contention in the last race as he entered the first gybe in second, but was then covered on the exit, meaning he had to settle for 6th place. 

Reigning world champion - Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) - has recorded a mixed bag of results so far this week with the Italian only qualifying for two winners’ finals out of the five races completed. However, the 27-year-old is still in 5th place after he dug deep to secure a clinical victory in the final race of the day. Iachino will be hoping that it is possible to complete at least a further two eliminations tomorrow, which would bring the second discard into play and provide him with the opportunity to be one of the biggest movers of the day. 

Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7) currently occupies 6th place, but the Italian was visibly annoyed at himself in race five when he inexplicably dropped his third gybe in the semifinals when in the qualifying positions. 

Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) produced a couple of miraculous comebacks today to earn the worthy title as the comeback King. The Brit flirted with danger in two successive heats in the opening race of the day - quarters and semifinals - and looked to be down and out, but he somehow reeled in his rivals to advance into the winners’ final. The pick of the bunch of his manoeuvres came in the quarterfinals of Race 2 when he jumped from 7th to 4th with a text-book gybe at the last to progress. The 37-year-old is currently in 7th place heading into the final day, but things could’ve been even better had he not suffered a broken boom.

Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / Chopper Fins) made a flying start to the day as he chased home Pascal Toselli in the opening race to claim second place, before finishing 7th in the next. Unfortunately after this his day faded somewhat with quarter and semifinal exits, but the 23-year-old remains on course for the top 10 - 8th at the moment. 

After a disappointing quarterfinal exit in the opening race of the week - Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui) has produced an excellent recovery, which sees the 32-year-old rise to 9th. Questel’s best result came in the third elimination - 5th - and has then produced the consistency needed to challenge for the top 10 with results of 10th, 11th and 12th. 

Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails) may have suffered disappointing quarterfinal exits in the opening two races, but since then the German has recovered brilliantly to move into the final place in the top 10. The 26-year-old had looked quick in both South Korea and Japan and things finally clicked into place as he recorded a 4th and two 9th’s in the last 3 eliminations today. Kördel will be another sailor hoping for a further two eliminations as he could potentially then discard and 18.5, which could then open up the possibility of a top 5 finish. 

Elsewhere, Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails) showed he has the speed and the talent to compete with the best names in the business after recording a superb second place Elimination 4. If the flying Dutchman can find the recipe to consistently find that form then he could be one to watch for the remainder of the season. 

Gabriele Browne (Goya Windsurfing / Point-7) is in his first year back on the PWA World Tour and he’s enjoying a fine event - currently ranked 11th. The Brazilian qualified for the first winners’ final of the day to take home 5th place, while making the semifinals on a further two occasions, but has just a one-point advantage over Finian Maynard (99NoveNove / Gun Sails) - who is very much still in the hunt for successive top 10 finishes.

Last year’s world No.6 - Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic) - suffered a couple of disastrous eliminations to start the event, with a snapped harness line costing him dearly in the second elimination, but since then he has firmly set himself on the road to recovery with 4th, 8th and 12th place finishes in the last 3 races, which sees him rise to 13th. Frans is another sailor, who could massively benefit from the second discard and a top 10 finish is very much on the cards if the wind shows up again tomorrow. 

Fellow Bonairean - Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) - who is the freestyle vice-world champion - also enjoyed a fine day as he qualified for three semifinals to show he also possesses some serious skills on the race course. The 21-year-old recorded his first top 10 in a single race - Race 3.

After his best ever result in the last event - Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / NorthSails) - will be disappointed to find himself down in 18th place, but Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) may be the most disappointed man of all. The 30-year-old won the event in Japan, but finds himself in a lowly 32nd place after becoming involved in a number of tussles and collisions in the five races thus far and realistically there is no-way back for the man from Saint Maarten here in Costa Brava - and he will just have to erase this event from his memory.

The forecast looks excellent for tomorrow with clear skies and moderate southeasterly winds being predicted, which should hopefully provide a Super Sunday finale to the 2017 Catalunya PWA World Cup. The sailors will meet again at 10:30am tomorrow morning for the skippers’ meeting with the action commencing from 11am (GMT+2) onwards. Stay up to date with all of the latest developments from Costa Brava by tuning into www.pwaworldtour.com 

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

Current Ranking 2017 Catalunya PWA World Cup - Men’s Slalom

*After 5 Eliminations - 1 Discard

1st Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)

2nd Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / LoftSails / Chopper Fins)

3rd Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins)

4th Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde)

5th Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses)

6th Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7)

7th Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses)

8th Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / Chopper Fins)

9th Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui)

10th Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails)

Current Ranking Foil Exhibition Catalunya PWA World Cup - 

*After 5 Races - 1 Discard

1st Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) 

2nd Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui)

3rd Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde)

4th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins) 

5th Mateus Isaac (JP / NeilPryde)

6th Maciek Rutkowski (Tabou / GA Sails)

7th Nicolas Goyard (Starboard / Point-7)

8th Malte Reuscher (JP / NeilPryde) 

9th Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins)

10th Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne)

Foil

Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) now holds the outright lead in the foil exhibition as he delivered another faultless display to earn a clear cut victory over his nearest challenger Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui). The two Frenchman were tied at the top of the rankings at the start of the day, but Albeau now has a 1.3 point lead.

Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde) still occupies third in the overalls after continuing to sail consistently with the Dane recording his third, third place in the five races so far completed.

Meanwhile, Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins) continues to recover from his slow start on the opening day and the Argentine gains a further two places to move into 4th. 

Slalom 

Elimination Two

In the opening round of the second race the majority of the sailors you would expect to advance did, but Benjamin Augé (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) and Michal Aftowicz (Point-7) both faced disappointing first round exits. Meanwhile, Sean O’Brien (Starboard / Severne) completed a superb comeback as the Australian got up just before the line to steal the final qualifying place into the next round at the expense of Tomas van Zelst, who had held 4th place all the way until that point.

Maciek Rutkowski (Tabou / GA Sails) jumped the gun in Heat 5 to be left with a second round exit - upon the restart Cyril Moussilmani (99NoveNove / Severne) claimed top spot, but behind him there was plenty of drama as Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic) catapulted on the final reach, when in second place, to allow Ben van der Steen (Patrik / Gun Sails) and Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) into second and third, while Ramon Pastor (99NoveNove / LoftSails) was effectively the lucky loser as he unexpectedly grabbed the final qualifying position into the quarterfinals. 

