Freestyle

Men’s

Adrien Bosson (Duotone Windsurfing / Maui Ultra Fins) saved his best until last as he posted his highest scoring heat of the single elimination in the winners’ final against Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins). The Frenchman looked to be heading for defeat heading into the final minute as he was missing a move on port tack, but in the dying seconds the 2022 Freestyle world champion pulled off a culo, which was just enough to turn the tie in his favour as he pipped his Greek opponent to the top spot on the podium in the single elimination by 0.7 of a point. Bosson staged a great comeback which was triggered by a bongka, which received cheers on the beach, before going on to stomp a burner into burner and a no-handed burner. Bosson also won the single elimination here last year, so he’ll be even more determined to hang on to the first place this time around in the double. 

Up until the final, Neubauer had been the clear standout sailor with the current vice-world champion breaking the 40 point barrier in his round of 16 heat and in the semifinals as well. In fact, the 20-year-old remains the only sailor to have broken that barrier, but fell agonisingly short in the final. Throughout the opening two days, Neubauer has been extremely impressive - barely putting a foot wrong while advancing his way into the final with an array of spock into double culos, gozzada burners, shifties and flaka into ponches. Neubauer seemed a little dejected after the final, but can now focus all of his attention on a comeback in the double elimination.

Reigning world champion, Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) is another sailor who will be plotting his comeback through the double, and if history is anything to go by, then the Belgian could do just that as he also finished third here last year in the single elimination before going on to claim his first victory on the World Tour. Caers was going blow-for-blow with Neubauer in the semifinals, but ultimately just lost out, but he was able to put that disappointment behind him to defeat his teammate - Sam Esteve (JP / NeilPryde) - in the battle for third and fourth place in the single elimination. 

Sam Esteve claimed impressive victories against Steven Van Broeckhoven (Starboard / GUNSAILS) and Jacopo Testa (WeOne / Point-7 / AL360) to deservedly book his spot in the semifinals, but couldn’t quite replicate that form against Bosson in Heat 15a. However, the Frenchman is still guaranteed his best result to date in Fuerteventura as the worst he can now finish is in fifth place, while he can still mount a comeback through the double elimination. 

Jacopo Testa had his chances against Esteve, but missed out by 0.9 of a point as one too many crashes cost the Italian. Testa shares fifth place in the single elimination alongside Balz Müller (Severne / Severne Sails), Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails) and Youp Schmit (Tabou / GA Sails).

The top 10 is currently completed by: Belgian Steven Van Broeckhoven, German Niclas Nebelung (Duotone Windsurfing / Maui Ultra Fins), the Japanese duo of Takumi Moriya (Severne / Severne Sails) and Takuma Sugi (Tabou / GA Sails / Black Project Fins), Frenchmen Nicolas Akgazciyan (JP / NeilPryde) and Nil Bacon (PATRIK / PATRIK SAILS) and New Caledonia’s Antoine Albert (Goya Windsurfing).

After the completion of the single elimination, the opening five heats of the double elimination were completed before the wind became too light and patchy to continue and they will resume battle on Saturday. 

The forecast for Saturday looks as though the Sotavento wind machine will continue to deliver, but it may be a little bit lighter again than the opening couple of days. The Freestyle fleets will meet again at 10am (GMT+1) tomorrow morning for the skippers’ meeting, while the action will commence from 10:30am onwards - depending on the conditions.

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Fuerteventura — including live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Fuerteventura — including live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

Also if you don’t already, follow us on our Social Media Channels:

- Facebook: @PWAWorldTourWindsurfing
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- Twitter: @pwaworldtour 
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Current Ranking Fuerteventura PWA World Cup - Women’s Freestyle

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Oda Brødholt (NOR | Starboard / Severne Sails)
3rd Lisa Kloster (GER | MB Boards / Sailloft Hamburg)
4th Maaike Huvermann (NED | Severne / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)

Current Ranking Fuerteventura PWA World Cup - Men’s Freestyle

1st Adrien Bosson (FRA | Duotone Windsurfing / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Lennart Neubauer (GRE | Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
3rd Yentel Caers (BEL | JP / NeilPryde)
4th Sam Esteve (FRA | JP / NeilPryde)
5th Balz Müller (SUI | Severne / Severne Sails)
5th Jacopo Testa (ITA | WeOne / Point-7 / AL360)
5th Youp Schmit (NB | Tabou / GA Sails)
5th Antony Ruenes (FRA | Tabou / GA Sails)

Freestyle

Women’s

Sarah-Quita Offringa set the highest scoring heat of the contest in her opening heat - 28.5 points - to send out a warning to her rivals as she sailed with her usual flow and pizzazz. In the final, Offringa wasn’t at her usual free flowing best as she made a number of uncharacteristic errors and with just a couple of minutes to go the Aruban still needed a move on port tack to complete her scoresheet. In the end Offringa was able to land a forward loop, which proved pivotal as she won the winners’ final against Oda Brødholt by just 0.4 of a point. Victory in the single elimination puts the Lady from Aruba on the cusp of an incredible 15th Freestyle world title, and if anyone wants to deny her, they are now going to have to beat her twice in the double. 

Meanwhile, Brødholt will be delighted to have secured her place in the top two in the single elimination after producing a solid display of sailing in tricky conditions. The Norwegian also achieved the same feat last season, but will be determined to hold on to it this time round. Brødholt was able to gain the upper hand against her nemesis, Maaike Huvermann (Severne / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) in the semifinals after landing a combination of shuvit spocks, burners and skopus. 

Having finished fourth overall in 2023, Lisa Kloster (MB Boards / Sailloft Hamburg) proved she possesses the ability to challenge for the podium and the 24-year-old was able to do just that today as she secured a fantastic third place in the single elimination. Kloster didn’t perform at her best in the semifinal against Offringa, but in the b-final against Huvermann everything clicked together as she claimed the victory by 0.7 of a point.

This wouldn’t have been the way Huvermann would’ve wanted to start the event, but the 26-year-old will be able to take heart from the fact that last year she also didn’t make a flying start and she quickly improved in the double elimination to claim second place, so don’t rule out a fight back yet - especially as her defeats were by narrow margins and on the whole she sailed at a decent level. 

Men’s

In the opening men’s heat, Sam Esteve (JP / NeilPryde) comfortably dispatched of Nigel Hart (Future Fly / Point-7), while Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (WeOne / GUNSAILS) faced a tough return to life on the World Tour as he was drawn against Belgian maestro - Steven Van Broeckhoven (Starboard / GUNSAILS). In the end it was Van Broeckhoven who would claim the victory, so it’s going to be a long way back through the double elimination if Gollito wants to make an impression here. 

In Heat 2, Niclas Nebelung (Duotone Windsurfing / Maui Ultra Fins) looked to be in impressive form as the 26-year-old German posted the second highest scoring heat of the day to defeat Robin Van Linden (Severne / Severne Sails). Meanwhile, Jacopo Testa (WeOne / Point-7 / AL360) needed to produce a moment of magic to advance against Davy Scheffers (Tabou / GA Sails). With almost no time remaining the Italian landed an insane spock into kabikuchi, which was arguably the move of the day to pip Scheffers to a place in the round of 16. 

Balz Müller (Severne / Severne Sails) wasn’t at his absolute best in his opening heat, but he still had enough in the locker to negotiate his way past Lucas Nebelung (JP / NeilPryde). On the other side of Heat 3, Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) was able to defeat Yarden Meir (Goya Windsurfing) to also book his place in the next round. 

Current U20 Freestyle World Champion - Takumi Moriya (Severne / Severne Sails) - made a proficient start to proceedings as he ended the hopes of Bodhi Kempen (Severne / Severne Sails), while on the other side of the heat, Adrien Bosson (Duotone Windsurfing / Maui Ultra Fins) made a confident start as he consigned Sebastian Gux (Tabou / GA Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) to defeat on his debut. 

In Heat 5, Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) sent out a warning to his rivals as the young Greek posted the highest scoring heat of the day - 39.5 points. Neubauer was the only sailor to land a shifty, while he also landed excellent combos such as a spock into kono and a double burner. In the a-panel, Takuma Sugi (Tabou / GA Sails) came out on top against Tigo Kort (JP / NeilPryde).

Heat 6 saw the French duo of Nicolas Akgazciyan (JP / NeilPryde) and Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails), who finished third here last year, safely progress into the round of 16 as they dispatched of Nicolo Di Marco and Tim Gerdes (Severne / Severne Sails).

Heat 7b saw an extremely tight tussle between fellow Bonairean’s, Youp Schmit (Tabou / GA Sails) and Kiri Thode (Future Fly / GUNSAILS), who was making his come back. For the majority of the heat there was very little to separate them, but Schmit was crucially able to land a kabikuchi and a double culo late on to gain the upper hand, and more importantly, advance. On the a-side of the panel Antoine Albert (Goya Windsurfing) was able to end the hopes of Manolis Chrysopoulous (JP / NeilPryde).

The start of the event couldn’t have gone much worse for George Grisley (Duotone Windsurfing) as in the opening minute of his heat against Nil Bacon (PATRIK / PATRIK SAILS) the Brit snapped his rear footstrap while rotating through a ponch, which left him with little to no hope of advancing..That led to Bacon sailing for much of the heat by himself, so the Andorran obviously advanced. Meanwhile, in the last heat of the day, reigning world champion Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) made no mistakes against Kango Iketeru (JP / NeilPryde) as the 29-year-old produced a powerful repertoire of manoeuvres to progress with the highlights being a double air culo and an air kabikuchi. 

The forecast for Friday looks marginally less windy than today, but it should still be more than windy enough of the explosive freestyle to continue. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10am (GMT+1) tomorrow morning with the action commencing from 10:30am onwards. 

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Fuerteventura — including live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Fuerteventura — including live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

Also if you don’t already, follow us on our Social Media Channels:

- Facebook: @PWAWorldTourWindsurfing
- Instagram: @pwaworldtour  
- Twitter: @pwaworldtour 
- YouTube: @pwaworldtour

Current Ranking Fuerteventura PWA World Cup - Women’s Freestyle

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Oda Brødholt (NOR | Starboard / Severne Sails)
3rd Lisa Kloster (GER | MB Boards / Sailloft Hamburg)
4th Maaike Huvermann (NED | Severne / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)

Sotavento, which is located on the southeast coast of Fuerteventura, has developed a world-class reputation due to its year-round sunshine, stunning golden beaches, and most importantly, as its name suggests, strong winds. Fuerte’s famously strong winds create some of the most exhilarating conditions on the PWA World Tour. For freestylers, Fuerte can be one of the most challenging, yet one of the most rewarding locations when there is a swell running, as it produces the perfect stunt ramps for the contortionists of the windsurfing world to launch into the latest aerial power moves. Meanwhile, the Slalom and Slalom X fleets, who will debut in the second half of the event, will once again face Fuerte’s ferocious winds and challenging chop, which will be to provide them with the ultimate test.

Freestyle

Women’s

Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) starts the week looking to secure an unprecedented 15th PWA Freestyle World Championship and 23rd overall. The Aruban’s record obviously speaks for itself, but that phenomenal record can be a heavy weight to carry as it does mean that many think her winning here again is almost a forgone conclusion, however, Offringa is too professional to take that stance herself and will not be taking the task at hand lightly.

Maaike Huvermann (Severne / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) is likely to be Offringa’s main threat again with the two women developing a fierce rivalry in recent years. The current vice-world champion remains the only sailor to have won a Freestyle heat against Offringa since 2008 - winning a final in Bonaire in 2019 to force a Super Final, but will be desperate to go one better this time around as she tries to finally prise that Freestyle world crown from Offringa’s claws. 

However, Oda Brødholt (Starboard / Severne Sails) will have other plans in mind as the Norwegian looks to break into the overall top two again for the first time since 2015. The 35-year-old defeated Huvermann in the single elimination here last year and lost an extremely close heat in the double, so she’ll be determined to exact revenge this time out. Brødholt has been preparing in Dakhla, Morocco, ahead of the start of the event, so should be raring to go, while Lisa Kloster (MB Boards / Sailloft Hamburg), who finished fourth last year, will be looking to force her way into podium contention. 

Men’s

Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) will look to make a strong start to his world title defence by defending his event title here from last year, which was the Belgian’s first event victory on the World Tour. The now two-time Freestyle world champion posted the highest scoring heat of the contest in 2023 - 51.1 points - and will need to be at his very best again to see off a highly competitive fleet.

Current vice-world champion, Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins), will be just one of Caers’ potential threats with the young Greek dynamo winning the last Freestyle event, which was his first event victory on the World Tour, in Sylt, Germany last year. Neubauer has been on the radar for a while and now looks set to be a solid world title contender. 

Former World Champions Waiting in the Wings

Meanwhile, 2023 Freestyle World champion, Adrien Bosson (Duotone Windsurfing / Maui Ultra Fins) will be another major threat. The Frenchman won the single elimination here last season and has had an excellent record in the past. 

There are also numerous other former world champions waiting to take their shot. Firstly, the King of Freestyle - Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (WeOne / GUNSAILS) - returns to the fleet for the first time since 2019 and with 9 Freestyle world titles to his name he can never be ruled out. The same can also be said of Steven Van Broeckhoven (Starboard / GUNSAILS), Kiri Thode (Future Fly / GUNSAILS) and Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails).

The contenders won’t end there though with the likes of Jacopo Testa (WeOne / Point-7 / AL360), Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails), Davy Scheffers (Tabou / GA Sails), Youp Schmit (Tabou / GA Sails), Nicolas Akgzaciyan (JP / NeilPryde), Nicolas Nebelung (Duotone Windsurfing / Maui Ultra Fins), Sam Esteve (JP / NeilPryde) and Balz Múller (Severne / Severne Sails) all ready to make their charge. 

Slalom X

Women’s 

Sarah-Quita Offringa will once again be bidding for an event double with the added incentive that if she manages to win the second and final Slalom X event of the year, then she’ll be able to add another world title to her name. Offringa was incredibly consistent in Gran Canaria - winning seven out of the eleven eliminations completed, while she finished outside the top two on just one occasion, so if she’s in similar form she’ll prove difficult to stop once again. 

