REGGIO CALABRIA PWA WORLD CUP
With Mount Etna providing a stunning backdrop and the elite of the PWA waiting patiently on the beach, Reggio Calabria is ready to explode into action when the wind returns. On the opening day of the event, competitors were greeted with light winds from the South. Late in the morning a few sailors were tempted out onto the water as there were some teasing gusts, however the wind never materialized enough to allow the competition to get underway.
With no competition taking place today the PWA took the opportunity to catch up with a few of the sailors. We first caught up with Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde).
PWA: How are you finding your new RRD boards?
Antoine Albeau
“Before I switched to RRD I had the opportunity to test the boards and the first time I tried them I liked them, so I was happy to change. I have been testing and training on the boards all winter so I feel very comfortable on the boards and I'm sure I will be competitive. Of course I want to reclaim the title”
PWA: What do you think of the location?
Antoine Albeau: “It is nice to come to a new location as it is always great to see a new place and meet new people. It is my first time to be so South in Italy, usually I am only at Lake Garda when I come to Italy. I arrived two days ago and yesterday I was able to sail for most of the day, when the wind was northerly and I liked the area to sail in. I managed to get out today in the south wind but it was not so good.”
We also spoke with the man behind Point-7, Andrea Cucchi (Point-7 / Patrik)
PWA: You were one of the first people to be pushing for an event in Reggio Calabria, how does it feel to finally have the event here?
Andrea Cucchi
“I am racing for the club here in Reggio Calabria and some years ago, the guys at the club were asking which event we should go for, I said for sure we should go for the windsurfing world cup. It’s been a hard job to make it happen but the guys here at the club were really pushing to make it happen. Roberto Raffa, who is the president of the club, has been trying to make it stage the event for the last two years, so it is quite amazing to see it, because I couldn’t believe it could be done and it has been done really well, as well.”
PWA: You have sailed here a lot, so how do you feel about your chances when the competition begins and what can we expect?
Andrea Cucchi: “I’ve been here a lot of times and we have had a lot of great racing, so we could have great action on the water. The only thing is that it is still only April and the thermal is not that strong yet. But for sure when the event happens next year, we will try to hold it in May or June, but I am sure it’s going to be windy in the next days, and particularly, Saturday looks like we should have a good day of racing.”
PWA: How happy are you with how the Point-7 brand is developing, because you’ve signed a couple of high profile sailors in the last few months.
Andrea Cucchi: “The last years we focused a lot on having the products ready and making sure we could offer a great service. This year the products are good, everything is working and we can concentrate on the team and building a real team.”
We also caught up with the one of the new additions to the Point-7 team, Josh Angulo (Angulo / Point-7)
PWA: Obviously you have recently signed with Point-7, how do you feel about the sails and the season overall?
Josh Angulo: ”I’m just really pleased, mainly with the dynamic quality of the team and Andrea as a boss, a friend and a fellow competitor. He’s helped me really get my passion back into what I'm doing and just to be who I am, it’s fresh, it’s new and it gives me a whole new slate to start on. I’m a little bit late getting prepared for the season, but honestly the equipment's working so good, you just rig it and go, so I'm feeling really confident for the upcoming year.”
The PWA would also like to pass on its thoughts to Oliver-Tom Schliemann (Starboard / Point-7), who broke his foot yesterday in preparation for the event. We wish Oliver a speedy recovery and hope that he is back on the water soon.
Having patiently waited on stand-by all day, the fleets were released at 5pm. The skippers meeting will be at 10am tomorrow morning with the first possible start being 10:30am.
Scope the action
For more information on all the entrants, and to keep up to date with every piece of the action, click on www.pwaworldtour.com
Here you can use our:- Live ticker service for heat-by-heat bulletins - Check live elimination ladders - View results - Read daily news summaries - Browse awesome action photo galleries
There’s also a dedicated event website which can be found @ www.pwaworldtourrc.com
Or for more information, please contact the PWA office via info@pwaworldtour.com