Heat 6 was the final heat of the day to be completed and the top 4 remained the same after the first mark, which resulted in German Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails) convincingly winning the heat ahead of Basile Jacquin (Starboard / Point-7), Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / NorthSails) and Mateus Isaac (JP / NeilPryde).

Foiling looks set to play a major part in racing in the coming seasons so we caught up with Antoine Albeau and Gonzalo Costa Hoevel, who are heavily involved with the development of foiling to find out more.

You are involved in the development of foiling - how do you think foiling compares to say this time last year?

AA: “Last year, in April, I started working with the guys from F4 in San Francisco and together with NeilPryde we decided to produce and release one carbon foil, so we’ve been working and developing the foil together to be able to release the production foil we have now. And then at the same time we’ve also been developing the aluminium foil for beginners, which is available for the super attractive price of €800. It’s much easier to use and allows people to try foiling out. 

Compared to last year I think the development has been huge, but this is still only the beginning because now most of the companies already have a foil ready for the summer. I’m pretty sure that this time next year everything will have majorly progressed again.”

GCH: “I’ve been working on the Starboard Foils for about 6 months now. Last year when we started and just before Sylt’s PWA Demo Foil event, I had in my mind that foiling obviously was a new discipline for speed and racing lovers, but I was not sure who could actually do it. I thought that your level had to be pretty high  - i.e. PWA level or a very technical guy. Now after all this time and evolution I am sure that we have managed to open up the chance to foil to a lot more normal windsurfers. Now we have managed to make foils that any freerider can have a go on and experience the magical feel of flying above the water. It is not only for pros anymore. 


In the PRO level, we have managed to bring down our minimum winds and we were competing in Japan with winds between 4-8 knots, something last year we wouldn't have thought was possible. At higher speeds, we have created super stable foils, that allows us to go over 30 knots or challenge any slalom sailor on a 20 knots wind day.

Brands are also making specific foiling boards - what are the main differences between a slalom board and a foil board?

AA: “So with a slalom board it will be a little bit more pin tailed to reduce the drag on the water - whereas with a foil board you need to be much closer to the position you stand on a formula board - so the tail needs to be more square and because you aren’t touching the water (when foiling) there is no drag in the tail, which means you can have a wide tail to help you get going earlier and it’s also more comfortable.”

GCH: “A foil board needs to be pretty wide, with slalom we have a max width of 85cm, our big foil board by Starboard is 100cm wide. This gives us exceptional early planing ability in the 4-8kts range, plus it allows us to use bigger foils and more powerful setups. The further out you manage to stand. the more leverage and control you have over the foil. So it is actually easier to sail and control, which allows you to maintain your max speed for longer. The outline of the board should be pretty straight and the nose doesn’t need to be significantly big, as when we are flying we want less resistance on the front and a more aerodynamic design. If you want a high wind foil board we have slightly narrower shape and different rails, providing us control when flying. For a beginner, we have a slightly longer and higher rocker board, so that when you are learning and you dig the nose the board comes up instantly with control and you don't catapult. This is key! I wouldn't learn on those short boards and boards with a flat rocker line.” 

And what are the main differences between a slalom sail and foil sail?

AA: “With NeilPryde we have been developing a foil sail that has a bit more shape in the front because when you are flying you need the sail to be really stable. Also, the leach is a bit more closed because when you are pumping in the light winds you don’t want to be exhausting all the wind. It’s better to keep the wind in the sail rather than releasing it. We’ve found like this you can fly earlier and it’s easier to keep planing - those are the main couple of differences. In Japan, I didn’t bring the specific foil sail because of the excess baggage, so I used my slalom sails - for now the difference isn’t huge between the slalom sail and the foil sail.”

GCH: “The foil sails needs to be very light in feel when you are up there you don’t want a heavy sail, so they have a reduced boom length, and a higher aspect ratio. We are looking for efficient pumping to come up on to the plane and very good rotation so when you try to do a foil gybe you have less effort. At the moment most of us are using slalom sails, but with Severne we are working hard on achieving a sail that offers the same top speed as a slalom sail while providing a light and effortless feel when on the foil.”

As foiling continues to progress - where do you see foiling fitting in?

AA: “Personally I’m trying to push foiling as much as possible because it’s something I’ve done for a very long time. I think my first foil experience was in Maui in 2000. At the moment everybody seems to see foiling as a light wind solution, which it is super nice for and it’s easy in those conditions, but you can also foil in 20-30 knots - it’s harder but it’s possible.”

GCH: “After Japan I see it progressing strongly on our tour. Already in Japan it has proved that it works perfectly in our light wind range and it massively reduces our minimum wind limit to 4 -8 knots. The medium wind range is yet to be properly discovered as most are only using foils in extremely light winds at the moment, but I see it being a great discipline in 8-15 knots as well. When the wind gets above 20 knots it is still a lot of fun, but then the performance of foiling and slalom become super close.“

What winds do you think foiling is currently best in?

AA: “When it’s super, super light, foiling is also really hard to get planing / flying - just like slalom - and it’s tricky to stay on the foil, so for me I would say 15-20 knots is the best range - particularly with flat water because then it’s quite easy.”

GCH: “4-15 knots.”

What are the main differences between slalom and foiling - in terms of racing and sailing angles?

AA: “With the foil you can point much higher and lower than slalom - it’s more comparable with formula. I haven’t done any racing again a good formula guy, but I’m quite sure on a foil we would win and be faster.”

GCH: “On a foil you can point much higher and race in much lighter winds. We could bring back upwind, downwind racing again, and bigger fleet systems. There many things that could be insane with foiling, but i think for now we need to develop and try different formats - focusing on the light winds under 15 knots.”

Do you need different foiling setups?

AA: “I currently have two front wings that I can change.  For light winds I have a wing with more area and width to generate more lift and it allows to me go upwind and downwind, but if the wind is constant and say between 15-20 knots then you can change down to the medium wing, which is super stable and very easy to use.”