Jenna Gibson (Duotone Windsurfing) was Offringa’s closest challenger in Gran Canaria and she could well prove to be the biggest threat again. The Briton will come into Fuerte on a high having earned her first podium in Pozo and she’ll pose a major threat with her impressive straight line speed, which saw her leading numerous races in Gran Canaria. If the 26-year-old is able to cut out a few errors then she can definitely put her name into the event and world title race conversation.

Just as in Gran Canaria, Marion Mortefon (PATRIK / PATRIK SAILS / PATRIK FOILS) and Justine Lemeteyer (FMX Racing / S2Maui) are likely to be the other major threats after finishing third and fourth respectively in Pozo. Meanwhile, Femke van der Veen (Starboard / Severne Sails) will be looking to add to her elimination victories after securing her first bullet on the World Tour in Pozo. 

Men’s

Pierre Mortefon (FMX Racing / Phantom Sails) produced a racing masterclass in Gran Canaria to deservedly lead the Slalom X rankings coming into Fuerteventura. The 2019 Slalom world champion basically didn’t put a foot wrong as he tamed Pozo’s hardcore racing conditions. Mortefon’s performance was on a different level compared to everyone else and if he’s anywhere near close to that level again he could prove almost unstoppable. In Gran Canaria, the Frenchman was the only sailor to qualify for every winners’ final, while he never finished outside the top three in the 10 eliminations completed and was able to claim an impressive four bullets. 

Having suffered from some starting watch woes in Gran Canaria, Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails) still managed to recover to claim second place after leapfrogging Maciek Rutkowski (NeilPryde) in the last elimination of the event. Both men will know that if they want to challenge for the event and world title then they will need to reduce their errors in order to be able to compete with Mortefon. 

Another sailor who staged a late come back in Pozo is Jordy Vonk (Duotone Windsurfing). The flying Dutchman was ill at the start of the event, but once he’d recovered he was able to rattle off a series of impressive results consisting of two bullets, a second and a third from the last five eliminations, so if the 31-year-old can pick up where he left off in Gran Canaria then he can be a genuine threat for the event title here. 

Other sailors who are likely to go well here include; Benoit Merceur (Starboard / Severne Sails) and Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails), both of whom recorded their best results to date on the World Tour in Pozo - finishing fifth and sixth respectively, German’s Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde) and Malte Reuscher (Tabou / GA Sails) and fellow Bonairean’s Taty Frans (Future Fly / Point-7) and Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails). In Gran Canaria, Prien, Frans and Reuscher all finished tied on points, such was the closeness of the racing, so it will be interesting to see who gains the upper hand this time round. 

Elsewhere, Cedric Bordes (Severne Sails) and Bruno Martini (JP / NeilPryde) will be looking to establish themselves inside the top 10 having narrowly missed out in Gran Canaria, while Croatia’s Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde) returns to the lineup. Other sailors who will be pushing for the top 16 and beyond include the French contingent of; Pierre Macquaert (JP / NeilPryde), Lohan Jules (Future Fly / S2Maui), Jimmy Thieme (PATRIK / PATRIK SAILS) and Alexandre Cousin (PATRIK / PATRIK SAILS), Britain’s Scotty Stallman (Tabou / GA Sails) and U21 Slalom World Champion - John Soukos (RRD / RRD Sails), while Slalom X has tempted Andrea Cucchi (FMX Racing / Point-7) out of the wood work. 

Foil Slalom

Women’s

Reigning Slalom world champion - Blanca Alabau (Starboard / Severne Sails) - will no doubt be looking forward to jumping back on her foil over the coming five days after a slightly disappointing eight place finish in Pozo Izquierdo earlier in the month in the debut Slalom X event. Alabau usually looks at her most dangerous on the foil and she’ll be looking to make a strong start to her world title defence here. The Spaniard recorded one victory last season, while she only finished outside the top two once in four events, so she’ll be a strong bet here.

Alabau’s most obvious threats will be current vice-world champion - Justine Lemeteyer (FMX Racing / S2Maui) - and former multiple-time world champion - Marion Mortefon (PATRIK / PATRIK SAILS / PATRIK FOILS), both of whom possess the skillset to challenge for the top of the podium in Fuerte. Lemeteyer will be looking to add to her sole event victory from Italy last year, while Mortefon will be looking to return to winning ways for the first time since November 2022 when she won in Japan. 

Elsewhere, having earned her maiden podium earlier in the month in Pozo for Slalom X, Jenna Gibson (Duotone Windsurfing / F4 Foils) will be looking to do the same in the Foil Slalom division over the next five days. As per in Slalom X, Gibson possesses superb straight-line speed, which should see her in contention for the podium come the end of the event. 

Men’s

The Men’s Foil Slalom looks as though it will see roughly 47 sailors signing up for the first foil event of the season, and as the reigning world champion, Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails) will start as the favourite for the event, but he will be faced with a stern test if he is to make a a perfect start to the year. 

If we are going off of the form book at the end of last season, then Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) would look to be the main sailor to watch. The Bonairean loves foiling in high winds, so he will be back in his element here and the current vice-world champion signed off last year with back-to-back event victories in Germany and Japan, which makes him the obvious danger man. 

Other ominous threats include 2022 world champion - Maciek Rutkowski (NeilPryde) - and Pierre Mortefon (Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils) - who has switched brands to Phantom, who specialise in foiling. They finished 2023 ranked third and fourth respectively and will likely be in hot contention for the event title here. 

Elsewhere, Michele Becker (PATRIK / PATRIK SAILS / PATRIK FOILS), who made his full debut on the World Tour last year, will be aiming to kick on from an extremely impressive rookie season. The German finished fifth overall in 2023 and will be aiming to force his way into the prestigious podium positions. 

Another sailor who should perform well is Daniele Benedetti (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails), who earned his first podium at the end of last year, while Thomas Goyard (PATRIK / PATRIK SAILS / PATRIK FOILS) returns to the fray.

Other key names to look out for are; Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde), Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde), Alexandre Cousin (PATRIK / PATRIK SAILS / PATRIK FOILS), Alexis Mathis (Tabou / GA Sails), Jordy Vonk (Duotone Windsurfing) and William Huppert. 

With the Olympics starting on the 28th July, last year’s event champion, Nicolas Goyard (Phantom / Phantom Sail / Phantom Foil) will be absent from proceedings, while other big names such as Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / Severne Sails), Mateus Isaac (Severne Windsurfing) and Ethan Westera (Tabou / GA Sails) will all be embarking on their Olympic campaigns as will Lina Eržen (Flikka) and Sara Wennekes (Starboard / Severne Sails)

The forecast for the opening day looks as though it will be windy, so we will hopefully see an explosive start to the event during the afternoon and early evening. 

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Fuerteventura — including live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

Also if you don’t already, follow us on our Social Media Channels:

- Facebook: @PWAWorldTourWindsurfing
- Instagram: @pwaworldtour  
- Twitter: @pwaworldtour 
- YouTube: @pwaworldtour

Schedule For Day 1: (All Times GMT+1)

- Registration 10-11am
- Skippers’ Meeting - 12:30pm
- First Possible Start - 1pm

Neubauer recently competed at the Gran Canaria Gloria Windurf World Cup, where he finished second in the U21s division, but after concentrating on the waves. he's now gearing up for Fuerteventura by freestyling in Pozo - the highlights of which you can see @ https://youtu.be/-AO1y3dVHNk?si=OCFBhLYw9azaWe_E

Filmed by a drone from above I talk you through 3 different positions you can end up in when you crash while windsurfing & explain you how to get the gear easiest in position to get back on your board.

Option 1 : happens a lot when falling off at the end the jibe

Option 2 : happens more often when you lose balance or have a  non planning catapult you try to safe.

Option 3 : is a great one for those who are struggling to turn still and want to turn around to the other side.

For practice I would say it’s easier to try these 3 options first in standing depth waters so it’s easier to understand the mechanics behind it all especially for option 2."

You can see Dieter van der Eyken's latest tutorial top tips @ https://youtu.be/KARsytoLVR4?si=f6_hbnZ30cBaUlNN

Victor Fernandez: "The story of two epic days of windsurfing with Julian Salmonn and Rafa Soulart.

Film & edited @RafaSoulart" 

You can find out whether their decision paid off by taking a look @ https://youtu.be/Subar3-UqO8?si=boEMbPuOGP5Wk4aa

In between heats, Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde) managed to quickly catch up with Campello to hear more about this unique arrangement, which you can see @ https://youtu.be/w7G1De8i9j4?si=k4rUUn9rnbNhqhB_

The Windsurf Project: "As COVID restrictions passed and we were able to travel, Leon and Thomas tracked a swell from Portugal to Galicia scoring insane conditions on the way. From perfect waves, big airs and massive aerials, it was the perfect trip to once again get together and enjoy the finer things in life.

Filmed: Jamie Hancock Luke Raistrick 
Images: Siam Images
Riders: Thomas Traversa / Leon Jamaer"

You can see episode 7 of the Windsurf Project @ https://youtu.be/8FndnVftswM?si=GvkV5gpPlTH4LXdL

If you  enjoy these and want to support the windsurf project please visit https://monetree.com/thewindsurfproject

Slalom X

Women’s

Having already won the waves earlier in the week, Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) produced a super performance in the first ever Slalom X on the World Tour to complete a famous double event victory. Offringa won all four races on the opening day of racing to put herself fully in control of the event and from there she never looked like relinquishing it. In the end Offringa would go on to win 7 out of the 11 races completed, while she finished outside the top two only once to claim a resounding victory by 16.2 points. 

Jenna Gibson (Duotone Windsurfing) had been hitting the crossbar on multiple occasions during the racing with a string of second places, while she was leading numerous races throughout. The Briton managed to get that monkey off her back in Elimination 8 with a brilliant bullet, which kept her firmly in contention for a maiden podium heading into the final day. Gibson didn’t leave anything to chance as she claimed second place in the last race of the event to deservedly claim her first podium on the World Tour and was understandably delighted at doing so. 

It may not have been quite the result that former world champion, Marion Mortefon (Patrik / Patrik Sails) was aiming for at the start of the event, but third place still represents a solid start to the season and keeps her in contention for the Slalom X world title heading into Fuerteventura. Mortefon sailed consistently throughout - only finishing outside the top four on two occasions. 

Meanwhile, Justine Lemeteyer (FMX Racing / S2Maui), just misses out on a place on the podium by 3.4 points. The current Slalom vice-world champion claimed a couple of bullets, but made one mistake too many, which cost her chance at the top three time this time around. 

Femke van der Veen (Starboard / Severne Sails) completes the top five and this event will live long in her memory after claiming her maiden bullet on the World Tour in Elimination 5.

Men’s

Pierre Mortefon (FMX Racing / Phantom Sails) delivered a total racing masterclass over the last 9 days to claim an emphatic victory in the inaugural Slalom X event. Not only did Mortefon qualify for every winners’ final, which is something no other sailor in the fleet managed to do, but he never even finished outside the top three in the ten eliminations completed, which when you consider just how hardcore the conditions were is quite remarkable. Along the way Mortefon also rattled off four bullets and ultimately claims a clear cut victory by 18.9 points, such was his difference in class at this event. 

Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails) suffered some timing troubles with his racing watch, which may have led to the Italian being disqualified on three occasions for premature starts and that ultimately ended his hopes of challenging for the event title with there only being two discards available. However, the reigning Slalom world champion still managed to finish in second place after leapfrogging Maciek Rutkowski (NeilPryde) in the final race of the event.

Rutkowski may be slightly aggrieved to have dropped one place on the final day, but still completes the podium. When leading Elimination 6, the Pole temporarily held the event lead, but faltered at the last gybe to finish second. At that stage Rutkowski trailed Mortefon by just one point, but a ninth place in the next race all but ended his challenge for the event title. 

Jordy Vonk (Duotone Windsurfing) finished the event on a high as he won two out of the last four eliminations to recover into fourth place for the event. Vonk was plagued by flu at the start of the event and you could clearly see that majorly affecting his physical capacity. The flying Dutchman will have no doubt be extremely disappointed to have been struck down with flu at such an un-opportune time, but at least signed off on a high to confirm he remains one of the best racers in the world on the fin. 

22-year-old Benoit Merceur (Starboard / Severne Sails) produced a outstanding set of results to claim his best result to date - fifth -after the young Frenchman qualified for 9 out of 10 winners’ finals. Meanwhile, Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails) may have seen his podium challenge fade, but he still walks away from Pozo with an excellent sixth place. 

Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde) gained three spots on the final day after finishing second in Elimination 10 to climb from 10th to 7th. The German finished tied on 63 points with Taty Frans (Future Fly / Point-7) - 8th - and Malte Reuscher (Tabou / GA Sails) -9th -, but finishes ahead of them on countback. The top 10 is completed by Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails), who was struck down with fly at the same time as Vonk.

Wave

Women’s 

Sarah-Quita Offringa has achieved almost everything there is to achieve in windsurfing, but until now one trophy had eluded her. However, that all changed over the last nine days with the 22-time world champion winning in Gran Canaria for the first time and she was rightly absolutely delighted about it. This was Offringa’s first event of the season, so things couldn’t have gone any better and while she is only ranked eighth for the time being she looks set for another wave world title charge. 

Having won the previous event in Chile, Lina Erpenstein produced another terrific showing to claim second place in Pozo, which is her best result to date here. That result sees Erpenstein move into a narrow lead for the world title with just 244 points separating herself and Maria Morales (Goya Windsurfing), who finished fourth here this week - however, the 18-year-old has attended one more event than Erpenstein.

Maria Morales wasn’t the only one of the next generation starting to make their mark on the full tour as 19-year-old Alexia Kiefer Quintana (Duotone Windsurfing) and 14-year-old Sol Degrieck (Severne / Severne Sails) finished third and fifth respectively. Third place here means Kiefer Quintana has now recorded back-to-back podiums having finished second in Chile earlier this season. Meanwhile, Pauline Katz (Severne / Severne Sails) shares fifth place with Degrieck.

Men’s 

Having come so close to winning the event last year, Marino Gil (JP / NeilPryde) managed to go one place better this time around as the 21-year-old deservedly earned himself a maiden event victory on the World Tour. The popular local boy continually impressed with his no fear approach to jumping as he boosted into some of the highest jumps of the contest, while rotating through stalled double forwards and pushloop forwards to claim the top spot on the podium. Victory for Gil also puts him In some welcomes uncharted territory as he assumes the No.1 spot in the overall world rankings for the first time in his career. 

