Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam
Day 7 of the 2017 Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam saw Sylt produce virtually every variation of conditions you can imagine. The day started off with glassy waves and barely a breath of wind meaning a few sailors snuck in an early doors surf before the wind began to swing cross offshore as forecast which tempted numerous sailors out on the water for a down-the-line wave session. The wind then continued to pick up and slowly swing more and more onshore until the early evening. The men’s wave final was held in starboard tack cross-on winds and Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / NorthSails / Shamal Sunglasses) shone again as he produced another superb display to secure the event victory!
Double Elimination
Women’s
The opening two rounds of the women’s double elimination were completed in challenging conditions with the wind swinging more onshore than earlier in the day. Caterina Stenta (RRD / RRD Sails / Maui Ultra Fins), Justyna Sniady (Simmer / Simmer Sails / Mystic) and Steffi Wahl (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) all won their opening heat in the second round to progress into at least joint 7th place, while Lena Erdil (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360) won both of her heats today as she dispatched of Serena Zoia (99NoveNove / LoftSails) and Caroline Weber (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg / Maui Ultra Fins) and she will now face Wahl in the next round.
Men’s
Final
Victor Fernandez successfully defended his single elimination lead by defeating Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing) in the final, which was held in solid starboard tack winds and decent waves. Browne made the better start to the final as he landed a brilliant double forward, but Fernandez soon hit back with a sick table forward and an excellent double of his own. Browne actually edged the jumping by just over half a point, but never looked quite in tune with the waves, while Fernandez shone again just as he did yesterday. The Spaniard connected with 4 frontside turns on one wave to earn 8 points and linked together a solid 6 point wave with his final ride to defeat Browne. After the port tack conditions yesterday both sailors showcased their world class talent on starboard tack as they made the difficult conditions look much easier than it actually was. Victory here sees Fernandez finish as the vice-world champion, while Browne completes the overall podium for the second year in a row after another fine display.
Freestyle
Men’s
Double Elimination
The third round of the men’s double elimination was also competed in starboard tack conditions which favoured some sailors more than others.
In the opening heat of the day Yentel Caers (JP / Point-7) made a successful start to his comeback through the double after powering past Loick Spicher (RRD / RRD Sails), while Giovanni Passani (Tabou / GA Sails / AL360) claimed a narrow victory over Nicolas Akgazciyan (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails / Maui Ultra Fins).
Heat 39a saw a bit of an upset as Philip Soltysiak (Starboard / Sailworks) suffered an earlier than expected defeat against Italy’s Francesco Cappuzzo (RRD / RRD Sails / AL360), while Tonky Frans (RRD / RRD Sails) proved too strong for Nic Hibdige (Tabou / GA Sails).
Heat 40 was cancelled at the first attempt due the wind dropping, which was not well received by Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails) who had still managed to post a score of 110 points, but the Frenchman put that frustration behind him to defeat Max Rowe again (Simmer / Simmer Sails / Mystic), while on the b-side Youp Schmit (99NoveNove / Avanti) produced a late flurry of moves to come back and win against Yegor Popretinskiy (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins).
Davy Scheffers (Tabou / GA Sails) seemed to revel in the starboard tack conditions as he produced a dominant aerial display consisting of a backloop, shaka, shifty and pasko to defeat Steven Van Broeckhoven (JP / NeilPryde), who almost looked to be trying to go too big which resulted in too many crashes and the Belgian was crucially missing a move on starboard tack, which cost him dearly. The b-side saw Riccardo Marca (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) produce a safe, but ultimately effective display, as he knocked out Julien Mas (JP / Gun Sails).
With the wind expected to be more side shore over the next two days, the decision was made to end the day slightly earlier and save both the conclusion of the men’s freestyle and women’s wave until then. Skippers’ meeting times for tomorrow: All times (GMT+2)
- Freestyle & Wave - 9am - first possible start 9:30am
- Slalom - 10am - first possible start 11am
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Result Men’s Wave Mercedes-Benz PWA Super Grand Slam - Double Elimination
1st Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / NorthSails / Shamal Sunglasses)
2nd Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing)
3rd Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins)
4th Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD Sails)
5th Adam Lewis (Fanatic / NorthSails / SWOX)
6th Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Sunglasses)
7th Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails)
7th Aleix Sanllehy (Tabou / GA Sails)
9th Leon Jamaer (JP / NeilPryde)
9th Alessio Stillrich (Fanatic / NorthSails)
9th Ricardo Campello (Point-7 / Aeron)
9th Marc Paré (Simmer / Simmer Sails)