GCH: “You could play around a lot. At Starboard we designed a modular setup, meaning that you can change the fuselage length and the wings. So if it’s light you will put in a longer fuselage and bigger wings will make you plane earlier and have good lift and speed around the course. Then if the wind picks up, or if you are sailing a more traditional slalom course, or a long distance course, you can change to the smaller fuselage with smaller wings and it will give you higher speeds and comfort. 

We have opted for this as we believe that in the future you will be able to change a wing, just as you change a fin and this will allow massive changes in performance. As well for the R&D it is much easier to evolve being able to try different combos of your parts, fuselage, mast, front and back wings.” 

Compared to slalom do you setup the board or sail differently? 

AA: “With the harness lines they need to be further forward compared to when slalom sailing and the harness lines are much shorter, but for a beginner it isn’t a good idea to immediately start with super short lines. You still need to shorten them a bit compared to your windsurfing setup, but then gradually shorten them as you progress.

GCH: “You can use the sail with slightly less downhaul, that’s for sure. Mast base and footstraps position go in a very similar place as for slalom, if you want slightly more power then set everything back, if you want more control further forward.”

Why is it not a good idea for beginners to start out with super short harness lines?

AA: “Because when they are super short it’s hard to get out of the harness if you lose control, which will happen, to begin with until you get used to it, so it’s better to have them so they are easier to get out of and it’s safer.“ 

The stance for foiling looks quite different to normal windsurfing - how do they compare?

AA: “The main differences are that you need to keep your body weight over the top of the board - you stand much more vertical. If you start to try and lay down it means that you will luff up. When you are just starting it’s really important that you keep your mast and body as vertical as possible.

Steering still uses the same principles as windsurfing with heel and toe pressure to change direction - so pushing on your toes will take you downwind and conversely pressure through your feet will bring you upwind.”

GCH: “If you’ve watched closely you would’ve noticed that some of us are railing the board to leeward, this stance allows you to control the foil and go for more speed. It is like your body is almost a continuation of the mast and of the foil angle, so your weight and strength keeps the board on trim with downforce. If you adopt a normal slalom stance you will probably take off and explode instantly. Sometimes you will see us leaning extremely far forward, this is for control and to keep the foil down. 

But some foils produce more lift and others less, that’s why you will see some different stances around. 

Is the pressure you have to apply when foiling different compared to windsurfing? (Is foiling more sensitive)

AA: “Yeah it is because if you apply the same pressure as when you are windsurfing you will turn much quicker and harder. You also have to be aware that every time you turn the foil will generate power as it turns, so it’s critical you really concentrate when you are trying to turn.”

Is it strange / difficult to switch between slalom and foiling?

AA: “No, it’s not hard. But there’s quite a big difference between the two. If it’s choppy you feel every bit of chop with the slalom gear, but when you are foiling you can just cut straight through it, so it’s great to be foiling when conditions are choppy.”

Do you think foiling needs different safety measures put in place?

AA: ‘No, I don’t think so. I think the problems that we saw on the start line on the first day of foiling in Japan are just because it’s the beginning of racing with the foils. People are already thinking that they know how to foil and that they know everything, so I knew that everyone was going to push like crazy at the start, but you cannot stop like you can in slalom and you cannot turn the same either, so I just decided to start from the back because I didn’t want to crash.

I just think at the beginning this is how it’s going to be because the people are not aware of how difficult it is to brake and turn, but over time this will change as everyone’s level progresses.”

GCH: “I think we need to use helmets for sure. It can be pretty dangerous if someone crashes in front of you. It is pretty technical to make a sudden change of course with control. The volume of water that you cover with the foil is much greater than with a normal fin too. Courses can help us to have less crashes and as we are doing it now helps a lot. We changed the angles a bit on the first leg and at the start and we have a downwind second leg too that allows room where everybody gybes.” 

In Costa Brava we’ll be holding more foil exhibition races - what do you think people can expect?

AA: “I think we will see more people participating, but the problem is that at the moment the foil companies leading the way aren’t quite ready for the level of demand, so I think by Denmark (in September) that almost everybody will have a foil and by then people will have had more time to train over the summer, so if we have foiling in Denmark I think there will be even more people and you might see different names fighting for the top places.” 

Thanks Antoine and Gonzalo. 

The forecast looks promising for tomorrow afternoon with potentially ideal conditions for the sea breeze to kick in with a gradient wind of 9-10 knots from the southeast and clear skies. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10am with a first possible start at 10:30am (GMT+2)

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

Current Ranking Foil Exhibition Catalunya PWA World Cup - 

*After 5 Races - 1 Discard

1st Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) 

2nd Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui)

3rd Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde)

4th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins) 

5th Mateus Isaac (JP / NeilPryde)

6th Maciek Rutkowski (Tabou / GA Sails)

7th Nicolas Goyard (Starboard / Point-7)

8th Malte Reuscher (JP / NeilPryde) 

9th Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins)

10th Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne)

Current Ranking 2017 Catalunya PWA World Cup - Men’s Slalom

*After One Elimination 

1st Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde)

2nd Nicolas Goyard (RRD / Point-7 / Mystic)

3rd Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / LoftSails / Chopper Fins)

4th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins)

5th Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)

6th Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins)

7th Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7)

8th Steve Allen (Patrik / Severne)

9th Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7 / Chopper Fins)

10th Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses)

The wind has been teasing the slalom fleet for the last couple of days in Costa Brava, but today the sea breeze provided winds between 8-15 knots, which allowed a light wind first elimination to be completed, so at the halfway stage of the 2017 Catalunya PWA World Cup it is Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde) who leads the race for the event title after he claimed a convincing victory in the opening race.

Elimination One

In the light airs Arnon Dagan looked exceptionally quick and the Israeli easily booked his place in the winners’ final with two comfortable victories in both the quarters and semifinals. Dagan carried that perfect form into the winners’ final as he led from start to finish with an astute display, which saw him extend his advantage over the duration of the course to secure a comprehensive bullet.

Meanwhile, Nicolas Goyard (RRD / Point-7 / Mystic), produced one of the performances of the day as the 21-year-old qualified for the winners’ final, but he wasn’t happy to purely make up the numbers in Heat 16 and at the first mark he leapfrogged Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / LoftSails / Chopper Fins) and Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins) to move into the top two - a position which he was able to defend over the remainder of the course to claim a superb second place. 