Julian Salmonn (Bruch Boards / GUNSAILS) produced a tactically astute display of sailing to earn his best result on the World Tour to date - second in Gran Canaria. While most sailors in Pozo generally start their heats focusing on jumps, Salmonn took as totally different approach as he continually started heats by looking to drop a couple of solid wave scores, which worked out brilliantly as he defied the odds of needing to double forward and pushloop forward to make the final in Pozo. 

Philip Köster (Severne / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins) may have posted the highest scoring heat of the contest - 30.34 points - which included the only perfect 10 of the competition for a huge stalled double, but there was no place in the final for the former 7-time event champion here, which left Köster feeling aggrieved, so much so that he then produced one of the stand out moments of the event as he pulled the trigger on a triple forward loop in the b-final. Köster may not be happy with his result in Gran Canaria this year, but he still walks away with another podium finish - 3rd - which sees him ranked fourth in the overall world rankings. 

Meanwhile, Dieter van der Eyken (Severne / Severne Sails) claimed his best result to date on the World Tour with the Belgian maestro earning fourth place here. Like Salmonn, van der Eyken inflicted a lot of his damage due to his aggressive approach to wave riding. Unfortunately while freesailing, the 2015 Freestyle world champion injured his foot and now faces a race against time to be fit for the next event in Tenerife. 

Liam Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins) is another sailor to earn his best result to date after claiming joint fifth place alongside Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde), who claims his best result in Pozo since 2016 when he also finished in joint fifth. 

Elsewhere, in his first appearance of the season Ricardo Campello walks away in 7th place just ahead of Alessio Stillrich (Simmer / Simmer Sails), who unfortunately had his hopes ended due to injury in Heat 22. Stillrich was in the qualifying positions, but sadly suffered an injury after getting his foot stuck in the footstraps. Everyone wishes Stillrich and van der Eyken quick and successful recoveries.

Having suffered a shock second round exit, reigning world champion - Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing) -  fought back as far as he could with the new format to claim 9th place, which could still prove crucial in deciding the world title race later in the season. Ninth here sees Browne ranked third in the overalls, just behind Victor Fernandez (Duotone Windsurfing) who completes the top 10. Moritz Mauch just misses on on a place in the top 10 - 11th - with his radical onshore wave riding consistently scoring extremely well with the judges. 

Youth’s

U21 Girl’s

With Alexia Kiefer Quintana and Maria Morales being tied on one victory a piece, the last heat of the entire event featured a sail off for the U21 Girl’s event title. On this occasion Kiefer Quintana, who claimed third place in the main event, dominated the decider, winning both in the air and on the waves.

U18 Girl’s

Sol Degrieck produced a slick performance to claim victory in the U18 Girl’s fleet as she saw off competition from Annagiulia Piccaglia (Goya Windsurfing), Trine Gobisch (Duotone Windsurfing) and Lizzlotte Schilling Andrew (Goya Windsurfing / Severne Sails).

Boy’s

In the Boy’s Youth contests there were victories for Liam Dunkerbeck in the U21s after the young local saw off a stern challenge by Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins), while Carlos Kiefer Quintana (Duotone Windsurfing), who finished 15th in the main event, had far too much fire power in the U18s. Meanwhile, Ryoma Sugi (Tabou / North Sails) and Elías Antolín (Duotone Windsurfing / Goya Windsurfing) claimed the top prize in the U15s and U13s, respectively. 

Master’s

Ben Proffitt (Simmer / Simmer Sails) managed to make it out of his commentary box to show everyone he’s still rather useful on the water as he claimed a deserved victory in the Master’s division ahead of Mike Friedl (Quatro / Goya Windsurfing), Valter Scott (Severne) and Sandro Dálessio. 

That concludes what has been another absolutely fantastic edition of the Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup, which has seen a plethora of action every day with Pozo Izquierdo once again reaffirming itself as one of the windiest places in Europe during summer time. A huge congratulations to all the winners and a huge thanks for Björn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne Sails) and his team for putting on the event. We’ll look forward to returning next year already.

Where’s Next on the PWA World Tour?

In just over a couple of weeks time the Slalom X fleets together with the contortionists of the windsurfing world will return to action in this Canaries  between the 25th July and 4th August for the 2024 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam.

You can stay review all developments from Gran Canaria— including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

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Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Slalom X

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Jenna Gibson (GBR | Duotone Windsurfing) 
3rd Marion Mortefon (FRA | Patrik / Patrik Sails)
4th Justine Lemeteyer (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
5th Femke van der Veen (NED | Starboard / Severne Sails)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Men’s Slalom X

1st Pierre Mortefon (FRA | FMX Racing / Phantom Sails)
2nd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
3rd Maciek Rutkowski (POL | NeilPryde)
4th Jordy Vonk (NED | Duotone Windsurfing)
5th Benoit Merceur (FRA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
6th Ingmar Daldorf (NED | Tabou / GA Sails)
7th Nico Prien (GER | JP / NeilPryde)
8th Taty Frans (NB | Future Fly / Point-7)
9th Malte Reuscher (GER | Tabou / GA Sails)
10th Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Severne Sails)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Wave



1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Lina Erpenstein (GER | Severne / Severne Sails)
3rd Alexia Kiefer Quintana (GER | Duotone Windsurfing)
4th Maria Morales (ESP | Goya Windsurfing)
5th Sol Degrieck (BEL | Severne / Severne Sails)
5th Pauline Katz (SUI | Severne / Severne Sails)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Men’s Wave 

1st Marino Gil (ESP | JP / NeilPryde)
2nd Julian Salmonn (GER | Bruch Boards / GUNSAILS)
3rd Philip Köster (GER | Severne / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
4th Dieter Van der Eyken (BEL | Severne / Severne Sails)
5th Liam Dunkerbeck (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
5th Robby Swift (UK | JP / NeilPryde)
7th Ricardo Campello (BRA/VEN)
8th Alessio Stillrich (ESP | Simmer / Simmer Sails)
9th Marcilio Browne (BRA | Goya Windsurfing)
10th Victor Fernandez (ESP | Duotone Windsurfing)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Girls’s U21 Wave

1st Alexia Kiefer Quintana (ESP | Duotone Windsurfing)
2nd Maria Morales (ESP | Goya Windsurfing)
3rd Lisa Wermeister (GER | Duotone Windsurfing / Maui Ultra Fins)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Boy’s U21 Wave

1st Liam Dunkerbeck (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
2nd Lennart Neubauer (GRE | Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
3rd Gregory Stathopoulos (GRE | Goya Windsurfing)
4th Samuele Ferraro (ITA | Patrik / Patrik Sails)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Girls’s U18 Wave

1st Sol Degrieck (BEL | Severne / Severne Sails)
2nd Annagiulia Piccaglia (ESP | Goya Windsurfing)
3rd Trine Gobisch (GER | Duotone Windsurfing)
4th Lizzlotte Schilling Andrew (ESP | Goya Windsurfing / Severne Sails)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Boy’s U18 Wave

1st Carlos Kiefer Quintana (ESP | Duotone Windsurfing)
2nd Leon Maethner (GER | Duotone Windsurfing)
3rd Ryu Noguchi (JPN | Starboard / Severne Sails)
4th Arthur Van den Brande (BEL | RRD / RRD Sails)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Boy’s U15 Wave

1st Ryoma Sugi (JPN | Tabou / North Sails)
2nd Bjørn Olesen (Severne / Severne Sails)
3rd Yannik Gonzalez (F2 / Simmer Sails)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Boy’s U13 Wave

1st Elías Antolín (ESP | Duotone Windsurfing / Goya Windsurfing)
2nd Anton Gobisch (GER | Duotone Windsurfing)
3rd Raphaël Dumesnil (FRA | Starboard / Hot Sails Maui)
4th Dennis Gonzalez (ESP | Goya Windsurfing / Simmer Sails)
5th Eric Gonzalez (ESP | F2 / Simmer Sails)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Master's Wave

1st Ben Proffitt (UK | Simmer / Simmer Sails)
2nd Mike Friedl (ESP | Quatro / Goya Windsurfing)
3rd Valtor Scotto (TF | Severne)
4th Sandro Dálessio (TF)

Slalom X

Women’s

Although Sarah-Quita Offringa may not have needed to sail, the Aruban gem still managed to sign off the event in the perfect fashion as she led the final elimination from start to finish to secure another bullet. From the 11 eliminations completed, Offringa managed to win seven of those to claim a clearcut victory, which sees Offringa finish the event with counting results of 7 firsts and two second places, while she only finished outside of the top two on one occasion such was her level of domination. Winning the Slalom X sees the 22-time world champion complete a remarkable double event victory after also winning the Wave event here earlier in the week. 

Jenna Gibson (Duotone Windsurfing) started the day with the aim of securing her first ever podium on the World Tour and that’s exactly what the Briton managed to do as she chased home Offringa in Elimination 11 to clinch second place in the race and, more importantly, also in the overall event rankings. On her way to her maiden podium, Gibson was able to win one race, while finishing second on five other occasions.

The top five places in the women’s fleet actually remained unchanged from the start of the day, which means Marion Mortefon (Patrik / Patrik Sails) completes the prestigious event podium as Justine Lemeteyer (FMX Racing / S2Maui) just misses out in fourth. Meanwhile the top five is completed by Femke van der Veen (Starboard / Severne Sails), but in the end only 2.3 points separated herself and Norwegian Oda Brødholt (Starboard / Severne Sails).

Men’s

Pierre Mortefon produced a racing masterclass over the last nine days, which saw the Frenchman not finish outside the top three once in the 10 eliminations complete,, which is an exceptional achievement given just how hardcore the conditions were. Just to try and give that achievement a little more context, Mortefon was the only sailor in the entire fleet to qualify for every winners’ final. The 2019 world champion completely dominated proceedings and claims an emphatic victory - finishing the event 15.9 points clear of his next closest rival - Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails).

Maciek Rutkowski (NeilPryde) started the day in second place, but an over early in the last winners’ final of the event opened the door for Iachino to steal second place as long as the Italian managed to finish inside the top 9, which he easily achieved as he claimed fourth place to gain one place from the overnight rankings. 

Rutkowski may have been slightly disappointed to lose one place in the event rankings after being disqualified from Elimination 10, but third place still represents an excellent result, and ultimately keeps him firmly in contention for the Slalom X world title, which will be decided in Fuerteventura in just over a couple of weeks time. 

Jordy Vonk (Duotone Windsurfing) did brilliantly to recover from a serious bout of flu, which was still troubling him on the opening days of racing as he struggled for energy, to still claim fourth place. However as the event progressed, so did the flying Dutchman’s physical condition, which saw Vonk win two of the last four eliminations - including claiming the final bullet of the week today. The 31-year-old will no doubt be left thinking about what could’ve been if he was fully fit, but he at least finished the event on a high. 
 
Both Benoit Merceur (Starboard / Severne Sails) and Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails) walk away from the 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup with their best results to date - fifth and sixth respectively. Merceur only failed to qualify for the opening winners’ final of the event before putting together an extremely consistent set of results. Daldorf started the event superbly, but saw his podium challenge fade, but should still be delighted with his overall performance.

The top ten is completed by Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde) - 7th - who looked set to win the last elimination of the event only to be pipped by Vonk at the final gybe, Taty Frans (Future Fly / Point-7) - 8th - Malte Reuscher (Tabou / GA Sails) - 9th - and Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) - 10th - who pips Cedric Bordes (Severne Sails) to the last place in the top 10 by just a single point.

Wave

Women’s 

In the Women’s Double Elimination Oda Brødholt managed to fight back to claim her place in the event top 10 - 9th - as she won Heat 20 ahead of Line Bang Wittrup (Goya Windsurfing), Annagiulia Piccaglia (Goya Windsurfing), Maria Behrens (Duotone Windsurfing). 

Youth’s

With Alexia Kiefer Quintana (Duotone Windsurfing) and Maria Morales (Goya Windsurfing) being tied on one victory a piece, the last heat of the entire event featured a sail off for the U21 Girl’s event title. On this occasion Kiefer Quintana, who claimed third place in the main event, dominated the decider, winning both in the air and on the waves.

Men’s - Double Elimination


After the completion of the Slalom X, the decision was made to roll straight back into the Men’s Double Elimination, but we’ll analyse the full implications of that in the event summary. However, to put it as succinctly as possible, reigning world champion - Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing) fought back to as high as he could from last place  into 9th followed by Victor Fernandez - 10th - Moritz Mauch -  11th - and Miguel Chapuis (Flikka / North Sails), who finishes twelfth. 

