La Torche PWA - Day 1

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Der Eröffnungstag des La Torche PWA Grand Slams versprach dank bester Vorhersage und Action am Tag zuvor wirklich sehr viel, doch es fanden nur der Swell den Weg in die Bucht von La Point de la Torche – der vorhergesagte Wind von 20-30 Knoten blieb leider aus. Bis 18:00 Uhr waren die Waver auf Stand-By, Robby Swift hatte um 15:00 Uhr genug gewartet und ging eine Runde surfen während Ricardo Campello um 17:00 Uhr den einzigen Windsurf Versuch unternahm und sich bei mehr oder weniger null Wind und masthohen Wellen nach draußen kämpfte. Ein, zwei Wellen gab es als Belohnung! Heute geht es weiter und die Vorhersage verspricht einiges – allerdings nur für die Wellen, der Wind sieht weiterhin leicht aus. Wir halten euch auf dem Laufenden – schaut auf jedenfall in den Livestream, den dieser macht qualitativ und soundtechnisch einiges her. ----------------------------------- The opening day of the La Torche PWA Grand Slam promised so much, with big waves and strong winds, between 20-30 knots forecast, but that isn’t quite how the day played out. Whilst, the swell was still evident – with over mast high sets rolling into the Bay of Audierne throughout the day – unfortunately the expected winds never arrived, leaving not only the sailors disappointed, but also the crowds that had gathered on the beach. The wave fleet registered between 9:30am-10:30am with the much anticipated forecast in mind, but then spent the remainder of the day on hold, before eventually being released at 6pm. Meanwhile, the slalom sailors registered for the upcoming eight days of competition from 12:30pm until 2:30pm, after a meeting with all sailors had been held to discuss the environmental concerning this being a green event. With the wave sailors still on standby – Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) – couldn’t resist the waves any longer and headed out for a regular surf at around 3pm, much to the joy of the crowds who had gathered, on what turned out to be a glorious sunny afternoon, with the weather proving to be more like summer than autumn. Shortly before 5pm – Ricardo Campello (Patrik / Point-7 / MFC) – became the first, and only sailor, to attempt to windsurf. After battling in the light winds, for half an hour, to make it out the back, Campello eventually managed to catch one or two waves, but once on the wave the Brazilian simply didn’t have the power to make the most of the wave on offers. With conditions unfortunately remaining unsuitable day one drew to a, quieter than expected close. The wind is forecast to be lighter than today with 10-15 knots being predicted for much of the day, but still with a significant swell of almost 3 metres at 13 seconds. However, tomorrow’s wind is supposed to be more onshore, which could make things tricky. Skippers’ meeting for the wave fleet tomorrow has been called for 9am with the first possible start at 9:30am. Meanwhile, the skippers’ meeting for the men’s and women’s slalom will be held at 10am with the action commencing from 11am, if conditions allow.