Pascal Toselli will be pleased with his 3rd place finish in the opening race here after missing out on the finals in Japan, while Costa Hoevel has now qualified for both winners’ finals which have been completed this year and he sits in 4th at the end of day 3. 

Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) starts the event with a 5th place finish, while vice-world champion - Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins) had to settle for 6th ahead of Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7) and Steve Allen (Patrik / Severne), who blew his start in the final but still sits in 8th. 

After missing out on the winners’ final reigning world champion - Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) - put the disappointment of being absent from the final behind him as the Italian destroyed the rest of the field in the Heat 15 to secure 9th place, while limiting the damage to as little as physically possible.

Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) will be gutted that the first attempt to complete the second semifinal was cancelled as the Brit already held a substantial lead after the opening buoy and would’ve almost certainly qualified for the winners’ final. However, upon the restart, Williams tried to execute a tight inside gybe at the first as he battled against Cucchi, Costa Hoevel and Goyard for a place in the top 4, but in pushing so hard he ended up in the drink, which resulted in his elimination despite valiantly fighting his way back into 5th. The 37-year-old then finished second in Heat 15 to claim 10th. 

In the same heat - Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / NorthSails) - who came into Costa Brava on the back of his first podium in Japan - was disappointed with how he gybed in the losers’ final, which ultimately cost him 10th place in the opening elimination as Williams and Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / Chopper Fins) both punished his sloppy gybes to overtake.

The other main story of the day involved Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti), who came into the event as the tour leader, but he suffered a surprise early exit as he failed to advance from the quarterfinals. Quentel found himself with a large deficit to reduce as the fleet headed down the opening reach and he almost completed an unthinkable comeback, but ultimately his missed out in 5th and he made his frustrations and anger clear once back on the beach. The 30-year-old will now be praying that there is enough wind for a discard to come into play otherwise he will have undone all of his hard work from Japan. 

The second elimination was started immediately after the conclusion of the opening race, but after the first heat had been completed, which saw Ben van der Steen (Patrik / Gun Sails / Mystic) safely progress after claiming the win ahead of Ramon Pastor (99NoveNove / LoftSails), Tom Malina (Fanatic / NorthSails) and Marc Paré (Simmer / Simmer) - the wind deteriorated and the sailors were soon released for the day. 

The forecast for tomorrow shows easterly winds of 8-9 knots for tomorrow afternoon, so whether the sea breeze will kick in without enough south in the wind remains to be seen. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10:30am with the action commencing from 11am (GMT+2) onwards. Stay up to date with all of the latest developments from Costa Brava by tuning into www.pwaworldtour.com.

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

Current Ranking 2017 Catalunya PWA World Cup - Men’s Slalom

*After One Elimination 

1st Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde)

2nd Nicolas Goyard (RRD / Point-7 / Mystic)

3rd Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / LoftSails / Chopper Fins)

4th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins)

5th Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)

6th Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins)

7th Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7)

8th Steve Allen (Patrik / Severne)

9th Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses)

10th Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses)

Cue frantic scrambling on the beach as the sailors tried to make sure they had their chosen gear ready for a 1pm start. However, the flurry of action proved unnecessary as by this point the wind had dropped back and it wasn’t until 2:20pm that the first, of numerous attempts, were made to complete the opening slalom heats of the week. 

Eventually, after umpteen failed efforts in the marginal conditions the decision was made to switch over from slalom to foiling in order to take advantage of the light winds on offer - with the breeze generally between 4-9 knots. 

Earlier in the day, 24-men registered for the foil contest meaning that two semifinals were held to decide which 12 sailors would progress into the winners’ final - with the top six from each heat qualifying for the final.

Foiling is windsurfing's newest discipline and it showed its advantages today with it being possible to complete two, exciting races on a day where otherwise it wouldn’t have been possible to gain a result.

Foiling

Just as he did in Japan - Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui) - continued to look like the danger man - showing that his performance in Japan was no fluke as he claimed back-to-back bullets today to proudly sit at the top of the event rankings at the end of day one and he currently looks like the man that everyone else has to beat - especially after his victory last week.

Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) is currently Questel’s closest challenger with the 23-time world champion having to settle for second place on both occasions today. AA did almost close down Questel in the second race after flying down the final reach, but he’ll have to wait until tomorrow for a chance to overturn his fellow countryman. Even at this early stage, it looks as though there could be an epic battle brewing between them for this weeks foil title.

Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde) finished second in Japan and the Dane has made a solid start to proceedings to the contest with 3rd and 5th place finishes today, which sees him sitting in 3rd place at the end of day one, but faced with a significant 4-point deficit between himself and Albeau in second. 

The top five is currently completed by Brazil’s Mateus Isaac (JP / NeilPryde), who sailed consistently to record 4th and 6th places, while Malte Reuscher (JP / NeilPryde) and Maciek Rutkowski (Tabou / GA Sails) are currently tied for 5th. Reuscher may be a little disappointed as he made a strong start by finishing 3rd in the opening race, but then a massive crash resulted in an 11th place finish in the second elimination. 

Having been in contention for the podium in Japan you’d have also expected to see Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins) battling it out for the top places again, but things never clicked into place for the Argentine today, for whatever reason, and he makes a disappointing start which sees him down in joint 10th with Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins) at the moment. 

The forecast for tomorrow looks light on paper, but a number of locals are predicting at least the same wind for tomorrow afternoon - if not better - which should allow for more foil races to be completed at a minimum, but hopefully the sea breeze kicks in strong enough to allow the slalom to begin as well. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 9am with the action commencing from 9:30am (GMT+2).

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

Current Ranking Foil Exhibition Catalunya PWA World Cup - 

*After 2 Races

1st Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui)

2nd Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)

3rd Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde)

4th Mateus Isaac (JP / NeilPryde)

=5th Malte Reuscher (JP / NeilPryde)

=5th Maciek Rutkowski (Tabou / GA Sails)

=7th Nicolas Goyard (RRD / Point-7)

=7th Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne)

9th William Huppert (Fanatic / NorthSails)

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

=10th Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins)

So far, the wind God’s haven't really been on our side, so only the one elimination has been completed so far this year, but hopefully, the next 6 days in Costa Brava prove to be more fruitful.