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Gran Canaria— including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

Also if you don’t already, follow us on our Social Media Channels:

- Facebook: @PWAWorldTourWindsurfing
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Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Slalom X

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Jenna Gibson (GBR | Duotone Windsurfing) 
3rd Marion Mortefon (FRA | Patrik / Patrik Sails)
4th Justine Lemeteyer (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
5th Femke van der Veen (NED | Starboard / Severne Sails)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Men’s Slalom X

1st Pierre Mortefon (FRA | FMX Racing / Phantom Sails)
2nd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
3rd Maciek Rutkowski (POL | NeilPryde)
4th Jordy Vonk (NED | Duotone Windsurfing)
5th Benoit Merceur (FRA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
6th Ingmar Daldorf (NED | Tabou / GA Sails)
7th Nico Prien (GER | JP / NeilPryde)
8th Taty Frans (NB | Future Fly / Point-7)
9th Malte Reuscher (GER | Tabou / GA Sails)
10th Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Severne Sails)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Wave



1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Lina Erpenstein (GER | Severne / Severne Sails)
3rd Alexia Kiefer Quintana (GER | Duotone Windsurfing)
4th Maria Morales (ESP | Goya Windsurfing)
5th Sol Degrieck (BEL | Severne / Severne Sails)
5th Pauline Katz (SUI | Severne / Severne Sails)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Men’s Wave 

1st Marino Gil (ESP | JP / NeilPryde)
2nd Julian Salmonn (GER | Bruch Boards / GUNSAILS)
3rd Philip Köster (GER | Severne / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
4th Dieter Van der Eyken (BEL | Severne / Severne Sails)
5th Liam Dunkerbeck (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
5th Robby Swift (UK | JP / NeilPryde)
7th Ricardo Campello (BRA/VEN)
8th Alessio Stillrich (ESP | Simmer / Simmer Sails)
9th Marcilio Browne (BRA | Goya Windsurfing)
10th Victor Fernandez (ESP | Duotone Windsurfing)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Girls’s U21 Wave

1st Alexia Kiefer Quintana (ESP | Duotone Windsurfing)
2nd Maria Morales (ESP | Goya Windsurfing)
3rd Lisa Wermeister (GER | Duotone Windsurfing / Maui Ultra Fins)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Boy’s U21 Wave

1st Liam Dunkerbeck (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
2nd Lennart Neubauer (GRE | Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
3rd Gregory Stathopoulos (GRE | Goya Windsurfing)
4th Samuele Ferraro (ITA | Patrik / Patrik Sails)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Girls’s U18 Wave

1st Sol Degrieck (BEL | Severne / Severne Sails)
2nd Annagiulia Piccaglia (ESP | Goya Windsurfing)
3rd Trine Gobisch (GER | Duotone Windsurfing)
4th Lizzlotte Schilling Andrew (ESP | Goya Windsurfing / Severne Sails)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Boy’s U18 Wave

1st Carlos Kiefer Quintana (ESP | Duotone Windsurfing)
2nd Leon Maethner (GER | Duotone Windsurfing)
3rd Ryu Noguchi (JPN | Starboard / Severne Sails)
4th Arthur Van den Brande (BEL | RRD / RRD Sails)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Boy’s U15 Wave

1st Ryoma Sugi (JPN | Tabou / North Sails)
2nd Bjørn Olesen (Severne / Severne Sails)
3rd Yannik Gonzalez (F2 / Simmer Sails)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Boy’s U13 Wave

1st Elías Antolín (ESP | Duotone Windsurfing / Goya Windsurfing)
2nd Anton Gobisch (GER | Duotone Windsurfing)
3rd Raphaël Dumesnil (FRA | Starboard / Hot Sails Maui)
4th Dennis Gonzalez (ESP | Goya Windsurfing / Simmer Sails)
5th Eric Gonzalez (ESP | F2 / Simmer Sails)

Slalom X

Women’s

Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) all but has the event victory sewn up as she finishes the penultimate day of racing with an almost unassailable 14.5 point lead. Offringa claimed the opening bullet of the day after both Jenna Gibson (Duotone Windsurfing) and Justine Lemeteyer (FMX Racing / S2Maui) crashed at the final buoy when leading, while two solid second places fully cemented her place at the top of the event rankings and she is now on the cusp of completing a famous Wave and Slalom X double - having won the wave event earlier in the event.

Jenna Gibson has led races multiple times this event, but has constantly hit the crossbar, however, in the last elimination of the day the Brit deservedly claimed her first bullet of the event, which saw her regain second place in the current rankings after Marion Mortefon (Patrik / Patrik Sails) had leapfrogged her after the completion of Elimination 9. Gibson is in with a great chance of earning her first podium on the World Tour as she holds a 5.7 point advantage over Lemeteyer in fourth place. 

Marion Mortefon started the day in third place and that’s where she finishes the day as well. The former world champion enjoyed a very consistent day with two thirds and a fourth.

Justine Lemeteyer gains one spot from the overnight rankings as she advances from fifth place into fourth. The vice-world champion claimed her second bullet of the event in Elimination 9, while claiming a third and fourth from the three races completed today, which keeps her in contention for the podium as she is just 4.4 points off of third. 

Having claimed her first ever bullet yesterday, Femke van der Veen (Starboard / Severne Sails) couldn’t quite replicate that performance again today in the hardcore conditions, which means she slips one place to fifth. 

Men’s 

Pierre Mortefon (FMX Racing / Phantom Sails) has sailed at a phenomenal level so far this event and he deservedly holds a 12.6 point advantage heading into the final day. Given the hardcoreness of the conditions, it’s quite incredible that in the 9 eliminations completed, the 2019 world champion has finished outside the top two on only two occasions, while he has won 4 of those 9 races - including back-to-back bullets today - to cap off a superb display thus far. Mortefon now looks set to claim the first ever victory in Slalom X.

After the completion of Elimination 7 - when the second discard came into play- Maciek Rutkowski (NeilPryde) temporarily closed to within just 1 point of Mortefon. The Pole could’ve even taken the event lead as he was leading the Winners’ Final of Elimination 7 only to plow the nose of his board into a piece of swell at the last buoy, which cost him the bullet. Rutkowski’s position was always going to be precarious due to his discarded results leaving him vulnerable and unfortunately that did come back to bite him after finishing 9th in the next elimination, which all but ends his bid for the event title. 

Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails) produced a very consistent display today, which consisted of two third places and a fourth to climb back into the overall event top three, while he is now just 2.3 points behind Rutkowski heading into the final day. 

Elsewhere, Jordy Vonk (Duotone Windsurfing) continued to make his climb back up the rankings after a great performance today. The flying Dutchman recorded his first bullet of the event in Elimination 7 before finishing second in the next, while he discards a 10th from the last elimination, which sees the 31-year-old gain two places into fourth.

Benoit Merceur (Starboard / Severne Sails) remains in fifth place after recording a fifth and two eighth places, but unfortunately Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails) saw his hopes of securing a maiden podium fade after his worst day of the event with two tenths and a 13th, which all but rules him out of contention for the top 3. The Dutchman finishes the day ranked in sixth.

Meanwhile, the top 10 is completed by Taty Frans (Future Fly / Point-7), Malte Reuscher (Tabou / GA Sails), Bruno Martini (JP / NeilPryde) and Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde), while Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) - 11th - signed off the day with his best result to date the event with a solid second place. 

The final day of the 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup is now upon us tomorrow and it looks set to be a windy day to end the event. The plan is to run one last Slalom X elimination for the men and the women before potentially switching to waves in the afternoon. The sailors will meet again at 09:30am tomorrow morning for the skippers’ meeting - with the action commencing from 10am onwards for the waves or 11am (GMT+1) onwards for the Slalom X.

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Gran Canaria— including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

Also if you don’t already, follow us on our Social Media Channels:

- Facebook: @PWAWorldTourWindsurfing
- Instagram: @pwaworldtour  
- Twitter: @pwaworldtour 
- YouTube: @pwaworldtour

Current Ranking 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Slalom X
*After 10 Eliminations (Two Discards)

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Jenna Gibson (GBR | Duotone Windsurfing) 
3rd Marion Mortefon (FRA | Patrik / Patrik Sails)
4th Justine Lemeteyer (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
5th Femke van der Veen (NED | Starboard / Severne Sails)

Current Ranking 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Men’s Slalom X
*After 9 Eliminations (Two Discards)

1st Pierre Mortefon (FRA | FMX Racing / Phantom Sails)
2nd Maciek Rutkowski (POL | NeilPryde)
3rd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
4th Jordy Vonk (NED | Duotone Windsurfing)
5th Benoit Merceur (FRA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
6th Ingmar Daldorf (NED | Tabou / GA Sails)
7th Taty Frans (NB | Future Fly / Point-7)
8th Malte Reuscher (GER | Tabou / GA Sais)
9th Bruno Martini (ITA | JP / NeilPryde)
10th Nico Prien (GER | JP / NeilPryde)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Wave



1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Lina Erpenstein (GER | Severne / Severne Sails)
3rd Alexia Kiefer Quintana (GER | Duotone Windsurfing)
4th Maria Morales (ESP | Goya Windsurfing)
5th Sol Degrieck (BEL | Severne / Severne Sails)
5th Pauline Katz (SUI | Severne / Severne Sails)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Men’s Wave 

1st Marino Gil (ESP | JP / NeilPryde)
2nd Julian Salmonn (GER | Bruch Boards / GUNSAILS)
3rd Philip Köster (GER | Severne / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
4th Dieter Van der Eyken (BEL | Severne / Severne Sails)
5th Liam Dunkerbeck (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
5th Robby Swift (UK | JP / NeilPryde)
7th Ricardo Campello (BRA/VEN)
8th Alessio Stillrich (ESP | Simmer / Simmer Sails)
9th Takuma Sugi (JPN | Tabou / GA Sails / Black Project Fins)
9th Antoine Martin (FRA | Starboard / North Sails)
9th Leon Jamaer (GER | Flikka / GUNSAILS)
9th Arthur Arutkin (FRA | Duotone Windsurfing)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Boy’s U21 Wave

1st Liam Dunkerbeck (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
2nd Lennart Neubauer (GRE | Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
3rd Gregory Stathopoulos (GRE | Goya Windsurfing)
4th Samuele Ferraro (ITA | Patrik / Patrik Sails)

Wave

Men’s - Double Elimination

In Heat 36, Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing) continued his come back as he posted the highest score of the day - 27.3 points - which included an exquisite 9.25 point stalled double forward. Meanwhile, Adam Warchol (Quatro / Goya Windsurfing) secured the other qualifying place. 

Antoine Albert (Goya Windsurfing) won Heat 37 ahead of Carlos Kiefer Quintana (Duotone / Windsurfing), but that doesn’t quite tell the whole story as there was a colossal battle between the young Spaniard and Gregory Stathapoulos (Goya Windsurfing) for that second qualifying position. Towards the end of the heat they were tied on 14.34 points, but it looked as though the 18-year-old Greek was going to sneak through after linking together a small wave score in the last minute. However, just as he did in the first round of the Double Elimination, Kiefer Quintana pulled off a buzzer beater as he rotated through a double forward to book his place in the next round. 

In the next heat, Heat 38, there was another terrific fight as the lead changed hands on several occasions between Morgan Noireaux (JP / NeilPryde / Black Project Fins), Takara Ishii (RRD / RRD Sails) and local Moritz Mauch). In the end, Mauch’s superior wave riding saw him claim the heat victory, but things remained incredibly close between Ishii and Noireaux. The Hawaiian outscored, Ishii by almost three points into the air after landing a decent double forward, but ultimately lost out due to the Japanese sailors better wave scores, which included a 5.62 point wave. 

The last men’s heat of the day saw Miguel Chapuis (Flikka / North Sails) and Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) comfortably advance from Heat 39 with the young Spaniard winning the heat ahead of his Greek counterpart. Both sailors landed excellent double forwards, but Chapuis’ wave riding earned him the victory. 

Youth’s

Girl’s 

A little later in the afternoon, the youths hit the water again, which saw Sol Degrieck (Severne / Severne Sails) claim another victory in the Girl’s U18s Wave, before Alexia Kiefer Quintana (Duotone Windsurfing) exacted revenge in the Girl’s U21s as she came out on top in the second final, but Maria Morales (Goya Windsurfing), who finished second, deserves a special mention after producing an excellent double forward attempt towards the end of the heat.

Boy’s

The first youth heat of the day saw the Boy’s U13s in action as Elías Antolín (Duotone Windsurfing) claimed his second victory of the event. Meanwhile, Ryoma Sugi (Tabou / North Sails) proved too strong again in the Boy’s U15s as he too secured his second victory of the event.

In the U18 Boy’s Alexander Erfurt (Ezzy Sails) and Fernando Sottile both advanced from the opening round of the Double Elimination, while in the opening round of the U21s Takuma Moriya (Severne / Severne Sails), Hannes Gobisch (Duotone Windsurfing), Hayata Ishii (RRD / RRD Sails) and Marc Alonso (F2 / F2 Sails) and they will now all sail again each other in the next round. 

The forecast for the penultimate day of the 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup looks set to produce another solid day of wind with a similar forecast as today. The Wave and Slalom X fleets will meet again tomorrow morning at 09:30am (GMT+1) with the action commencing from 10am onwards for the Waves and 11am for the Slalom X.

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Gran Canaria— including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

Also if you don’t already, follow us on our Social Media Channels:

- Facebook: @PWAWorldTourWindsurfing
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Current Ranking 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Slalom X
*After 7 Eliminations (Two Discards)

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Jenna Gibson (GBR | Duotone Windsurfing) 
3rd Marion Mortefon (FRA | Patrik / Patrik Sails)
4th Femke van der Veen (NED | Starboard / Severne Sails)
5th Justine Lemeteyer (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)

Current Ranking 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Men’s Slalom X
*After 6 Eliminations (One Discard)

1st Pierre Mortefon (FRA | FMX Racing / Phantom Sails)
2nd Maciek Rutkowski (POL | NeilPryde)
3rd Ingmar Daldorf (NED | Tabou / GA Sails)
4th Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
5th Benoit Merceur (FRA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
6th Jordy Vonk (NED | Duotone Windsurfing)
7th Bruno Martini (ITA | JP / NeilPryde)
8th Taty Frans (NB | Future Fly / Point-7)
9th Malte Reuscher (GER | Tabou / GA Sais)
10th Nico Prien (GER | JP / NeilPryde)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Wave



1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Lina Erpenstein (GER | Severne / Severne Sails)
3rd Alexia Kiefer Quintana (GER | Duotone Windsurfing)
4th Maria Morales (ESP | Goya Windsurfing)
5th Sol Degrieck (BEL | Severne / Severne Sails)
5th Pauline Katz (SUI | Severne / Severne Sails)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Men’s Wave 

1st Marino Gil (ESP | JP / NeilPryde)
2nd Julian Salmonn (GER | Bruch Boards / GUNSAILS)
3rd Philip Köster (GER | Severne / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
4th Dieter Van der Eyken (BEL | Severne / Severne Sails)
5th Liam Dunkerbeck (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
5th Robby Swift (UK | JP / NeilPryde)
7th Ricardo Campello (BRA/VEN)
8th Alessio Stillrich (ESP | Simmer / Simmer Sails)
9th Takuma Sugi (JPN | Tabou / GA Sails / Black Project Fins)
9th Antoine Martin (FRA | Starboard / North Sails)
9th Leon Jamaer (GER | Flikka / GUNSAILS)
9th Arthur Arutkin (FRA | Duotone Windsurfing)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Boy’s U21 Wave

1st Liam Dunkerbeck (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
2nd Lennart Neubauer (GRE | Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
3rd Gregory Stathopoulos (GRE | Goya Windsurfing)
4th Samuele Ferraro (ITA | Patrik / Patrik Sails)

Slalom X

Women’s

Sarah-Quita Offringa held a 5.9 point advantage at the start of proceedings and after another three eliminations were completed today, the Aruban has extended her lead to a commanding 11.5 points. Offringa didn’t have the best start to the day after being disqualified for a premature start in the opening race - Elimination 5 - but recovered with a a second place in the next before signing off with a brilliant bullet to end her Birthday on a high after hunting down Jenna Gibson (Duotone Windsurfing). Offringa has been in dominant form thus far - winning 5 out of the 7 races - and looks as though she will be mightily difficult to stop.

