Day Two of the 2026 Bonaire PWA Youth Slalom World Cup saw another full day of racing as the trade winds once again delivered excellent racing conditions. The day started with the Fin fleet hitting the water first, which saw another three eliminations completed across all age groups, while during the afternoon the wind began to drop, so the decision was made to switch to Foil Slalom.
In the U21 division, Germany's Mario Boekstegers bounced after a somewhat mixed opening day by claiming two bullets from the three eliminations completed. However, Bonairean Tycho Smits (Future Fly / Point-7) continues to hold a commanding 10.1 point lead at the front of the back ahead of Storm Nicolai (Starboard / NeilPryde) and Diederik Leemans, who currently completes the top three. However, after his couple of victories earlier, Boekstegers has put himself in contention for the podium if he can maintain that level.
In the U17 fleet, the boys and girls are racing together, and Kit De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde) was once again the standout sailor as she regularly beat the boys across the finish line and she comfortably leads the U17 Girl’s division.
In the U17 Boy’s Fin, Arxon Gomperts (Future Fly / North Sails) continues to comfortably lead the event after winning eight of the eleven races completed thus far, but there was a bit of turn around on the second day as Adolfo Fernandez claimed two bullets and is now firmly in contention for the podium with just 1.7 points separating the Venezuelan and Curacao’s Thomas Michael.
In the U15 Boy’s Fin fleet, Kenny Abrahamsz continued his excellent form to strengthen his grip on the event lead after rattling off a brilliant hat-trick today, while the top three is currently completed by Bonaire’s Julien Blom and Curaçao's Adam Adriaans Tap at the close of play.
As the wind began to drop during the afternoon, the decision was made to switch to Foil Slalom, which allowed a further five eliminations to be completed.
In the U21 Boy’s Foil there is a great battle developing between Diederik Leemans and Tycho Smits with the two sailors continually exchanging bullets and second places, so after the opening five rounds Leemans holds a slender 1.3 point advantage at the top of the rankings.
In the U21 Girl’s fleet, Bobbi-Lynn De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde) is in command after winning four out of the five eliminations completed today, but her sister Kit De Jong, pushed her all the way and denied Bobbi-Lynn a clean sweep after winning Elimination 4.
With another windy forecast on the cards, the stage is set for an exciting third day in Bonaire as several divisions remain wide open. The skippers’ meeting has been set for 8:30am (GMT-4) with a first possible start at 9:30am.