The picturesque town of Sant Pere Pescador is located 150km to the north-east of Barcelona and is blessed with twelve kilometres of jaw-dropping white sand beaches and the beautiful blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The Gulf-de-Roses have become a world renowned destination due to its clockwork-like sea breezes, which frequently grace Costa Brava with their presence during the summer months. However, whilst offering an astonishing backdrop, the Pyrenees Mountain’s can also transform Costa Brava into a white-knuckled assault course - when the ferocious Tramontana wind whistles down the mountain range in excess of thirty knots - ready to test the mettle of any world class sailor.

Ones to Watch

In the event preview for South Korea we mentioned that Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) could have a genuine shot at the title if he is able to convert a few of his top 5 finishes into podiums and victories - and in Japan that’s exactly what he managed to do as he claimed his first victory on the world tour since 2014 to take the early season lead. The 30-year-old is consciously trying to sail more aggressively and has done well here in the past - finishing 2nd in 2013 - and he’ll be feeling confident heading into the third event of the year, so you can expect to see another big performance from him.

Another man to make an impressive start to the year has been Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / NorthSails), who earned his first ever podium on the world tour in Japan. The Flying Dutchman has looked blisteringly quick so far and his starts seem on point. The 23-year-old clearly has his mind set on reaching the very top of the game and if he is able to continue the early season form he has shown so far then you can expect to see him challenging for the podium again.

Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) made a solid start to the year by completing the podium and as a result, he comes into Costa Brava in 3rd place in the overalls. Albeau is reportedly happier with his equipment this year and has his usual air of confidence surrounding him.

Finian Maynard (99NoveNove / Gun Sails) comes into the third event of the year off the back of his best result since 2012 having claimed 4th in Japan. Maynard shred 10 kilos over the winter and that could prove crucial in enhancing his chances in Costa Brava as the winds have been on the light side over the last few years.

Perhaps the surprise result from Japan was the performance of Andrea Rosati (RRD / LoftSails), who stayed out of trouble to navigate his way into the top 5, which was a turn up for the books having only recorded one top 16 result in the last two years. 

Reigning world champion - Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) - had to settle for 6th place to open his title defence campaign, but with just the one elimination completed so far in 2017 - it’s safe to say that you’d expect him to steadily rise to the top of the pack with the more races that are completed. The 27-year-old has qualified comfortably for both winners’ finals thus far and he’ll be in the thick of the action again over the next 6 days, while also trying to reclaim his event title from 2015.

The same can be said of Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins) - one of Iachino’s biggest rivals - who placed 7th in Japan. The Frenchman has been involved at the business end of the season for the last three years running and he’ll be there or there abouts again. Mortefon also comes into the event as the defending event champion having won here last year. 

The top 10 at this stage of the season is completed by Argentine Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins), who made the best start to the winners’ final in Japan before seaweed ended his hopes, Briton Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses), who ensured his place in the top 10 by winning the losers’ final after a premature start in the semifinals, and German Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails), who has made an excellent start to the season - qualifying for the winners’ final in South Korea - before consolidating his place in the top 10.

The likes of Marco Lang (Fanatic / NorthSails), Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic) and Maciek Rutkowski (Tabou / GA Sails) will also be desperate to put Japan behind them, after all three of them had qualified for the winners’ final in South Korea - which couldn’t be completed - but were then eliminated in the quarterfinals or earlier in Japan. 

Also, keep an eye out for reigning Youth World Champion - Ethan Westera (Tabou / GA Sails) - who recorded his first ever top 16 result in Japan and fellow youth Jacquin Basile (Starboard / Point-7), who finished 17th and also looks an exciting prospect for the future. 

Elsewhere expect to the experienced figures of Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde), Ben Van der Steen (Patrik / Gun Sails), Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7), Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails) and Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / LoftSails / Chopper Fins) trying to make their impression on the top 10 after suffering disappointment in Japan. 

With just the one elimination completed this year, the men’s slalom fleet will be desperate for more wind and more racing over the next 6 days, which would give more of an idea of who is going to emerge as the genuine challengers for the rest of the season. 

Foiling

Over the next 6 days, we’ll also be bringing you more foiling, which looks set to feature heavily on the racing circuit in the coming years. At the moment foiling is still in it’s youth, but even over the last year there has been rapid progress and in Costa Brava, there should be more thrilling racing for windsurfing’s newest discipline. We’ll be releasing an interview with Antoine Albeau and Gonzalo Costa Hoevel during the event to shred more light on foiling and what to expect from it. 

In Japan, Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui) walked away with top honours in the foiling after showing an unbelievable level of consistency with counting results of 2 victories and three, 2nd’s to keep Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde), Antoine Albeau and Gonzalo Costa Hoevel at bay, but will he be able to do it again? Tune into www.pwaworldtour.com between the 23rd-28th May to find out. 

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

Current Ranking 2017 PWA World Tour - Men’s Slalom

1st Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti)

2nd Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / NorthSails)

3rd Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)

4th Finian Maynard (99NoveNove / Gun Sails)

5th Andrea Rosati (RRD / LoftSails)

6th Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses)

7th Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins)

8th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel ARG3 (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins)

9th Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Glasses)

10th Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails)

The 31-year-old recently enjoyed an excellent session at home, which produced ideal jumping conditions and you can see his latest video, which shows off most of his arsenal of jumps, by visiting his Facebook Fan page - @NikoAkgazciyanF400 

Photo Credit: J.Lacave 

Moulay Bouzerktoune has long been attracting windsurfers to its shores with the lure of strong, reliable trade winds and pumping waves proving irresistible and over the last 8 days this Moroccan gem lived up to its reputation to provide the perfect platform for an amazing competition, which saw Tatiana Howard (Starboard / NeilPryde) and local hero - Boujmaa Guilloul (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) - fight back in the double elimination to claim the event crowns. 

Moulay Delivered the Goods on Day One

The competition started with a bang with the promising forecast on the first day coming true, which saw strengthening north winds accompanied by a solid 1.8 metre groundswell  at 13 seconds, which allowed the single eliminations to be completed on the opening day. 