Jenna Gibson leapfrogs Marion Mortefon (Patrik / Patrik Sails) into second place - gaining one place from the overnight rankings on countback. Both women are currently tied on 14 points, but Gibson is ahead by the narrowest of margins having beaten Mortefon on more occasions in the first seven races. Gibson recorded two second places and a sixth today, the latter she discards. Meanwhile, Mortefon didn’t enjoy her best day on the water today, yesterday, the former world champion only finished outside the top three once, whereas today she only secured one top three finish. 

Femke van der Veen (Starboard / Severne Sails) will remember today for a long time after the 24-year-old secured her maiden bullet on the World Tour in Elimination 6. van der Veen enjoyed a terrific day on the water overall as she also recorded a third and a fourth to jump from eight to fourth by the end of the day. 

Justine Lemeteyer (FMX Racing / S2Maui) slips from fourth to fifth in the overalls despite winning Elimination 6, which she was clearly pumped about - letting out a huge roar as she crossed the line. Unfortunately, after winning that race, the vice-world champion then marginally mistimed her start in the last race of the day to finish last. 

Men’s

Overnight event leader Pierre Mortefon enjoyed another great day on the water as he recorded a bullet, a second and a third to cement his place at the top of the event rankings. Elimination 4, was the first and only time the 2019 world champion has finished outside the top three and he currently holds a 10 point advantage at the top of the rankings - while he currently discards a third, such has been his phenomenal level of consistency thus far. Things could’ve been even better for Mortefon as he was miles ahead in the last race of the day, only to be caught by Maciek Rutkowski (NeilPryde) at the chicane when he unfortunately found himself in a patch of lighter wind and failed to get away cleanly. 

That small twist could yet still prove pivotal in the outcome of the event as Rutkowski has emerged as Mortefon’s main threat for the event title. The Pole made a few mistakes on the opening day of racing, but bounced back superbly today with results of a first, a second and a third to keep himself within striking distance. On paper, there is a 10-point gap between Rutkowski and Mortefon, however, after the completion of the next race, the second discard comes into play, which could potentially allow Rutkowski to drop an 11th place result. 

As things stand, after the completion of the next elimination, the worst total Mortefon can be on is 7.4 points, but if Rutkowski was able to win the next race he would be on 7.1 points, so the next race is critical. Of course Mortefon has the luxury of being able to afford two poor results, which looks highly unlikely given his current level of performance, as he would simply discard them, whereas a poor result for Rutkowski would almost all but end his challenge for the event title. 

Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails) currently completes the top three after another solid day on the water. The Dutchman is now the only other sailor to have qualified for every winners’ final aside from Mortefon as he continues to enjoy his best date to date. Daldorf started the day with two fourth places before finishing eighth in the half fleet elimination - which he currently discards - to keep himself firmly in contention for a maiden podium on the World Tour. 

Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails) started the day in fifth place and his day really couldn’t have started any better as he secured his first bullet of the event in Elimination 4 before backing that up with a solid second place in the next to climb into second, at that stage, in the event rankings. However, after his third premature start in seven eliminations, , which is very unlike the Italian, the reigning slalom world champion now faces a mountain to climb if he still wants to battle for the event title as he basically cannot afford another error. In reality he can’t afford to finish outside the top two if he wants to contend. Iachino still gains a place from the overnight rankings - moving into fourth and is still only 1.7 points off of Daldorf in third, but he will be ruing that latest over early. 

Twenty-two year-old Benoit Merceur (Starboard / Severne Sails) enjoyed another extremely consistent day on the water with two fifth places and a sixth, but due to how other results unfolded he slides two places to fifth. However, he is still only three points outside the podium positions. 

Considering how much Jordy Vonk (Duotone Windsurfing) is battling his physical condition having been extremely ill before the start of the event, the flying Dutchman still finds himself ranked sixth at the close of proceedings, which is quite remarkable really. Vonk recorded a third, an eighth and a tenth today, but is clearly gutted to have gotten so sick just before the event as he would’ve been so desperately looking forward to a fin only event. Vonk has often been competing for first place down the opening reach before sometimes running out of power by the end of these extended courses. 

Having signed off yesterday with a bullet, it felt like Bruno Martini (JP / NeilPryde) might have found his form, but things didn’t quite click today as the Italian, who is visibly one of the quickest sailors on the water, had to settle for a slightly disappointing fifth, an eight and a twelfth, which leaves the Italian ranked seventh. 

Taty Frans (Future Fly / Point-7) breaks into the top 10 - eighth - by the close of play after recording sequentially better results today - an eighth, a seventh and a fourth, which is his best result of the event thus far. Frans will now look to build upon that solid platform by maintaining that progressive performance. 

Having qualified for all three winners’ finals yesterday, Malte Reuscher (Tabou / GA Sails) couldn’t quite maintain that bright beginning. After such a bright start yesterday, the 34-year-old started the day level on points with third place - 18 - but after a quarterfinal exit to start the day, Reuscher then missed out on a place in the next winners’ final as well to unfortunately slide down the rankings - finishing the day ranked in ninth.

Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde) started the day in 10th place and he finishes the day in 10th place, but the German did sign off with his best result thus far - 6th - in Elimination 6. 

Fortunately the last few days of the forecast look like they will be Pozo windy rather then the lighter winds that were originally predicted earlier in the week, which should hopefully provide a naturally high octane finale to the '24 edition of the Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup. The skippers' meeting for tomorrow has been called for 09:30am (GMT+1), which gives a first possible start for Wave at 10am and 11am for the Slalom X.

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Gran Canaria— including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

Also if you don’t already, follow us on our Social Media Channels:

- Facebook: @PWAWorldTourWindsurfing
- Instagram: @pwaworldtour  
- Twitter: @pwaworldtour 
- YouTube: @pwaworldtour

Current Ranking 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Slalom X
*After 7 Eliminations (Two Discards)

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Jenna Gibson (GBR | Duotone Windsurfing) 
3rd Marion Mortefon (FRA | Patrik / Patrik Sails)
4th Femke van der Veen (NED | Starboard / Severne Sails)
5th Justine Lemeteyer (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)

Current Ranking 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Men’s Slalom X
*After 6 Eliminations (One Discard)

1st Pierre Mortefon (FRA | FMX Racing / Phantom Sails)
2nd Maciek Rutkowski (POL | NeilPryde)
3rd Ingmar Daldorf (NED | Tabou / GA Sails)
4th Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
5th Benoit Merceur (FRA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
6th Jordy Vonk (NED | Duotone Windsurfing)
7th Bruno Martini (ITA | JP / NeilPryde)
8th Taty Frans (NB | Future Fly / Point-7)
9th Malte Reuscher (GER | Tabou / GA Sais)
10th Nico Prien (GER | JP / NeilPryde)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Wave



1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Lina Erpenstein (GER | Severne / Severne Sails)
3rd Alexia Kiefer Quintana (GER | Duotone Windsurfing)
4th Maria Morales (ESP | Goya Windsurfing)
5th Sol Degrieck (BEL | Severne / Severne Sails)
5th Pauline Katz (SUI | Severne / Severne Sails)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Men’s Wave 

1st Marino Gil (ESP | JP / NeilPryde)
2nd Julian Salmonn (GER | Bruch Boards / GUNSAILS)
3rd Philip Köster (GER | Severne / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
4th Dieter Van der Eyken (BEL | Severne / Severne Sails)
5th Liam Dunkerbeck (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
5th Robby Swift (UK | JP / NeilPryde)
7th Ricardo Campello (BRA/VEN)
8th Alessio Stillrich (ESP | Simmer / Simmer Sails)
9th Takuma Sugi (JPN | Tabou / GA Sails / Black Project Fins)
9th Antoine Martin (FRA | Starboard / North Sails)
9th Leon Jamaer (GER | Flikka / GUNSAILS)
9th Arthur Arutkin (FRA | Duotone Windsurfing)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Boy’s U21 Wave

1st Liam Dunkerbeck (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
2nd Lennart Neubauer (GRE | Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
3rd Gregory Stathopoulos (GRE | Goya Windsurfing)
4th Samuele Ferraro (ITA | Patrik / Patrik Sails)

Slalom X

Women’s

Supposedly ahead of the start of the Slalom X Sarah-Quita Offringa was considering withdrawing from the racing after being exhausted from three days of competing in the waves. Fortunately, Offringa didn’t follow through with that plan as she produced a flawless display to win all four races today as she made the perfect start to the event. Offringa made relatively easy work of the first two races, but was made to work hard for the next two bullets. In Elimination 3, she hunted down Justine Lemeteyer (FMX Racing / S2Maui) as the Aruban opted to jump the obstacle, which was introduced from the second race onwards, which saw her greatly reduce the French girls lead before picking up the reigns to complete a quite brilliant hat-trick. Offringa could’ve been forgiven for settling for second place in the fourth and final race of the day as Jenna Gibson (Duotone Windsurfing) held a substantial lead after the opening buoy. However, the Briton opted to head upwind to avoid the jumping obstacle, while Offringa hit the jump head on at full speed to take out a decent chunk of Gibson’s lead. Offringa was then within striking distance of Gibson as they exited the penultimate gybe and the 22-time world champion opted to go low to the last mark, which paid dividends as she gybed first at the last to complete a superb four-timer, which means with the discard coming into play, Offringa finishes the day with a perfect score of 2.1 points and she will be guaranteed to be leading the event rankings after Elimination 5 even if she doesn’t sail.

Marion Mortefon (Patrik / Patrik Sails) is Offringa’s closest rival at the close of play - trailing by 4.9 points after a very consistent day. The 3-time world champion only finished outside the top 3 once - recording two second places and a third to leave herself prominently places. 

Jenna Gibson (Duotone Windsurfing) recovered from jumping the gun in the first elimination of the event to finish the opening day ranked in third place after improving in each race from there on in - fifth, third and second, which sees her three points off of Mortefon and 7.9 off the top of the rankings.

Justine Lemeteyer experienced a slightly topsy turvy day as she recorded results of a second and a fourth together with an eighth and a tenth. Lemeteyer, Oda Brødholt (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) and Marine Hunter (Quatro / KA Sail) are currently tied on 14-points after the opening four races. Like Lemeteyer, Brødholt had a mixed bag of results - starting with an excellent third and fourth before finishing with a seventh and a tenth, while Hunter was very consistent with a third, a fifth and two sixth places. 

Elsewhere, Blanca Alabau (Starboard / Severne Sails) recovered from a slow start - eleventh and seventh - with two fourth places in Eliminations 3 and 4 and keep herself in contention for a place on the podium.

Men’s

Pierre Mortefon holds a healthy lead at the top of the event rankings at the end of the opening day of racing after producing a brilliant performance. The 2019 world champion secured the opening bullet of the day before backing it up with two second places as he barely put a foot wrong. The Frenchman consistently looked as though he had another gear up his sleeve if and when required, while he made the hardcore racing conditions look relatively effortless. Mortefon leads the overnight rankings by 8.3 points.

Forget loyal to the foil for a moment and think more about loyal to the fin, which describes Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails) perfectly and that paid off handsomely today with the advent of Slalom X. The Dutchman looked extremely quick throughout the day and the 33-year-old enjoyed his best day to date on the PWA World Tour. Daldorf recorded results of a third, a fourth and a sixth to be ranked second in the event rankings at the close of play.

Another sailor to enjoy their best day to date on the World Tour is Benoit Merceur (Starboard / Severne Sails) as the 22-year-old excelled in the new Slalom X format. The Frenchman, who is currently the youngest sailor ranked in the top 10 is ranked third after qualifying for two winners’ final - where he finished third and fifth - while he finished 10th in the other elimination to cap a solid day.

Malte Reuscher (Tabou / GA Sails) is currently tied with Merceur on 14-points, but is ranked fourth on countback, after qualifying for all three winners’ finals today - Mortefon and Daldorf are the only other sailors to be able to boast that record and the 34-year-old will now look to build upon that solid platform for the rest of the event. 

Having being disqualified from the opening two races for premature starts - one in the opening winners’ final and the next in the b-final, Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails) did well to fight back  to claim third place in Elimination 3, which saw the Italian, who entered the event as one of the favourites for the event, gain five places from 10th to fifth to finish the day. 

Maciek Rutkowski (NeilPryde) was aggrieved to have missed out on the opening winners’ final of the event after a review of the finish in the opening semifinal saw him demoted to the b-final. However, the Pole bounced back superbly in Elimination 2 to claim his first bullet of the event, which saw him climb into fifth place in the overalls at that stage. However, Rutkowski then missed out on the next winners’ final after getting side-swiped by a wave on the final reach in the semifinals of Elimination 3 when he was in the qualifying positions. Rutkowski would go on to finish 11th in the third elimination to finish the first day of racing ranked in sixth place. 

Having been the only racer to have won a race here on the fin last year versus the foils, Jordy Vonk (Duotone Windsurfing) entered the event as one of the favourites. However, the flying Dutchman, and Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails), both suffered a serious bout of flu just before the event, so both of them are still trying to recover to full fitness. Having said that, both Vonk and Vrieswijk are still ranked inside the event top 10 - seventh and ninth respectively. Vonk began the event with a bang as he secured second place and looked on course to book his place in the winners’ final of Elimination 3, only to seemingly capitulate about 20 metres before the finish line in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Vrieswijk, who is probably also not at full strength, did well to recover from several dropped gybes to still qualify from several heats where he had seemingly no right to.

Bruno Martini (JP / NeilPryde) looked phenomenally quick the entire day, but only truly managed to use that pace effectively in the last elimination to sign off with a bullet, which sees him ranked eighth at the end of first day of racing. The Italian was one of the many sailors to come a cropper to the jump obstacle in the second race, which led to his elimination when leading the semifinal. However, the obstacle also provided Martini with the opportunity to overtake Mortefon in the last elimination as Mortefon slowed down before the jump, while the Italian powered into it at full speed to gain valuable ground and storm clear to claim a convincing bullet. 

