Ulsan PWA World Cup - Day 2
The wind arrives late to bring Jinha Beach to life
The best opportunity for wind on the second day in South Korea always looked liked being in the late afternoon or evening and that’s exactly how it played out. After a still and extremely hazy start to proceedings the fog eventually cleared and the wind slowly increased, however, it wasn’t until just before 6:30pm that the first heat was completed, in 8-14 knots, as the temperature plummeted during the evening to aid the cause — allowing the opening 7 heats of the men’s first elimination for be completed before fading light brought an end to play. Elimination One Men’s Heat 1 was completed at the second time of asking and just as in the first attempt it was Bruno Martini (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360) who held the lead from the word go. The Italian showed terrific straight line speed to qualify in style for the next round ahead of Daisuke Ikoma (RRD / NeilPryde), Laurence Carey (Fanatic / North) and Ramon Pastor (Tabou / Loft Sails) — who won the battle for the final qualifying place. In Heat 2 Japan’s Norio Asano (RRD / NeilPryde) led from start to finish as he qualified ahead of Michal Aftowicz (Point-7), Jan Kosmina (Starboard / Point-7) and Andrea Ferin (RRD / Challenger Sails) — who produced an excellent gybe at the penultimate mark to overtake Janis Preiss. Nicolas Warembourg (JP / NeilPryde) looked in impressive form in Heat 3 as the Frenchman secured a clinical victory by showing blistering speed and tidy gybes to finish well ahead of Fred Morin (Starboard / NeilPryde), Tomonori Anami (Starboard / Severne) and local boy Hyung-Kwon Kim (RRD / Point-7). Vincent Langer (Fanatic / Point-7) also led from start to finish in the last heat of the opening round, while Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) produced a superb first gybe to move into second place ahead of Akihiko Yamada (Starboard / Loft Sails) and Shinya Kunieda (Starboard / Loft Sails), who completed the top 4. Bruno Martini continued his winning ways in Heat 5 with another accomplished display to see off the challenge of Laurence Carey, Kurosh Kiani (Starboard / Point-7) and Andrea Rosati (North), who also qualify for round 3. The Italian changed sponsors over the winter and appears to have made a seamless transition onto his new gear. Reaching the first mark in the top four proved critical in the light winds and Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7) made a bright start as he too led from start to finish as he pressed home the advantage of clean wind. Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) and Maciek Rutkowski (Tabou / GA Sails) made no mistakes to ensure their place in the next round — qualifying in second and third place respectively — while Benjamin Augé (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) capitalised on Andrea Ferin’s mistake at the last to clinch the final qualifying place in round 3. Heat 7 proved to be the final heat of the day and it was Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / North), who came out on top as the Dutchman also led from start to finish to advance. Meanwhile, Nicolas Warembourg, Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde) and Josh Angulo (Angulo) completed the top 4. With the light rapidly fading day two was called to an end and the sailors will meet again tomorrow morning at 8:30am for the skippers’ meeting — with the action commencing from 9am if conditions allow. The forecast looks better for tomorrow, compared to today, so with a bit of luck there will be a full schedule of racing on the agenda. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to follow all of the action live. 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.