Men’s 

Single Elimination

Heat one saw an extremely tough draw as Russ Faurot (S2 / Maui) took on Soufian Sahili, Abdelrahim Elabdi and Federico Morisio (JP / NeilPryde), and it proved to be the closest heat of the first round. Faurot and Sahili both found decent set waves and both made solid starts with well-timed smacks and airs in the more critical part of the wave. Meanwhile, Morisio was in contention and led after his first two waves with scores of 7 and 4 points. However, after a decent start the Italian failed to find a better back up score, which cost him dearly as he was dispatched with Sahili winning the head ahead of Faurot. 

Heat 2 was a two horse race, which saw Kevin Pritchard lead from the start and win the heat as expected. Maxime Fevrier was KP’s closest challenger and the Frenchman deservedly booked his place in the second round at the expense of Italian Mateo Spano and Zdenek Maryzko.

Heat 3 saw an upset as favourite - Julian Taboulet (Goya Windsurfing) - made an early exit from the competition as he was beaten by Edvan Sousa (Severne) and local Toufik Elabdi. Sousa was the clear winner of the heat with his jumping and wave riding in another league. 

Heat 4 - the last heat in the first round - was dominated by the two Moroccan sailors. Boujmaa Guilloul earned the highest combined score of the round as he used his expert local knowledge to clinically dispatch of his rivals. By the end of the heat the local hero had racked up 14 points out of a possible 20. Mouhamed Elabdi secured his place in the top two ahead of Italian Luigi Madeddu and Russian Igor Yudakov.

Three locals battled it out against Kevin Pritchard in the opening semi and the favourite, KP, upped his game  as the American pulled out trademark tweaked aerials, powerful snaps, floaters and gouges, while Sahili claimed second place to also book his place in the final.

The second semifinal saw a multi-cultural heat with four different nationalities battling it out - Brazilian Edvan Sousa, Frenchman Maxime Fevrier, American Russ Faurot and Morocco’s very own Boujmaa Guilloul - and it was the latter who proved to be the dominant force again at his home spot as he showed why he is the King of Moulay. On his way to a comprehensive victory Boujmaa linked together the highest scoring wave of the competition - 9 points - by mixing aerials with dynamic snaps and cutbacks on a long, peeling wave.  Fevrier also picked off some long waves, but failed to hit the critical section, which proved to be his downfall as he suffered a narrow half point defeat at the hands of Sousa, who also advanced into the final. Faurot couldn't find his mojo, after an impressive first round heat, and was left disappointed after missing out on a place in the final.

The Final

From the previous heats the two favourites unsurprisingly emerged as Boujmaa Guilloul and Kevin Pritchard and they continued their rich vein of form in the battle for the top. However, it was Sousa, who made the strongest start to the final as he kicked off proceedings with a radical air taka - the first of the competition - but the Brazilian then failed to find a decent backup score which left him to settle for third place ahead of Sahili, who couldn’t recover from a slow start.

By this point, Pritchard held the lead ahead of Guilloul, with KP racking up 6 point wave after combining a variety of aerials and turns, which he then bettered with a one-handed aerial in the pit to earn 7 points. Boujmaa responded by heading out and gybing onto a set wave to turn the tie on its head as the local boy edged into a slender 0.2 of a point lead to setup a pulsating climax. KP, draw upon all of his experience and responded in perfect fashion as he punished the two sections offered to him - kicking off the deciding wave with a gouging rail turn, which he fluidly linked into a perfectly timed air. After a short wait the scores soon filtered through that his final wave had earned 7.5 points  - the highest of the final - which deservedly gave him the win.

Double Elimination

The Final Day 

As expected from the forecast, the conditions returned to Moulay for the final day. With a full days competition ahead it was decided that there would be 2 waves and 1 jump to count. The first round of the double elimination saw an early exit for Igor Yudakov and Luigi Madeddu, who couldn’t match the local talent on offer. Moroccan, Abdelrahim Elabdi scored highly with a one-footed backloop early in the heat, while Czech Zdenek Maryzko (Naish) was also on fire as he safely booked his place in the second round.

Round 2 saw another surprise exit for Russ Faurot (S2Maui), who was knocked out by Zdenek, who went from strength-to-strength, landing planing forwards and clean backloops, joining Toufik Elabdi (Hot Sails) in progressing to Round 3.  Federico Morisio (JP / NeilPryde) narrowly missed out on advancing into the third round after his jumping let him down, which is a shame as earned some of the highest wave scores of the heat. Maxime Fevrier (Simmer) advanced with excellent wave choice, while local Abdelrahim Elabdi pulled out another one-footed backloop to navigate his way into the third round.

The third round saw one of the closest heats of the contest with blazing action from the start, but in the end it was Maxime Fevrier who secured top spot by way of a 2 to 1 decision from the judges – with his better wave selection again proving to be the difference. Meanwhile, Zdenek’s amazing run through the first two rounds was brought to and end. 

Next up for Fevrier was Sahili and it was local boy, who just gained the upper hand in the tricky conditions to setup a tie against Brazilian Edvan Sousa (Severne) from Jericoacoara in the fight for 3rd place. The battle for the podium started in explosive fashion with both sailors landing perfect backloops and forwards, but it was Sousa who would land the first devastating blow - on his first wave - as he scored the highest individual score of the double elimination with an air taka and two solid hacks to deservedly earn a 9 point ride.  The Brazilian continued his fine form throughout the heat to set up a duel against Boujmaa Guilloul (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses).

Local hero - Boujmaa Guilloul - didn’t disappoint the cheering crowd on the beach as he launched into radical one-foot backloops, while effortlessly linking together fluid turns with aerials and aggressive hacks.  Sousa was pushing hard on his own waves, but couldn’t match his performance from the previous heat, despite his jumping being second to none with pushloops, forwards and one-foot backloops in his repertoire.  Sousa’s fine display earned him the final place on the podium, while Boujmaa’s win was well received as he set up a rematch of the final on the opening day.

Final

Waiting in the final was Kevin Pritchard (Starboard / Ezzy) and as expected the two riders matched one another jump-for-jump, with one-foot backloops being the pick of the bunch, so it would all boil down to who could excel on the wave. For the majority of the heat things remained balanced on a knifes edge, but in the closing minutes Boujmaa picked up a set wave and he didn’t falter as he destroyed it with 6 rasping turns to force the Super Final.