The top 10 is currently completed by Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde), who is level on 33 points with Taty Frans (Future Fly / Point-7, while 22-year-old Scotty Stallman (Tabou / GA Sails) trails them by just 2.5 points. The young Brit qualified for the second winners’ final where he finished fourth. 

Elsewhere, Lucas Pierboni (FMX Racing / S2Maui) qualified for his first winners’ final in the second elimination on his debut on the World Tour. 

The forecast for Thursday has improved slightly with the promise of stronger winds than originally predicted. It now looks as though we will be treated to another day of strong winds, although probably not as strong as today, but still plenty to provide more high octane racing. WindGuru is currently calling for winds of between 16-23 knots. The Slalom fleets will meet again at 10am for their skippers’ meeting with the action commencing from 11:30am (GMT+1) onwards - depending on conditions. 

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Gran Canaria— including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

Also if you don’t already, follow us on our Social Media Channels:

- Facebook: @PWAWorldTourWindsurfing
- Instagram: @pwaworldtour  
- Twitter: @pwaworldtour 
- YouTube: @pwaworldtour

Current Ranking 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Slalom X
*After 4 Eliminations

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Marion Mortefon (FRA | Patrik / Patrik Sails)
3rd Jenna Gibson (GBR | Duotone Windsurfing)
4th Justine Lemeteyer (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
5th Oda Brødholt (NOR | Starboard / Severne Sails)

Current Ranking 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Men’s Slalom X
*After 3 Eliminations

1st Pierre Mortefon (FRA | FMX Racing / Phantom Sails / Chopper Fins)
2nd Ingmar Daldorf (NED | Tabou / GA Sails)
3rd Benoit Merceur (FRA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
4th Malte Reuscher (GER | Tabou / GA Sais)
5th Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
6th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | NeilPryde)
7th Jordy Vonk (NED | Duotone Windsurfing)
8th Bruno Martini (ITA | JP / NeilPryde)
9th Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Severne Sails)
10th Nico Prien (GER | JP / NeilPryde)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Wave



1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Lina Erpenstein (GER | Severne / Severne Sails)
3rd Alexia Kiefer Quintana (GER | Duotone Windsurfing)
4th Maria Morales (ESP | Goya Windsurfing)
5th Sol Degrieck (BEL | Severne / Severne Sails)
5th Pauline Katz (SUI | Severne / Severne Sails)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Men’s Wave 

1st Marino Gil (ESP | JP / NeilPryde)
2nd Julian Salmonn (GER | Bruch Boards / GUNSAILS)
3rd Philip Köster (GER | Severne / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
4th Dieter Van der Eyken (BEL | Severne / Severne Sails)
5th Liam Dunkerbeck (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
5th Robby Swift (UK | JP / NeilPryde)
7th Ricardo Campello (BRA/VEN)
8th Alessio Stillrich (ESP | Simmer / Simmer Sails)
9th Takuma Sugi (JPN | Tabou / GA Sails / Black Project Fins)
9th Antoine Martin (FRA | Starboard / North Sails)
9th Leon Jamaer (GER | Flikka / GUNSAILS)
9th Arthur Arutkin (FRA | Duotone Windsurfing)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Boy’s U21 Wave

1st Liam Dunkerbeck (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
2nd Lennart Neubauer (GRE | Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
3rd Gregory Stathopoulos (GRE | Goya Windsurfing)
4th Samuele Ferraro (ITA | Patrik / Patrik Sails)

Wave 

U21 Boy’s

Liam Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins) earned a hard fought win in the U21 Boy’s Wave as he fended off a stern challenge from Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins), who had to settle for second place. Dunkerbeck and Neubauer both landed excellent double forward loops to make a strong start to the heat and there wasn’t much between them in the air until Dunkerbeck landed a radical one-footed forward loop. However, it was Dunkerbeck’s superior wave riding that really set him apart as he deservedly earned the victory to remain on course to defend his event crown from last year. Neubauer secured second place ahead of compatriot - Gregory Stathapoulos (Goya Windsurfing) - who claims the last place on the podium, while Italy’s Samuele Ferraro (Patrik / Patrik Sails) completes the top four. 

Master’s

After the completion of the U21 Boy’s, the Master’s fleet hit the water and after the semifinals, Ben Proffitt (Simmer / Simmer Sails), Michael Friedl (Quatro / Goya Windsurfing), Valter Scotto and Sandro Dálessio lined up for the final. Proffitt had sailed proficiently to book his place in the final and the voice of the PWA continued that form to claim a decisive victory. The Brit landed a solid backloop and stalled forward, but inflicted a lot of damage in the wave riding department as he displayed frontside 3s and aggressive frontside snaps to claim the top spot on the podium. Meanwhile, Friedl secured second place after landing a one-foot backloop to see of the challenge of Tenerife’s Valter Scotto and Sandro Dálessio.

Men’s Double Elimination - *Only up to the top 9

After a shock exit in the second round of the Single Elimination, Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing), found himself in the unfamiliar position of starting in the first round of the Double Elimination. The best the Brazilian can hope for from Pozo this year - having won here in 2023 - is fighting back into an equal joint 9th place due to the new format. The 35-year-old made a pulsating start to his come back as he set the second highest scoring heat of the contest - 29.63 points - to cruise into the next round. Browne must be left slightly ruing that he couldn’t quite produce that performance in the Single, but he has at least started to claw back what could yet prove to be valuable points in the world title race. Also qualifying from Heat 28 is Stathapoulos. 

Elsewhere, Adam Warchol (Quatro / Goya Windsurfing) landed a backloop off the lip to win Heat 29 ahead of Federico Morisio (Starboard / Severne Sails). Antoine Albert (Goya Windsurfing) and Mike Friedl (Goya Windsurfing) both made it through a tight Heat 30, while Carlos Kiefer Quintana (Duotone Windsurfing) produced a buzzer beater to sneak through Heat 31 as the heat winner alongside Tomer Shamgar (Future Fly / RRD Sails) as José Romero (Mistral / Challenger Sails) lost out in the dying seconds. 

Morgan Noireaux (JP / NeilPryde / Black Project Fins) came into the event leading the World Tour rankings and just like Marcilio Browne, he will be doing his best to salvage as many points as possible after also being involved in the first round of the Double. Noireaux made no mistakes at the beginning of his come back as he won Heat 32 ahead of Josep Pons (Point-7 / Black Project Fins).

Meanwhile, Titouan Flechet (Tabou / Hot Sails) claimed a decent victory in Heat 33 ahead of Lennart Neubauer, while in Heat 31 Dany Bruch (Bruch Boards / Sailloft Hamburg) looked sharp to claim the the top spot ahead of Takara Ishii (RRD / RRD Sails), who also sailed well. 

In the final heat of the day, Miguel Chapuis (Flikka / Point-7) set the second highest score of the first round - 24. 53 points - to safely progress into the next round, while Moritz Mauch secured the remaining spot in the second round.

The forecast for tomorrow still promises to be extremely windy with WindGuru currently calling for winds anywhere between 18-33 knots, so Wednesday should see plenty of action on the water. After the opening three days, which have been dominated by waves, Slalom X will be given the priority for tomorrow, so brace yourself for some carnage as the world’s best racers ready themselves for battle. The skippers’ meeting for both Wave and Slalom X has been called for 9:30am (GMT+1) with a first possible start for Slalom X at 11am and 10am for the remaining wave sailors. 

Also, if you haven’t seen the highlights from yesterday, which saw the Men’s and Women’s wave champion crowned then be sure to have a browse HERE.

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Gran Canaria— including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

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Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Wave



1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Lina Erpenstein (GER | Severne / Severne Sails)
3rd Alexia Kiefer Quintana (GER | Duotone Windsurfing)
4th Maria Morales (ESP | Goya Windsurfing)
5th Sol Degrieck (BEL | Severne / Severne Sails)
5th Pauline Katz (SUI | Severne / Severne Sails)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Men’s Wave 

1st Marino Gil (ESP | JP / NeilPryde)
2nd Julian Salmonn (GER | Bruch Boards / GUNSAILS)
3rd Philip Köster (GER | Severne / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
4th Dieter Van der Eyken (BEL | Severne / Severne Sails)
5th Liam Dunkerbeck (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
5th Robby Swift (UK | JP / NeilPryde)
7th Ricardo Campello (BRA/VEN)
8th Alessio Stillrich (ESP | Simmer / Simmer Sails)
9th Takuma Sugi (JPN | Tabou / GA Sails / Black Project Fins)
9th Antoine Martin (FRA | Starboard / North Sails)
9th Leon Jamaer (GER | Flikka / GUNSAILS)
9th Arthur Arutkin (FRA | Duotone Windsurfing)

Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Boy’s U21 Wave

1st Liam Dunkerbeck (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
2nd Lennart Neubauer (GRE | Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
3rd Gregory Stathopoulos (GRE | Goya Windsurfing)
4th Samuele Ferraro (ITA | Patrik / Patrik Sails)

Wave

Women’s

Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) made the perfect start to her season as she claimed her first victory in Pozo Izquierdo. The Aruban had finished second here on several occasions in the past, but usually found a Daida Moreno (Bruch Boards/ Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) shaped barrier in the way. However, with the Moreno twins no longer competing, Offringa seized the opportunity perfectly. The 22-time world champion made a flying start to the final as she quickly landed a pushloop, a backloop and a forward loop to place Lina Erpenstein (Severne / Severne Sails) under immediate pressure. That flying start made the difference as although Erpenstein slowly edged away at Offringa’s lead the German couldn’t quite find enough to reel her in. In the end, Offringa claimed a slender 1.29 point victory. 

For Erpenstein, this represents her best result to date in Pozo Izquierdo. The German had finished third here on two previous occasions (2023 and 2017), but went one better this time around. Also, having earned her first event victory on the World Tour last time out in Chile, this result will see the 27-year-old become the new world No.1 for the first time in her career.

NEXT GENERATION PUSHING HARD

Meanwhile, Alexia Kiefer Quintana (Duotone Windsurfing) - 18 - earns her first podium finish at her home event after seeing off a valiant effort by Maria Morales (Goya Windsurfing) - 18 - who also claims her best result to date on the World Tour - 4th - as the next generation start to impose themselves on the full tour. Kiefer Quintana has now claimed back-to-back podiums after finishing second in Chile and will now firmly be in the hunt for a place on the overall podium come the end of the year. Both girls consistently landed back and forward loops, while taking an aggressive approach to their wave riding. 

Sol Degrieck (Severne / Severne Sails) is the youngest member of the marauding next generation and the 14-year-old backed up her podium finish in Chile - 3rd - with a solid fifth place here, which she shares alongside Pauline Katz (Severne / Severne Sails), who sailed solidly throughout. 

Men’s

Marino Gil (JP / NeilPryde) came came agonisingly close to winning his home event last year - losing out by just 0.04 of a point to then teammate - Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing) - in the single elimination, before forcing a Super Final in the double elimination, so he was clearly hungry to go one better this time out. The hugely popular local produced the highest scoring heat yesterday to send out a warning to his rivals and he was able to backup that today as he deservedly claimed his maiden victory on the World Tour after producing an accomplished performance. Gil has great awareness in the air, consistently landing stalled double forwards, while when presented with an ideal ramp he landed an almost perfect pushloop forward - 9.57 points - during the final to seal the deal after being placed under pressure by first time finalist - Julian Salmonn (Bruch Boards / GUNSAILS). Gil also shone in the waves landing frontside 3s and takas to deservedly claim the top spot on the podium for the first time in his career.

In the preview, I wrote that it is almost impossible to make the podium without being able to both double forward and pushloop forward, however, that mould was broken today as Julian Salmonn qualified for his first winners’ final. The German produced an array of massive stalled forwards and one-hand, one-foot backloops, but the reason he managed to qualify for the final is because of his radical wave riding. Whether that was going vertical for a proper frontside snap, or rotating through frontside 3s, or goiters, it was truly his approach to wave riding that proved the difference. Even in the final, the 25-year-old outscored Gil, 14 points to 10.74 points in wave riding. while in the previous heat, 25a - where he faced 7-time event champion - Philip Köster (Severne / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins) - and Liam Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins) he also came out on top to progress. Salmonn’s bias towards wave riding was also clearly obvious as he often started his heats by wave riding, which is almost unheard of in Pozo, which is usually dominated by jumpers. Ultimately, Salmonn couldn’t quite reel in Gil, but second place represents a huge result for Salmonn!

Philip Köster missed out on a spot in the final by just 0.42 of a point and the 5-time world champion seemed to use that as motivation in the b-final to secure the final place of the podium. For me, Köster made a gesture almost much the same as Jude Bellingham did for England on Saturday - stating I know I’m extremely good - without being arrogant - but just backing themselves with enough self belief to think you are the best. The 30-year-old may have been slightly aggrieved at missing out on a spot in the final and decided to pull the trigger for a triple forward loop for the first time since 2015. Not only did he pull the trigger, but he also got as close as anyone has ever got to landing a recorded triple loop. 

Dieter Van der Eyken (Severne / Severne Sails) will remember this day for a long time to come after the Belgian secured his best ever finish on the PWA Wave World Tour. Much like Salmonn, the Belgian 2015 PWA Freestyle world champion, inflicted much of his damage with his dynamic wave riding - consistently landing frontside 3s and taking a Jaeger Stone-ish approach to his wave riding. Van der Eyken was visibly delighted to have broken into the top four and rightly so!

Unfortunately, Alessio Stillrich (Simmer / Simmer Sails) will face some time on the sidelines after snapping a tendon in his leg. The Spaniard was leading Heat 22 before he injured himself and everyone wishes him a quick recovery.

The forecast looks incredibly windy again tomorrow and with the Pro Wave event completed it could be the turn for Slalom X to take place in some nuclear conditions! 

