Hvide Sande PWA World Cup
Summer returned on the second day in Hvide Sande, Denmark, with wall-to-wall sunshine and barely a breath of breeze, which was a start contrast to yesterday’s wet and windy conditions.
With the racing on hold Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic), Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) and Davy Scheffers (Tabou / GA Sails) provided the entertainment during the afternoon with an explosive display of tow-in freestyle.
Earlier in the day we caught up with a few sailors — including Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails) — who earned his best result in a single race yesterday:
PWA: What was your previous best result in a single elimination before now?
SK: “I had a few 5th places before but a podium position feels different.”
PWA: You clinched 3rd yesterday — can you talk us through the race a bit and how you felt afterwards/now?
SK: “Right before the start of the winners final I noticed that it was super crowded on the pin. Everybody wanted to start low because the line was biased. I decided to keep clear of the pack and start more towards the boat. Worse positioning, but it's easier to hit the start perfectly, which I did. Coming to the gybe in second the next reach was the most intense. I had a drag race to the mark number two with Matteo [Iachino] and Arnon [Dagan]. I had to let Matteo go but I could hold Arnon back. After a decent second gybe I just settled for 3rd place and defended it to the finish line. I'm really happy with the result. I know, that it's only one race and the week is still long but I had a big smile on my face on the last reach.”
PWA: What originally made you want to slalom race?
SK: “Well, I'm just into racing in general and the PWA Slalom World Cup is the best and most thrilling way to race a windsurf board in my opinion.”
PWA: Aim for the rest of the week/season?
SK: “My aim is to give everything in the upcoming races and enjoy my time on the water. Season wise I want to improve my ranking from last year.”
PWA: Thanks, Sebastian, all the best for the remainder of the week.
Lena Erdil (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360) will be hoping for better things tomorrow: “I was happy to qualify for the finals of the first places with all my heats, but a small tactical mistake at the buoy cost me dearly, so I finished the first day with a 7th place... not what I was hoping is but on the flip-side we still have 3 more racing days ahead so hopefully lots more action to come.”
Kurosh Kiani (Starboard / Point-7) enjoying competing on home waters: “Yesterday we started off a memorable event - a PWA World Cup in Denmark. It’s simply amazing to be racing all the guys I normally compete with here in local grounds.
The first few days was spent getting our Danish Point-7 team to kick ass in the long distance which was the original "WaterZ" event here in Hvide Sande, and from yesterday, it’s been all about racing. With a crazy rainy forecast, we managed to complete one elimination round. I had to start in the very first heat because of my low seeding, but I managed to get through to the quarterfinals, where I was looking good to advance, but my boom clipped the last gybe buoy and I slowed down, which resulted in me being overtaken by two guys.. Will try to avoid that from now on. 3 more days to go, and some good winds coming during this week. Its damn great to be back and racing at home!”
Oda Johanne (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) happy with a bright start with plenty of potential for even better: “Great racing yesterday here in Hvide Sande, Denmark! A huge battle with 31 girls. So far I'm in 9th place. Yesterday I finished second in the first round and unfortunately I missed out on the winners’ final by one place after struggling to get planing after a great start in the semifinal, but I’m still glad to finish 2nd place in the losers’ final! More racing tomorrow!”
The forecast looks excellent for tomorrow with the promise of 15-20 knot southwesterly winds for the majority of the day, which should ensure an action packed day three. The sailors will meet again tomorrow morning at 9am for the skippers’ meeting with the action commencing from 9:30am (GMT+2). Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to follow all of the exhilarating racing as it happens via the PWA live stream.
To see all the latest from the event — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.