Super Final

The full attention of the crowd, was focused purely on the water, as they held their breath hoping their local hero could overturn the result from the single elimination. The conditions in the super final were very testing, but both sailors still managed to find ramps to stick one-foot backloops again - with Pritchard edging ahead with a slightly higher score. However, Guilloul was determined to not let the win slip through his fingers and pushed hard on the small surf that was on offer, while Pritchard provided one of the highlights of the heat with a one-handed aerial, which left the tie delicately balanced. At the end of a nail-biting decider only a fraction of a point separated the two sailors, but after some deliberation it was revealed that Boujmaa had fought back to win the event by way of a 2-1 decision - much to the delight of the screaming local crowd.

Women’s 

Single Elimination

Heat 1 saw reigning IWT Champion - Sarah Hauser (Tabou/ Simmer) - and Sam Bittner (Naish) book their places in the next round as they grew in confidence throughout the heat with both women sailing in Moulay for the first time. As the heat progressed you could see them figuring out the waves at high tide and making the best out of the conditions on offer in the light winds. 

In Heat 2, Tatiana Howard (Starboard / Neilpryde) was also sailing in Moulay for the first time, but that didn’t stop her selecting the best wave of the morning - drawing smooth turns and carrying excellent speed throughout. The American was rewarded with a spot in the final, while Anna Maria Zollet (Tabou / GA Sails) secured the remaining place in the final with her training efforts in Morocco paying off.

In the middle of the afternoon, the tide dropped and the waves became more hollow and powerful - offering the perfect canvas for the finals. While Howard chose to ride the lower part of the break, finding open and smooth waves, Hauser decided to work the upwind peak, where she caught the more hollow waves, allowing her to ride with more risk, style and power, and her bravery was deservedly rewarded with the top spot on the podium in the single elimination - as she edged out Howard. Meanwhile, Bittner struggled to find her second wave so had to settle for fourth, while Zollet earned the final place on the podium after linking together two fluid waves in the medium sized range.

Single Elimination Winner Sarah Hauser: "I had a lot of fun during the finals. The waves were really playful, I can see how you can really improve in both surfing and jumping by sailing here! It was definitely challenging to have to adapt to a new spot, right away, during my heat, with basically no warm up, but I'm glad I managed to find some fun sections to hit!”

Tatiana Howard on her Moroccan experience: "I am not used to such big tide changes. After the first round I thought I had figured out the wave, but in the afternoon it was like sailing a new spot all over again. I caught my best waves a long way from the judges during the final. I am excited to sail again during the double elimination and try to take down Sarah [Hauser].“

Women’s

Double Elimination

The Round One match between Sana El Arbaoui and Aurora D’Apolito (Severne) saw the women’s double start in explosive style with D’Apolito linking several smooth turns together on both of her scoring waves to dispatch of El Arbaoui.

D’Apolito faced Sam Bittner (Naish) in the second round and the American was able to slightly better D’Apolito’s wave riding to claim a narrow victory and set up a meeting against Anna Maria Zollet (GA Sails).

With no change in the results from the single elimination it would once again be Zollet who stopped Bittner in her tracks to cement her place on the podium.

Heat 7 saw Maui based Tatiana Howard, an experienced starboard tack sailor, defeat Zollet with aggressive top turns and excellent wave choice to setup a rematch against Sarah Hauser – the winner of the single elimination -  in the final.

Winners’ Final

The final opened with Howard ripping the small Moulay surf, while Hauser created chances of her own with her better wave choice offering more scoring opportunities. However, while the New Caledonian hit the first section hard she couldn’t seal the deal after crucially falling on her second turn. In the jumping department, Hauser also stomped the highest forward loop, but Howard’s landing was much cleaner, so the American was rightly rewarded with a higher score, which sent the women into a winner takes all decider…

Super Final 

In the Super Final - Howard went from strength-to-strength as she continued to build on the momentum she had built from her win in the final. The American crucially demonstrated better wave selection than Hauser, while throwing buckets of spray on her way to victory as she overturned the result from the single elimination to walk away as the Queen of Moulay.

While we didn’t see the full glory of Moulay’s potential, the competition  was still a huge success with two days of excellent competition across a mix of conditions. And we look forward to returning again in 2018. The PWA and IWT would like to extend a massive ‘thank you’ to Boujmaa Guilloul and his crew for their hospitality and great organisation.  

- All photo courtesy of Si Crowther

Result Morocco Spot X IWT / PWA Qualifier - Men’s

1st Boujmaa Guilloul (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses)

2nd Kevin Pritchard (Starboard / Ezzy)

3rd Edvan Sousa (Severne)

4th Sofian Sahili

5th Maxime Fevrier (Simmer)

Result Morocco PWA Spot X IWT / PWA Qualifier - Women’s

1st Tatiana Howard (Starboard / NeilPryde)

2nd Sarah Hauser (Tabou / Simmer)

3rd Annamaria Zollet (GA Sails)

4th Sam Bittner (Naish)

5th Aurora D’Apolito 

Thankfully, there was just enough wind to gain results in both the men’s and women’s fleets, which saw Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) and Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) claim their places on the top of the prestigious podium after winning the sole elimination completed in each division. 

When the wind remained too light for slalom, foiling took centre stage and over the last 6 days, 7 races were completed and after showing an unbelievable level of consistency, Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui) walks away from the foil exhibition with top honours after recording counting results of 2 victories and three, 2nd’s. Although he was fortunate that the 8th race couldn’t be completed as the 32-year-old was disqualified for a premature start, which would’ve opened the door for Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde), Antoine Albeau(RRD / NeilPryde) and Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins), who finished second, third and fourth respectively. 

Women’s

Sarah-Quita Offringa consolidates her place at the top of the rankings after producing another dominant performance to preserve her perfect record so far this season, which has seen her win every heat she has sailed in 2017. Offringa is the reigning world champion and it looks as though it’s going to be very hard for anyone to stop her now with two events to go.

Sarah-Quita Offringa on her perfect start to the year: “I’m feeling good. I’m happy to have won the second event. Even though we’ve only had two races overall because there’s really been no room for error as if you make a mistake it's immediately over. So, in that regard, I’m very happy to have won the opening two events. After this, we only have two more events - Denmark and New Caledonia - which I’m looking forward to. I just really want to get on the water and race more because it’s really challenging now to be on the water with all the girls, which makes it so much fun to race. For now, though I’ll switch my focus to wave and freestyle.”