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

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Gran Canaria— including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

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Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Wave



1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Lina Erpenstein (GER | Severne / Severne Sails)
3rd Alexia Kiefer Quintana (GER | Duotone Windsurfing)
4th Maria Morales (ESP | Goya Windsurfing)
5th Sol Degrieck (BEL | Severne / Severne Sails)
5th Pauline Katz (SUI | Severne / Severne Sails)


Result 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup - Men’s Wave 

1st Marino Gil (ESP | JP / NeilPryde)
2nd Julian Salmonn (GER | Bruch Boards / GUNSAILS)
3rd Philip Köster (GER | Severne / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
4th Dieter Van der Eyken (BEL | Severne / Severne Sails)
5th Liam Dunkerbeck (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
5th Robby Swift (UK | JP / NeilPryde)
7th Ricardo Campello (BRA/VEN)
8th Alessio Stillrich (ESP | Simmer / Simmer Sails)
9th Takuma Sugi (JPN | Tabou / GA Sails / Black Project Fins)
9th Antoine Martin (FRA | Starboard / North Sails)
9th Leon Jamaer (GER | Flikka / GUNSAILS)
9th Arthur Arutkin (FRA | Duotone Windsurfing)

Wave

Women’s

Pauline Katz (Severne / Severne Sails) came into the event on the back of her best finish on the World Tour after finishing fourth in Chile, and the 34-year-old made a confident start here as she won her opening heat - Heat 3 - in convincing fashion. Meanwhile, Lisa Wermeister (Duotone Windsurfing / Maui Ultra Fins) just edged out Annagiulia Piccaglia (Goya Windsurfing) for that crucial second qualifying place. In the end, just 0.04 of a point separated the two teenagers. 

In Heat 4, Alexia Kiefer Quintana (Duotone Windsurfing) set the second highest scoring heat of the day as she produced an accomplished display. The 19-year-old quickly built a strong foundation on which to build upon after a flying start to the heat, which saw her land both forwards and backloops, while she looked dynamic with her wave riding to post a heat total of 19.95 points. Meanwhile, Lina Erpenstein (Severne / Severne Sails) looked powerful in the air, but didn’t really connect with her waves, but still comfortably advanced into the next round in second place. 

In the penultimate women’s heat of the day, Sol Degrieck (Severne / Severne Sails) finished the heat strongly to claim first place ahead of Julia Pasquale (Duotone Windsurfing). The young Belgian linked together her two best scoring waves - which both earned 5.12 points - in the latter stages to claim the win, while Pasquale managed to stay ahead of Justyna Sniady (North / Maui Ultra Fins), who admirably tried to sail through the pain barrier despite having a suspected broken foot, to also advance.

Heat 6 saw reigning world champion, Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins), not only making her first appearance of the event, but also the season, and she hit the water running as she posted the highest scoring heat of the day - 21.01 points. For much of the heat it was close between herself and Maria Morales (Goya Windsurfing), but the Aruban asserted in the latter stages with a perfectly executed backloop and a big stalled forward inflicting much of the damage. Morales sailed well to also deservedly book her place in the top eight at the expense of both Oda Brødholt (Starboard / Severne Sails) and Marine Hunter (Quatro / KA Sail).

Men’s

Philip Köster (Severne / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins) made a solid start to his campaign in Pozo as the 5-time world champion racked up the second highest scoring heat of the day. The 30-year-old landed a trademark double forward, while also landing a stylish backloop and planing tweaked pushloop. The German also looked dangerous on the wave landing takas and backside 360s, and unsurprisingly, he looks like he will be a major threat as he looks to earn an eighth event title here. Meanwhile, Takuma Sugi (Tabou / GA Sails / Black Project Fins) safely navigated his way into the top 16 at the expense of Gregory Stathopoulos (Goya Windsurfing) and Moritz Mauch, who in the opening round posted the only excellent wave score of the day - 8.25 points - after landing an incredible air taka. 

In Heat 10, Ricardo Campello looked as though he’d never been away as he made his opening appearance of the year. Campello produced a powerful display in the air with double forwards and a stalled forward, while looking dangerous on the small waves on offer. Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails) secured the other qualifying position after managing to edge out Federico Morisio (Starboard / Severne Sails) and Dany Bruch (Bruch Boards).

Heat 11 featured Marino Gil (JP / NeilPryde), who finished second here last season, and the local boy looked incredibly dangerous in his opening heat as he posted the highest scoring heat of the day - 26.72 points. The 21-year-old boosted through the highest jumps of the day while rotating through a sick stalled double forward - which earned 9.38 points - and a big one-footed backloop, while he was also able to land a Klei in the waves to send a warning to his rivals. The battle for second place saw an incredibly close tussle between Antoine Albert (Goya Windsurfing), Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) and Arthur Arutkin (Duotone Windsurfing / Black Project Fins), which ultimately Arutkin snatched with a late stalled forward to book his place in the top 16. 

Liam Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins) came out on top in Heat 12 as the U21 world champion combined double forwards and a backloop to progress along with 18-year-old Italian Samuele Ferraro (Patrik / Patrik Sails).

This may not historically be Thomas Traversa’s (Tabou / GA Sails) strongest event, but the Frenchman kicked off his campaign with a solid win in Heat 13 as he produced his usual free flowing wave riding to earn 23.57 points. Victor Fernandez (Duotone Windsurfing) also made a decent start to send local Josep Pons (Point-7) packing. 

Meanwhile, Antoine Martin (Starboard / North) and Leon Jamaer (Flikka / GUNSAILS) eventually eased their way through Heat 14 as they dispatched of Antoine Richter (JP / NeilPryde) and Mike Friedl (Goya Windsurfing).

In the penultimate heat of the day, Dieter Van der Eyken (Severne / Severne Sails) would finish the day with two heat victories to guarantee himself a spot in the round of 16. The Belgian made a strong start to Heat 15 as he rotated through a big backloop, while he quickly laid down two solid wave scores to deservedly secure the top spot ahead of Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde). Both Takara Ishii (RRD / RRD Sails) and Adam Warchol (Goya Windsurfing) out jumped Swift, but crucially, neither of them could link together the wave scores they needed to impose themselves in the contest. 

The last men’s heat of the day, proved to be the battle of the day as reigning event and world champion - Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing) lined up against Alessio Stillrich (Simmer / Simmer Sails), Miguel Chapuis (Starboard / North) and Julian Salmonn (Bruch Boards / GUNSAILS). Things started perfectly for Browne as he quickly stomped a double forward and it looked like he may then just go and run away with it as he also added a 4.75 point wave to mount a solid start. However, as the heat progressed things became increasingly tense with a potential upset on the cards as his rivals all sailed brilliantly to firmly bring the challenge to the Brazilian. Stillrich would go on to win the heat after landing a double forward and a trademark tweaked pushloop, together with a couple of solid wave scores, but there was a real dog fight for that all important second place. At one point or another, Browne, Chapuis and Salmonn had all occupied second place in the latter stages of the heat, but crucially it was Salmonn who snatched the last place into the next round after flying through a one-hand, one-foot backloop to cause a major upset as the reigning world champion was dumped out in his opening heat. Ultimately, Chapuis was left to rue counting a 1.62 point wave as he missed out on the next round by just 0.36 of a point.

The strong winds look as though they will continue into Monday with the forecast currently predicting winds of 23-30knots accompanied by waves of up to 1.4 metres, so there’s a decent chance we could see the conclusion of the waves tomorrow. Skippers’ meeting times below:


- Wave Skippers’ Meeting - 9:30am - first possible start 10am (GMT+1).

- Slalom Skippers’ Meeting - 9:45am - first possible start 11:30am. 

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Gran Canaria— including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

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Wave

Girl’s U21
 
Maria Morales (Goya Windsurfing) got off to a flying start in the U21 Girl’s as she produced a polished performance consisting of both front and backloops as well as some stylish wave riding to claim the opening victory ahead of Alexia Kiefer Quintana (Duotone Windsurfing) and Lisa Wermeister (Duotone Windsurfing). 

Girl’s U18

Sol Degrieck (Severne / Severne Sails) proved too strong in the opening final of the Girl’s U18s. The Belgian landed a variety of forwards and tabletops, while she linked one solid wave together to see off the challenge of Annagiulia Piccaglia (Goya Windsurfing), who outscored Degrieck in the air, Lizzlotte Schilling Andrew and Trine Gobisch (Duotone Windsurfing).

Boy’s U18

Carlos Kiefer Quintana (Duotone Windsurfing) booked his place in the final after stomping an almost perfect double forward in the semifinals, which received one 10 points and two 9.5 point scores from the judges. Kiefer Quintana continued that form into the final, and although he couldn’t find a ramp for another double he still managed to land a stylish pushloop and a textbook stalled forward to claim a decisive victory ahead of Germany’s Leon Maethner (Duotone Windsurfing), Japan’s Ryu Noguchi (Starboard / Severne Sails and Belgium’s Arthur Van den Brande (RRD / RRD Sails). There was just half a point separating Maethner and Noguchi, but this time it went in the favour of Maethner.

Boy’s U15

In the opening final of the Boy’s U15s, Ryoma Sugi (North) struck first blood to come out on top against Bjørn Olesen (Severne / Severne Sails) and Yannik Kolb Gonzalez. Sugi was crowned the U15 PWA Wave World Champion in 2023, so it is perhaps not a surprise to see him make a strong start here in Gran Canaria. 

Boy’s U13 

There wasn’t much to separate Elías Antolín and Dennis Kolb Gonzalez in the the Boy’s U13 final with just 3 points separating them come the end of the heat. However, the tie went in the favour of Antolín this time around. Gonzalez was within striking distance of Antolín, but was left to rue counting a crashed backloop on his scoresheet, which proved to be the difference. 

The forecast for tomorrow suggests that Pozo’s famous strong winds will continue, but we will have to wait until the morning to see whether it will be the wave or slalom fleets hitting the water. The skippers’ meeting for all fleets will be held at 9:30am, which gives a first possible start for waves at 10am, while the first possible start for racing with be 11am.

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Gran Canaria— including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

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Pozo Izquierdo is internationally famed in the windsurfing world due to its non-stop super strong wind and steep waves. The combination of these two factors creates the perfect playground for the world’s most extreme sailors to defy gravity and perform the biggest stunts on the planet. Meanwhile, with fin slalom returning to the fray this year, the world’s best racers are likely to receive just as much of a mental test as they will physical, such are the hardcoreness of the conditions. The local effects mean that even the slightest breeze can soon be accelerated to nuclear strength, with the wind peaking at around 50-60 knots, which often results in the guys and girls reaching for their smallest equipment, which even then, sometimes isn’t small enough. Expect to see plenty of mind blowing action, painful crashes and 9 days of intense competition. 

Wave

Women’s

For the first time in over two decades, there won’t be a legendary Moreno twin standing on top of the podium come the end of the event with neither Daida Moreno (Bruch Boards / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) or Iballa Moreno (Severne / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) lining up for the comp. Daida had a complete stranglehold over her home event - winning in Pozo every year but one since 1998, but announced her retirement after winning the final last season - so this really opens up the draw this year. 

Reigning world champion - Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) - has yet to make an appearance so far this season, but the Aruban will be present in Gran Canaria and she’ll start the event as the favourite for this year’s event title having finished second here last season, while recording numerous podiums over the years. 

However, Offringa, won’t simply have things her own way with several girls charging and progressing. Lina Erpenstein (Severne / Severne Sails) comes into Pozo off of the back of claiming her maiden event victory on the World Tour in Chile earlier this year. The German has an aggressive approach to her sailing and will be looking to continue that winning feeling.

Alexia Kiefer Quintana (Duotone Windsurfing)) may still only be 19, but she’ll have high hopes of challenging for a podium at her home event. Kiefer Quintana burst on to the scene in 2019 when as a then 14-year-old she claimed fifth place in the main event to standout. The young German also comes into her home event having claimed her first podium in Chile, so confidence will be sky high. 

Sol Degrieck (Severne / Severne Sails) continues to sail beyond her comparatively young years - 14 - after bursting on to the scene much like Kiefer Quintana last year. The rising young star is seemingly taking everything in her stride and began this season by securing her second podium finish on the World Tour, but her first at a five-start event, in Chile. Degrieck may still lack experience, but she certainly doesn’t lack talent and there won’t be many who fancy sailing against her. 

Elsewhere, both Maria Behrens (Duotone Windsurfing / Maui Ultra Fins) and Maria Morales (Goya Windsurfing) will be hoping to make strong starts to their campaigns, while Oda Brødholt (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) returns to the wave lineup for the first time since 2019. Pauline Katz (Severne / Severne Sails) will look to kick on from her best result so far - 4th - in Chile - and Marine Hunter (Quatro / KA Sail), who won in Sylt last season, could also be one to watch. After injuring her foot last, Justyna Sniady (North Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) faces a race against time to be fit for the event and it's likely we will hear a last minute decision from her. 

It’s also worth noting that current World No.1 and No.2 - Sarah Hauser (Quatro / Goya Windsurfing) and María Andrés (Duotone Windsurfing) - are both absent from proceedings. 

Men’s

The level in the men’s fleet looks to be through the roof just ahead of the 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup with an array of jumping and wave riding fireworks being on display, so it promises to be an epic showpiece. 

After the opening two events of the year, Morgan Noireaux (JP / NeilPryde / Black Project Fins), is in uncharted territory as he comes into Pozo leading the world rankings for the first time. Pozo will of course represent a totally different challenge to what the competitors have faced so far this year, but Noireaux will still be aiming to record as good of a result as possible to keep pace in the world title race. 



Just behind Noireaux, is Victor Fernandez (Duotone Windsurfing), who has enjoyed somewhat of a resurgence at the start of this season with back-to-back podiums in Japan and Chile, having not secured a podium the season prior. Of course, Fernandez has boasted an excellent record here in the past, but what has become very evident in recent years is if you can’t pushloop forward then you probably aren’t going to be challenging for the top two. However, the former 3-time world champion knows Pozo inside out and will still be hoping to challenge for the top 5 and beyond.

Last year’s event saw a colossal battle between eventual world champion - Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing) - and local boy - Marino Gil (JP / NeilPryde) - and you never know we might just see a repeat of that match up come the end of the event. Browne has made a solid start to the year and enters Gran Canaria in third place in the overalls and the Brazilian will be hoping to defend his event title. Meanwhile, Gil is just a couple of place further back in fifth place and the hugely popular local will be hoping to go one better this time around. 

Philip Köster (Severne / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins) has a phenomenal record when it comes to Pozo with the 5-time world champion recording 7 victories here in total. Last year the German may have ‘only’ finished 5th, but when you consider that that was with a broken foot, it’s quite incrdible. Given that Köster is fully fit this year, he is a totally different proposition and if he is on top form he will no doubt be incredibly difficult to stop.

Ricardo Campello may not be competing on the whole tour this year, but the current vice-world champion, who so agonisingly missed out on a maiden world title last season, couldn’t resist competing in Pozo. Campello finished fourth here last year and he will be a major threat again, while he could throw a spanner in the works for those in the world title fight - even at this early stage. 

The local hopes of; Liam Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins), Alessio Stillrich (Simmer / Simmer Sails), who finished joint 7th here in 2023 and Josep Pons (Point-7 / Black Project Fins) will all be hoping to produce strong showings on their home waters, whilst don’t be surprised to see Moritz Mauch lay down some of the highest wave scores of the contest. 

Elsewhere the likes of Leon Jamaer (Flikka / GUNSAILS), who claimed 6th place here last season, Antoine Martin (Starboard / North Sails), Julian Salmonn (Bruch Boards / GUNSAILS) Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde), Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) and Arthur Arutkin (Duotone Windsurfing) will all be hoping to make their mark over the coming 9 days. As will the Japanese contingent of Takuma Sugi (Tabou / GA Sails / Black Project Fins), Takara Ishii (RRD / RRD Sails), his brother Hayata Ishii (RRD / RRD Sails). Dieter van der Eyken (Severne / Severne Sails) and Miguel Chapuis will also be hoping to impose themselves on the top 10 and beyond. Dany Bruch (Bruch Boards) also returns to the fleet for the first time since 2019. 

Slalom X

Many of you said you wanted to see high wind, fin vs fin slalom and over the next 9 days that’s exactly what you will be treated to with Slalom X set to make it’s debut on the PWA World Tour. Also, unlike last year the racing won’t be limited to a certain number of days, so if it isn’t wavy, but it’s windy we’ll be able to race until the maximum number of races have been completed. Get ready to watch some brutal racing, which will surely test the mettle of any sailor. You can read more about Slalom X here. 

Women’s

Reigning world champion - Blanca Alabau (Starboard / Severne Sails) - comes into the season opener as the defending event champion. The Spaniard, who clinched her first world title last year, spent the majority of last season on the foil, so it will be interesting to see how she adapts when back on the fin. 

Sarah-Quita Offringa pushed Alabau all the way, while competing on the fin last year and will likely be Alabau’s biggest threat. The Aruban only finished outside the top 3 once in 15 eliminations last season and will be looking to pull off a famous Wave and Slalom double over the the next 9 days. 

Elsewhere, Jenna Gibson (Duotone / Duotone Sails) undoubtedly has the pace to challenge for top honours, but it will ultimately boil down to her consistency because she definitely possesses the speed to make herself a nuisance. Meanwhile, Justine Lemeteyer (FMX Racing / S2Maui) and former world champion - Marion Mortefon (Patrik / Patrik Sails / Chopper Fins) - will likely be firmly in the mix with both sailors excelling on the fin. 

Just like Offringa, Oda Brødholt will be competing in both disciplines over the next 9 days, while 14-year-old - Bobbi-Lynn De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde) is ready to pit herself against the best in the world and it will be interesting to see how she gets on. The Bonairean won both of the opening events on the PWA Youth Slalom World Tour slightly earlier this year. 

Men’s

It’s been a while since we’ve seen pure fin slalom, but I would imagine that it will be the usual suspects battling for top honours. Reigning world champion - Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails) and Pierre Mortefon (FMX Racing / Phantom Sails / Chopper Fins) - both won their first world titles when it was fin only and both sailors will be well equipped for hardcore slalom conditions - in fact it’s probably their favourite conditions for racing and both would be solid bets for the opening racing event of the season. 

Last year’s vice-world champion, Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) would probably favour to race on the foil even in high winds, but the Bonairean will still be a major threat on the fin. Slalom X is desgined to test the sailors all round qualities and he’s undoubtedly one of the most talented all-rounders, if not the most talented all-rounder on the tour. 

2022 world champion, and last year’s world No.3 - Maciek Rutkowski (NeilPryde) will be sailing under the flag of NeilPryde this season and the Pole will be eager to make a quick start to the season. The Pole led the world title race for the majority of last year before just missing out by 200 points. 

Elsewhere, Jordy Vonk (Duotone / Duotone Sails) will probably licking his lips at the prospect of a fin only high wind slalom event. The flying Dutchman was the only man to win an elimination in Pozo last season on the fin and he’ll be in his element over the next 9 days. As will Taty Frans (Future Fly / Point-7), Bruno Martini (JP / NeilPryde) and Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails), Jimmy Thieme (Patrik / Patrik Sails) and Malte Reuscher (Tabou / GA Sails) - all of whom are massive fin advocates. 

Unfortunately last year's champion here - Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde) - has been ruled out of the event after sustaining a broken arm on Monday.

Other sailors to look out for will include the hugely experienced Cedric Bordes (Severne / Severne Sails), the UK’s Scotty Stallman (Tabou / GA Sails), France’s Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / Patrik Sails) and Germany’s Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde), who recently became the new president of the PWA.

That’s not all though as both the next generation of wave sailors and the master’s fleets will be competing in Pozo over the coming 9 days as well. 

Looking Ahead

The forecast for the opening weekend of the 2024 Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup looks like it will be a windy one, but it may be relatively flat, so slalom could be set to take centre stage. By Monday though, both the wind and waves are expected to increase with a swell of up to 1.6 metres currently predicted. 

You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Gran Canaria— including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

Schedule For Day 1: (All Times GMT+1)

- Registration: 10-11am
- Skippers’ Meeting: 12pm

- First Possible Start: 1pm

For now though have a look at how the Slalom X preparations are shaping up in Pozo @ https://youtu.be/ocXUnjmedUw?si=dxU96dJkccZLt5XE

You can see episodes 1-3 of this year's Diaries via his YouTube channel @ https://www.youtube.com/@WindsurfingTV

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to give back to a sport you love, or to really build your professional career by holding a Management Board advisory role and helping to drive significant strategic change. You'll also get to meet and work alongside windsurf industry brands, professional riders and other passionate professionals from all corners of the world.

We're specifically looking for volunteer people who have at least 10 years professional experience in any one of the following specific areas of expertise.

- CEO/Leadership/Strategic Change

Windsurfing as a global sport really needs some fresh leadership and advice from people who can help to guide or drive strategic change.

- Finance

We'd love someone with an accounting background to help oversee the finances, improve our financial processes and help us find efficiencies in our spend.

- Global PR

We hold visually spectacular, exciting events that probably don't receive as much PR coverage around the world as they should. There's always limited funds, but we need help to find new, efficient ways to deliver global PR outcomes in the modern world.

- Legal

A commercial lawyer could help advise us on our structure, subcontractor arrangements and event contracts.

- Sponsorship/grants.

Do you have a successful track record in securing major event sponsorship, or do you somehow have a good network of potential contacts where you can get a foot in the door for windsurfing sponsorship?

- Junior/Women's Sports Development

We're quite new to these areas, so someone who has experience at developing and implementing programs and sourcing founding for them would be ideal.

Your Tasks

We're wanting smart experienced people to help advise the sport and we want to listen to your advice. We're not expecting you to do work that is normally paid, just help guide and steer us. Specifically, it would be very much appreciated if you were able to participate in a strategic planning session, and then also sit on a relevant sub-committee that advises the Management Board on topics relating to your area of expertise. You'd also be welcome to attend online Board meetings if you wanted. It's also possible that some of these roles may turn into permanent, voting board member positions. We conduct everything online given existing board members are spread throughout the world.

How To Apply

Provide a one-page expression of interest to advisorspwa@gmail.com outlining
- Which area of expertise you specialise in and how many years of experience do you have working in that area
- Why you want to become an advisor in windsurfing
- Your relevant experience that will help you provide solid, strategic advice for the sport of windsurfing.
- Your name, phone and email contact details
- Where you are based (town, state, country).

Please include your CV as an additional attachment.

We'll review the applications as they come in and be in touch with more questions if we think you might be a good fit.
Thank you for your consideration to help our incredible sport.
 

Julian Salmonn: "3 Days at Home, where the only focus I had was windsurfing!
Filmed by: Rafael España 
@rafasoulart"

You can see a quick flight from Johannes now @ https://youtu.be/JGznlrZfEBo?si=Kt3J9BB-sR9ogUu1 

Girl’s 

Bobbi-Lynn De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde) won the opening event of the season in Aruba earlier last month and the 14-year-old continued her perfect start to the season here in Bonaire with an almost faultless performance, which saw her win 14 of the 15 eliminations completed. 

Bobbi-Lynn’s closest challenger was her sister Kit De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde), who wins the U15’s ahead of her twin, Lone De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde), who finished fourth in the overall rankings just behind Louise van der Meulen, who completes the podium and wins the U21’s.

Boy’s

Just like Bobbi-Lynn De Jong, Brendan Lorho (FMX Racing / Point-7) also completes an early season double with the young Frenchman producing another excellent performance. Lorho wasn’t quite as clinical as Bobbi-Lynn, but he still managed to win 12 of the 15 eliminations completed, which sees him also finish the event with a perfect score sheet as he discards his other second place finishes. 

Lorho wins the event, and the U21’s division, ahead of local Bimbi Clappers. Meanwhile, the overall podium is completed by another local - Tycho Smits (Future Fly / NeilPryde) - who wins the U17’s fleet ahead of Storm Nicolai (Starboard / Duotone).

In the U13’s and U15’s divisions, Arxon Gomperts came out on top in the U15’s - also finishing the event with a perfect score sheet, while Joëy Ross claims the U13’s victory ahead of Tobi Korver and Julien Blom.

That concludes the Caribbean part of the Youth PWA World Tour, we’ll be back with the next installment of youth action at the Gran Canaria PWA World Cup, which begins at the end of June, and will see the next generation of wave sailors in action. 
 

The Italian recently released a video of him completing this marathon mission, which you can now see @ https://youtu.be/nK-ncjRHczo?si=a5_2KCDBzo_OEmhk

In the U21 / U17 fleet, Brendan Lorho (FMX Racing / Point-7) once again got off to a winning start, but he couldn’t continue his impressive run of 6 back-to-back wins in the second elimination of the day as the local rider, Bimbi Clappers (Future Fly / S2Maui) had a unbelievable start and mastered the light wind conditions to earn his maiden bullet. 

After a long break for lunch, a nice crowd formed on the beach for the final two races and it was Joa van den Berg (FMX Racing / S2Maui), who got the crowd truly amped up with his first win on the PWA Youth World Tour. 

After a solid 15 rounds of racing, it looks like Lorho has this one wrapped up, barring any major disasters, as he currently only counts first place results for the entire event

Racing alongside the U21 Boy’s is the U17 Boy’s and the battle here is fiercely close between Tycho Smits (Future Fly / NeilPryde) and Storm Nicolai (Starboard / Duotone) - with just 3.3 points separating the two sailors heading into the final day of racing tomorrow. 

In the U15 Boy’s, Barrie Sassen and Jaevian IJtsma took one race a piece ahead of Arxon Gomperts (Future Fly / Point-7), who has been otherwise faultless all week. Sassen had a slightly shaky start to the week (excluding his bullet in the opening round) with some equipment issues, but he has really pulled it together in the last two days to put in a solid performance with moments of brilliance. 

In the U13 Boy’s, Joey Ross continues to lead, but the gap has narrowed after a difficult day for the 11-year-old Aruban. Both Tobi Korver and Julien Blom had solid days and are going from strength to strength throughout this event with big improvements in their racing day by day. 

In the Girl’s division, U17 Bobbi-Lynn De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde) continues her flawless performance with a further five wins, although a fantastic performance once again from her younger sister Kit De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde) scoring only second & third places on day three, which shows there really is strength in depth in the De Jong household! A mention also has to go to Louise van der Meulen (Starboard / NeilPryde) for taking Bobbi-Lynn all the way to the line in Elimination 3. Whilst she unfortunately missed out on the race win, it looks like the Aruban has got it all but sealed up for the U21 title this week. 

There is plenty still to play for on the final day in Bonaire so stay tuned to the socials for all the updates! 

There are three standout riders this event - one in each fleet and all three earned perfect scores on day 2 - namely Bobbi-Lynn De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde), Arxon Gomperts (FutureFly / Point-7) and Brendan Lorho (FMX Racing / Point-7). 

Behind the leaders things are getting very tight. In the U21/U17 Boy’s Fleet, only 5 points separate Bimbi Clappers (Future Fly / S2Maui) in second from Storm Nicolai (Starboard / Duotone) in fourth with Tycho Smits (Future Fly / NeilPryde) sandwiched in the middle. 1.3 points separates the top two U17 Boy’s - repeating the battle from Aruba, but at this stage it’s Tycho leading over Storm. 

In the battle of the De Jong twins, its Kit De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde) who holds a commanding lead at this stage over Lone De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde). The 12-year-olds are separated by Louise van den Meulen (Starboard / NeilPryde) from Aruba who has found her form here in Bonaire and currently sits in third place. 

The fight for second place in the U15 Boy’s couldn’t be closer with only 0.7 separating Jaevian IJtsma from Barrie Sassen. Barrie had a good second day, scoring a string of second place finishes to jump up the ranking and apply pressure on Jaevian. 

Joey Ross continues to lead the U13 Boy’s and had extended the gap to 12 points over Julien Blom. The conditions were the most challenging yesterday for the smallest riders as their extremely light weight means pumping the sail is very difficult and so getting going and planing through the gusts can be challenging. Ross continued on his 4.5m - his favourite no matter the conditions and with perfect starts and good gybes, he maintained a steady pace throughout the course, where others were more sporadic in their performance. 

With 10 eliminations now complete and two days to go, it’s all still incredibly tight as the young guns battle it out on the beautiful Bonairean waters.

Arxon Gomperts was another standout sailor on the opening day. Leading the U15 Boy’s, he will be discarding a second and a first from today to give himself a perfect counting score.

In the U13 Boy’s, there have been some close battles between Joey Ross from Aruba and Julien Blom from Bonaire, at this stage, Ross is leading by 4 points, but there is all still to play for! 

In the Girl’s division it was an almost perfect day for Bobbi-Lynn De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde), but her younger sister Kit De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde) decided she wanted to spoil the party and capitalised on a mistake from Bobbi-Lynn to ultimately take the victory despite being only 12-years-old! Kit’s twin sister Lone De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde) also had a fantastic day - posting 2 x second places -which is also her best results to date.