Lena Erdil (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360) remains Offringa’s closest rival after backing up her solid second place in South Korea by securing the final place on the podium here in Japan, but the 28-year-old will have her work cut out if she wants to stop Offringa this season with the Aruban gem opening a 3.6 point advantage at the top of the rankings. 

Esther de Geus (JP / Point-7) will have breathed a sigh of relief that the second elimination couldn’t be completed after missing out on the winners’ final for the first time this season, but as a result, she walks away with 5th place, which sees her rise to 3rd overall. The 25-year-old has made a huge amount of progress over the winter and looks set to be battling it out for the podium places.

Delphine Cousin Questel (Starboard / S2Maui) produced an almost perfect response, after missing out on the winners’ final in South Korea, as she bounced back to claim second place to kick start her season. The former two-time world champion still has no room for error in the remaining two events, but she has at least giving herself a fighting chance of being involved at the business end of the season. After her second place in Japan, Cousin Questel rises to 5th overall.

Meanwhile, Maëlle Guilbaud (Patrik / LoftSails) continued her excellent start to the season and the 20-year-old is showing the kind of consistency necessary to challenge for the overall podium, while also emerging as one of the most exciting young talents on the tour. After the opening two events, Guilbaud is tied with Esther de Geus in 3rd. 

Men’s

Last year’s world No.4 - Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) - makes a flying start to the year with the man from Saint Maarten claiming the opening bullet of the season and with just the one race so far in 2017, Quentel takes the early season lead. The 30-year-old has been training hard over the winter, while consciously trying to be more aggressive on the water and added: “I’m very happy because in the past I’ve made okay starts to the season, but nothing exceptional, so to start the season with a win is brilliant. Now I hope that Costa Brava is windy and we can get more racing in. 

I’ve been training hard over the winter so it’s nice to see it pay off with the result here. I spent one month in South Africa training wave and slalom and then one month in Tenerife with Jordy [Vonk] training with the TWS - where I focused on starts.” 

When asked about if he is sailing more aggressively while competing Quentel said: “Yes, for sure. Before I wasn’t pushing 100% as hard as I can, but I’ve realised that if I want to win, then I need to treat it like a job and understand that on the water friendships are put aside for a moment while competing , but once back on the beach I’m friends with everyone.”

Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / NorthSails) made a statement of intent before the start of the season by making it clear that he’s a man on a mission and he’s certainly lived up to it so far. The flying Dutchman looked dangerous in South Korea and he continued that blistering form here to secure second place, which is the 23-year-olds first ever podium on the PWA World Tour and he was understandably delighted saying: “Oh my god I’m super, super stoked, especially after just missing out in Costa Brava last year, so to make it now is just amazing.”

23-time-world champion - Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) - completes the prestigious podium to make a solid start to the season. The 44-year-old shows no signs of slowing down and he looks set for another title run in and you can expect to see him heavily involved in Costa Brava as well. 

Finian Maynard (99NoveNove / Gun Sails) may still be a bit disappointed that a clump of seaweed on the final reach cost him a place on the podium to Albeau, but 4th place still represents his best result since 2012. The 42-year-old shredded 10 kilos during the winter and he’ll be happy to see his hard work already paying off.

Andrea Rosati (RRD / LoftSails) also records his best result for a few seasons by kicking off the season with a super 5th place. 

Meanwhile, reigning world champion and vice-world champion - Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) and Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins) - had to settle for 6th and 7th place respectively, with seaweed, causing havoc, but you can be sure that in Costa Brava both of them will be gunning for the top and both remain two of the favourites for the title despite the result here.

Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins) is another sailor to have been impeded by the seaweed. The Argentine made the best start to the winners’ final, but soon saw his chances wilt away, but he still kicks off the season with an 8th place.

Last year’s world No.3 - Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) - held off a stern challenge from Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails) in the losers’ final, so the Brit starts the year with a 9th place, with Kördel completing the top 10. 

The PWA would like to extend their thanks to all of the sponsors who made the event possible - especially Fly! ANA - and also to the Japanese people for their fantastic reception and hospitality. 

To view previous news from Japan — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Where’s Next on the PWA World Tour?

After the Asian leg of this year’s world tour, the world’s best slalom sailors will be heading back to Europe. The next installment of slalom and foiling is just a week away - as the men prepare for their third event of the year on the sunny shores of Costa Brava, Spain. Make sure you stay tuned to www.pwaworldtour.com between the 23rd-28th May to stay up to date with the all the latest developments. 

Result 2017 Fly! ANA Yokosuka PWA World Cup - Women’s Slalom 

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

2nd Delphine Cousin (Starboard / S2Maui)

3rd Lena Erdil (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360)

4th Maëlle Guilbaud (Patrik / LoftSails)

5th Esther de Geus (JP / Point-7)

6th Fulya Ünlü (Starboard / Point-7 / Mystic)

7th Çağla Kubat (Starboard / Point-7)

8th Ayako Suzuki (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic)

9th Fujiko Onishi (99NoveNove / Point-7)

10th Mio Anayama (Starboard / MauiSails) 

Current Ranking 2017 Women’s PWA Slalom World Tour:

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

2nd Lena Erdil (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360)

=3rd Esther de Geus (JP / Point-7)

=3rd Maëlle Guilbaud (Patrik / LoftSails)

5th Delphine Cousin (Starboard / S2Maui)

Result 2017 Fly! ANA Yokosuka PWA World Cup - Men’s Slalom

1st Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti)

2nd Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / NorthSails)

3rd Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)

4th Finian Maynard (99NoveNove / Gun Sails)

5th Andrea Rosati (RRD / LoftSails)

6th Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses)

7th Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins)

8th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel ARG3 (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins)

9th Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Glasses)

10th Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails)

Result 2017 Fly! ANA Yokosuka PWA World Cup - Foil Exhibition

1st Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui)

2nd Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde)

3rd Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)

4th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins)

5th Mateus Isaac (JP / NeilPryde)

6th Malte Reuscher (JP / NeilPryde)

7th William Huppert (Fanatic / NorthSails)

8th Maciek Rutkowski (Tabou / GA Sails)

9th Nicolas Warembourg (JP / Warembourg)

10th Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne)