2023 PWA World Cup Japan Tag 5

14 11.2023
Nach einem dramatischen Finaltag, an dem Johan Søe disqualifiziert wurde, werden Blanca Alabau & Matteo Iachino zu Weltmeistern gekrönt, während Lina Er?en & Amado Vrieswijk den Event gewinnen.
Das Drehbuch für den Finaltag des 2023 Fly ANA Yokosuka, Miura Windsurf World Cups hätte man nicht spannender schreiben können, denn was als wunderschöner sonniger Morgen begann, wurde schon bald von einer gewissen Spannung abgelöst, als sich herausstellte, dass es einige Unstimmigkeiten bei der registrierten Ausrüstung eines bestimmten Fahrers gab, die nicht innerhalb der erlaubten Fehlertoleranz lagen, Dies führte leider zur Disqualifikation des zu diesem Zeitpunkt Führenden der World Tour - Johan Søe (FMX Racing / Point-7 / F4 Foils) - eine Erklärung zur Disqualifikation von Johan finden Sie am Ende dieser Seite. Women’s Lina Eržen’s (Starboard / Severne Sails) debut on the PWA Slalom World Tour couldn’t have gone much better with the 18-year-old winning 4 consecutive bullets to deservedly earn her first win on the World Tour. The young Slovenian won 4 out of the 6 eliminations completed and that could’ve even been five if it wasn’t for her dropping her final gybe when leading Elimination 2 and she looks an exciting prospect for years to come.  With no further racing being completed on the final day in Japan that means that Blanca Alabau (Starboard / Severne Sails) walks away from 2023 as the Women’s PWA Slalom world champion for the first time in her career. The Spaniard has enjoyed a fantastic year - winning one event and finishing on the podium in all the other events and she can now relax and enjoy her achievements.  Justine Lemeteyer (FMX Racing / S2Maui) finishes the season as the vice-world champion for the second consecutive year, while Marion Mortefon (Duotone / Duotone Sails) completes the prestigious overall podium.  Men’s Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails) has come so close to winning a second world title on numerous occasions since earning his first world crown in 2016 and it looked like he may cruelly miss out on another world title on countback. However, with the developments which followed later today, that means that the Italian’s wait for a second world title is now over and no-one could begrudge Iachino a second world title. The Italian was tied on points with Søe at the end of the season and he has been incredibly consistent - earning 3 podiums from 5 events, while his worst result was a 6th in Italy at the start of the year, so he deservedly earns his second world crown after so many near misses.  Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) backed up his event victory in Sylt with another victory in Japan to sign off the season in style, which sees the Bonairean finish 2023 as the vice-world champion as his racing continues to go from strength-to-strength, while Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) completes the overall podium. We'll have a full round up in the event summary later this week. Official Statement Regarding Johan Søe’s Disqualification Following equipment inspection of the top riders at the PWA Slalom Finals in Japan, Danish sailor Johan Soe, DEN-37, was unfortunately found to have been using a sail that had been modified from its original factory specification and that did not meet the registered specification for the sail, including allowances for all measurement tolerances. As such, under the rules regarding production equipment on the PWA Slalom World Tour, the protest committee had no choice but to disqualify Johan from the final event in Japan. Whilst we sympathise with Johan to have lost the World Title under such circumstances, the rules are clear and the facts surrounding the modification of the sails, and the discrepancy between the registered specifications of the sails, and the sails Johan was using, are not in question.  The PWA takes the rules surrounding production equipment seriously and respects the efforts of the vast majority of brands and riders to adhere to the rules and compete fairly. As such, to ignore the use of equipment that had been physically modified and that did not meet the registered specification would have been unacceptable with respect to the fundamental principles of the rules. Offizielle Erklärung zur Disqualifikation von Johan Søe Nach der Ausrüstungskontrolle der Top-Fahrer beim PWA Slalom Finale in Japan wurde leider festgestellt, dass der dänische Segler Johan Søe, DEN-37, ein Segel benutzte, das gegenüber der ursprünglichen Werksspezifikation modifiziert worden war und nicht der registrierten Spezifikation für das Segel entsprach, einschließlich der Toleranzen für alle Messungen. Daher hatte das Protestkomitee keine andere Wahl, als Johan gemäß den Regeln für Serienmaterial auf der PWA Slalom World Tour vom letzten Event in Japan zu disqualifizieren. Obwohl wir mit Johan mitfühlen, dass er den Weltmeistertitel unter diesen Umständen verloren hat, sind die Regeln klar und die Fakten rund um die Modifikation der Segel und die Diskrepanz zwischen den registrierten Spezifikationen der Segel und den Segeln, die Johan benutzte, stehen nicht in Frage. Die PWA nimmt die Regeln für Serienausrüstung ernst und respektiert die Bemühungen der großen Mehrheit der Marken und Fahrer, sich an die Regeln zu halten und einen fairen Wettbewerb zu führen. Daher wäre es im Hinblick auf die grundlegenden Prinzipien der Regeln inakzeptabel gewesen, die Verwendung von Ausrüstung zu ignorieren, die physisch modifiziert wurde und nicht der registrierten Spezifikation entsprach. Result 2023 Fly! ANA Yokosuka, Miura Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Slalom 1st Lina Eržen (SLO | Starboard / Severne Sails) 
2nd Blanca Alabau (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails)
3rd Justine Lemeteyer (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
4th Marion Mortefon (FRA | Duotone / Duotone Sails) 
5th Helle Oppedal (NOR | Starboard / Severne Sails)
Result 2023 Fly! ANA Yokosuka, Miura Windsurf World Cup - Men’s Slalom 1st Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Severne Sails)  2nd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails) 3rd Daniele Benedetti (ITA | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails / F4 Foils)  4th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) 5th Bruno Martini (ITA | JP / NeilPryde) 6th Michele Becker (GER | Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils) 7th Cedric Bordes (FRA | Severne / Severne Sails)  8th Nico Prien (GER | JP / NeilPryde) 

2023 PWA World Cup Japan Tag 4

13 11.2023
Amado Vrieswijk & Lina Eržen setzen sich an die Spitze der Weltrangliste, während Blanca Alabau & Johan Søe auf dem Weg zu ihrem ersten Weltmeistertitel bleiben.
Mehr Dramatik gab es am vorletzten Tag des 2023 Fly! ANA Yokosuka, Miura Windsurf World Cup, als zwei weitere Eliminations für die Männer- und Frauen bei Windstärken zwischen 8 und 28 Knoten ausgetragen wurden - wobei der stärkere Wind wie üblich am Morgen wehte, bevor er langsam nachließ. Nach Abschluss der Wettkämpfe hat sich Lina Er?en (Starboard / Severne Sails) an die Spitze der Rangliste bei den Frauen gesetzt, während Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) bei den Männern die Pole-Position übernommen hat - zumindest für diesen Event. Women’s Lina Er?en continued her dream Slalom debut as the 18-year-old secured back-to-back bullets in the two eliminations completed today to deservedly rise to the top of the event rankings. Eržen’s level of sailing has been nothing short of sensational with the young Slovenian now having won the last four eliminations and she holds a 3.9 point advantage at the top of the rankings and it looks as though she will walk away from Japan with her first event victory - barring any disaster. Blanca Alabau (Starboard / Severne Sails) is Eržen’s closest challenger and she’ll be more than happy with that as with Er?en winning it makes it mathematically impossible for the Spaniard to be beaten to a maiden world title. Alabau didn’t enjoy her best day with a fourth and an eighth, but in the grand scheme of things it looks like that will be irrelevant.  Justine Lemeteyer (FMX Racing / S2Maui) started the day leading the event, but finishes the penultimate day ranked third, which likely all but ends her slim world title chances. Lemeteyer had to win the event and hope that Alabau finished third or worse to be able to snatch the title, but unfortunately, things started to unravel in Elimination 5 as when pushing to reel in Er?en on the last reach of the winners’ final she catapulted - resulting in her dropping from second to eighth, which cost her valuable ground in the title race, but as things stand she would finish the year as the vice-world champion. Elsewhere, Marion Mortefon (Duotone / Duotone) enjoyed her best day of racing so far as she recorded a second and third to remain in fourth place, while Helle Oppedal (Starboard / Severne Sails) still completes the top five.  Men’s Amado Vrieswijk seemingly loves striking late in events and it looks like the Bonairean may do the same again here in Japan. In Sylt in 2022 and ’23, Vrieswijk snatched the victory in the final elimination and the former Freestyle world champion may have done the same today after securing his second bullet of the event in Elimination 6 - which may yet prove to be the last elimination of the event based on the forecast. The 27-year-old could’ve also won Elimination 5, but dropped his last gybe after accidentally hooking in mid gybe when in the clear. Vrieswijk made a somewhat miraculous recovery to still finish third, which gives Vrieswijk a slender one-point lead heading into the final day as he looks to make it back-to-back event victories for the first time.  Johan Søe (FMX Racing / Point-7 / F4 Foils) looked to have taken a massive stride towards securing a maiden world title after finishing in a solid second place in Elimination 4. However, things weren’t to be quite so plain sailing with the young Dane being eliminated in the semifinals of the next race after ending up in the drink at mark one, which opened up the door slightly for his rivals. Credit where credit is due though as Søe refused to be rattled and clinched second in the b-final - 10th overall for Elimination 5 - to limit the damage. As things stand Søe is 1 point off the top of the event ranking, while more importantly, he holds a 3.6 point lead over Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails), so he remains in the driving seat for the world title, but you can never rule out more racing tomorrow despite the forecast, so there is still time for things to change.  Fine Margins Matteo Iachino may be left to rue a dropped gybe at the second buoy in the opening semifinal of the day if there is to be no further racing. The Italian was leading the heat as he rounded the second mark, but crucially fell when gybing into a wind hole, so he went from comfortably qualifying for the winners’ final to completely missing out after finishing seventh, which could prove crucial in deciding this year’s world title. Iachino eventually finished 11th in Elimination 5 and then did well to fight back in the next elimination to claim third. As things stand a fourth place finish in Elimination 5 would’ve been enough to put him in the lead for the world title - something he has achieved in 4 out of the 6 eliminations completed thus far - but would currently miss out on a second world crown on countback for the second consecutive season. As the saying goes: “It’s not over until the fat lady sings.”, but he will need to pray for wind tomorrow.  Elsewhere, Daniele Benedetti (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails / F4 Foils), climbs one place from the overnight rankings into fourth after earning his first bullet on the World Tour in Elimination 5, which keeps him on course for a best event result.  Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) was absolutely devastated to miss out on the opening winners’ final of the day after being beaten in a photo-finish by Scotty Stallman (Tabou / GA Sails / F4 Foils) for the last qualifying position. Rutkowski would go on to win the b-final before signing off the day with a second place in Elimination 6, which is good enough to see him climb to fifth in the event rankings.  The top 10 is currently completed by; Bruno Martini (JP / NeilPryde), Michele Becker (Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils), Cedric Bordes (Severne / Severne Sails / Patrik Foils), Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde) and Pierre Mortefon (Duotone / Duotone / Phantom Foils). The forecast for tomorrow doesn’t look very promising on paper with just 4-7 knots currently predicted during the morning, but as ever you never know what is going to happen, so we will just wait and see. The sailors will meet for the last skippers’ meeting of the event at 10 (GMT+9) tomorrow morning with a first possible start at 10:30am. You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Japan— including live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page. Current Event Ranking 2023 Fly! ANA Yokosuka, Miura Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Slalom
*After 6 Eliminations
1st Lina Eržen (SLO | Starboard / Severne Sails) 
2nd Blanca Alabau (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails)
3rd Justine Lemeteyer (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
4th Marion Mortefon (FRA | Duotone / Duotone Sails) 
5th Helle Oppedal (NOR | Starboard / Severne Sails)
Current Event Ranking 2023 Fly! ANA Yokosuka, Miura Windsurf World Cup - Men’s Slalom
*After 6 Eliminations
1st Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Severne Sails) 
2nd Johan Søe (DEN | FMX Racing / Point-7 / F4 Foils)
3rd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
4th Daniele Benedetti (ITA | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails / F4 Foils) 
5th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
6th Bruno Martini (ITA | JP / NeilPryde)
7th Michele Becker (GER | Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils)
8th Cedric Bordes (FRA | Severne / Severne Sails) 
9th Nico Prien (GER | JP / NeilPryde) 
10th Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Duotone / Duotone Sails / Phantom Foils)
 

2023 PWA World Cup Japan Tag 3

12 11.2023
Eröffnungsrunde der fünften Elimination der Männer nach nur kurzer Windphase beendet.
Leider hat sich das frühe Skippers' Meeting am dritten Tag des 2023 Fly! ANA Yokosuka, Miura Windsurf World Cup nicht ausgezahlt, da der Wind von einem düsteren Himmel und Nieselregen verdrängt wurde, während die Temperaturen durchgehend kühl blieben. Nachdem der Vormittag in der Warteschleife verbracht wurde, besserte sich die Lage am Nachmittag ein wenig, als es anfing, aufzuhellen, was kurz vor 14 Uhr mit Windstärken von 7 bis 14 Knoten auf dem Kurs für Aufregung sorgte. Leider hielt der Wind nicht lange genug an, um eine ganze Elimination zu beenden, aber die erste Runde der fünften Elimination der Männer wurde beendet. In the opening heat, Cyril Evrard (JP / NeilPryde) won the heat ahead of Lohan Jules (Future Fly / S2Maui / Phantom Foils), while Sota Kanagami (Severne / Severne Sails), Wearn Haw Tan (Severne Sails) secure the remaining qualifying positions into the quarterfinals. After yesterday’s quarterfinal exit in Elimination 4, current event and World Tour leader - Johan Søe (FMX Racing / Point-7 / F4 Foils) - found himself in the opening round of Elimination 5, but the Dane didn’t make any mistakes as he cruised to a decisive victory ahead of Lo Jun Hao (Starboard / Severne Sails), youth world champion John Soukos (RRD / RRD Sails) and Anami Kenta (Future Fly / Point-7). Michele Becker (Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils) also made no mistake in booking his place in the quarterfinals as the German cruised to victory in Heat 3 ahead of Jimmy Thieme (Duotone / Duotone Sails), Makoto Tomizawa (Starboard / Severne Sails) and Tomonori Anami (Starboard / Severne Sails). In what turned out to be the last heat of the day, Bruno Martini (JP / NeilPryde) comfortably booked his place in the quarterfinals as he strolled to victory in Heat 4 ahead of Elia Colombo (Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils), Akihiko Yamada (Patrik / Loftsails) and Kouichiro Kaku (Starboard / Severne Sails), who secured the last qualifying place into tomorrow’s quarterfinals.  Heat 5 was started a couple of times, but there was a premature start on both occasions, which led to Wearn Haw Tan being disqualified followed by Lohan Jules. With the wind not getting any better, the sailors were released shortly after 3pm. The forecast for tomorrow looks much more promising with clearer skies and northeasterly winds between 17-20 knots currently predicted for the morning, which means the sailors will have another bright and early start with the skippers’ meeting being called for 7:30am (GMT+9) with the action commencing from 8am onwards - conditions depending.  You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Japan— including live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page. Current Event Ranking 2023 Fly! ANA Yokosuka, Miura Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Slalom
*After 4 Eliminations
1st Justine Lemeteyer (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
2nd Blanca Alabau (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails)
3rd Lina Eržen (SLO | Starboard / Severne Sails)
4th Helle Oppedal (NOR | Starboard / Severne Sails)
5th Marion Mortefon (FRA | Duotone / Duotone Sails)
Current Event Ranking 2023 Fly! ANA Yokosuka, Miura Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Slalom
*After 4 Eliminations
1st Johan Søe (DEN | FMX Racing / Point-7 / F4 Foils)
2nd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
3rd Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Severne Sails)
4th Bruno Martini (ITA | JP / NeilPryde)
5th Daniele Benedetti (ITA | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails / F4 Foils)
6th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
7th Cedric Bordes (FRA | Severne / Severne Sails)
8th Alexis Mathis (FRA | Tabou / GA Sails)
9th Alexandre Cousin (FRA | Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils)
10th Nico Prien (GER | JP / NeilPryde)

2023 PWA World Cup Japan Tag 2

11 11.2023
Ein Tag mit vielen Wendungen, an dem sowohl die Weltmeisterschaftsrennen der Männer als auch der Frauen auf Messers Schneide stehen, nachdem die Winde von über 30 Knoten bis zu 7 Knoten die ultimative Prüfung darstellten.
Die Vorhersage für den zweiten Tag der 2023 Fly! ANA Yokosuka, Miura Windsurf World Cup enttäuschte nicht, denn sowohl bei den Männern als auch bei den Frauen wurden jeweils vier Eliminationen ausgetragen. Der heutige Tag erwies sich als echter Test mit tückisch kabbeligen Wasser und Winden von mehr als 30 Knoten, die die Teilnehmer gleich am Morgen begrüßten, bevor der Wind im Laufe des Tages langsam auf 7-15 Knoten abflaute. Die Dramatik nahm jedoch mit dem Wind nicht ab, und gegen Ende des Tages kam es zu einigen bedeutenden Veränderungen, die sich in den Rennen um die jeweiligen Weltmeistertitel noch als entscheidend erweisen könnten. Women’s With Justine Lemeteyer (FMX Racing / S2Maui) heading up the event rankings on countback over Blanca Alabau (Starboard / Severne Sails) at the end of the first day of racing, that leaves the world title finely balanced. As things stand, Alabau leads the race for the world title on 30,700 points, while Lemeteyer closes to within just 100 points after recording a bullet, two seconds and a 6th - which she discards. Alabau enjoyed an extremely solid day - not finishing outside the top three once - with results of one bullet, two seconds and third, which keeps her in control, for now at least. However, with Lina Eržen (Starboard / Severne Sails), who you may be more familiar with from the Freestyle world or iQFoil, not just making her debut on the PWA Slalom World Tour, but also making a significant impact, which saw the 18-year-old claim back-to-back bullets in Eliminations 3 and 4, she could still yet play a major role in determining the outcome of the world title race.  The young Slovenian is just 1.7 points off the lead, so if she was to leapfrog Alabau into second place that would see Lemeteyer move into the world title race lead - assuming Lemeteyer continues to lead the event. However, if Eržen was to jump to the top of the event rankings, that would then swing the world title race back in the favour of Alabau, so it’s safe to say that there could still be plenty of twists and turns to come in the title race yet.  Eržen, meanwhile, looked extremely impressive and things could have been even better for her, but she dropped her final gybe when leading Elimination 2. If she continues the kind of form she showed today then not only could she play a major role in deciding the world title, but she could also mount a serious challenge for the event title.  Elsewhere, Helle Oppedal (Starboard / Severne Sails) made a consistent return to the World Tour with two thirds and two fourths respectively, to be ranked 4th in the overnight rankings, while Marion Mortefon (Duotone / Duotone Sails) didn’t make the start she would’ve wanted after crashing when leading the opening semifinal, which saw her miss out on the first final. The reigning world champion must win the event to have any shot at defending her world title, and while that is certainly not out of the question, she will need to click into top gear quickly if she is to reduce the 7.3 point deficit she is currently posed with.  Sana Saeki (JP / NeilPryde) and Fujiko Onishi (Future Fly / Point-7) are currently the top two Japanese sailors - ranked 6th and 7th respectively.  Men’s At the close of play, Johan Søe (FMX Racing / Point-7 / F4 Foils) leads both the event ranking and the battle for the world title, but that doesn’t quite tell the full story. The 20-year-old made a spectacular start to the event by claiming an excellent second in the opener before powering to back-to-back bullets to take a stranglehold over the event. At this stage, Søe looked to be in total control and in almost unstoppable form.  However, that’s when things took a potentially decisive twist as the young Dane dropped off the foil after the opening gybe in the last quarterfinal of Elimination 4 - and with no cancellation flag coming to his rescue, a quarterfinal exit soon beckoned. That in itself doesn’t represent a problem as Søe simply discards that result to currently sit on 3.4 points at the top of the rankings with a healthy 5.6 point advantage. However, it does greatly reduce his margin for error as another poor result could see him plummet down the rankings, while throwing the world title race wide open, and ending his own. The man who stands to gain the most at the moment is Matteo Iachino (Starboard  / Severne Sails) with the Italian currently tied with Søe on 40,500 points, so any change in the event ranking has huge implications. The 2016 world champion was the only sailor to qualify for every winners’ final today - recording a second, third and a fourth - while he discards a 7th, which puts him in quite a powerful position as he can potentially try and risk more in the next race to really apply the pressure at the top of the rankings. Even ‘just’ qualifying for another winners’ final would give Iachino tremendous breathing room compared to Søe - at least until 7 Eliminations are completed as the second discard would then come into play.  As things stand - Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) - would jump up into 3rd place in the overall world rankings. The Bonairean began the event with a statement of intent as he struck first blood by winning the opening elimination, but he then had a couple of racing incidents when well placed in Eliminations 2 and 4, which could potentially cost him dearly. Vrieswijk did well to limit the damage after missing out on the winners’ final of the last elimination, but must be gutted that he couldn’t totally capitalise on Søe’s unexpected early exit.  Fellow world title candidate - Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) experienced a day he’d probably rather forget with the defending world champion slipping from 1st to 4th in the overall rankings - as things stand. The Pole bounced back brilliantly after missing the opening winners’ final by securing second place, but was then extremely unlucky to hit a submerged object in the run up area in the semifinals of Elimination 3, which meant he not only missed the start of the heat, but also damaged a foil and cut his arm. Rutkowski ends the day ranked 6th in the event rankings and would need other results to fall firmly in his favour if he is to force himself back into world title race contention. Stranger things have happened, so never say never.  Bruno Martini (JP / NeilPryde) finishes the day ranked fourth, but will probably be frustrated the he inadvertently sailed the wrong quarterfinal - sailing Heat 7 instead of 8, which even more annoyingly for him he won, but was later disqualified for. That means that he has a 49 point discard looming over his head, much like Søe. Meanwhile, fellow countryman - Daniele Benedetti (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails / F4 Foils) - enjoyed arguably his best day to date on the World Tour - currently ranked 5th after qualifying for 3 winners’ finals out of 4.  Will McMillan (Starboard / Challenger Sails / Patrik Foils) was making his first appearance since winning the opening event of the year in Lake Garda and the 17-year-old experienced a turbulent day. McMillan missed the opening race after having issues fitting his foil, while in Elimination 2 he crashed on the entry to the first mark, which left Benedetti with nowhere to go. Fortunately, McMillan flew clear of his gear, while both he and Benedetti suffered damaged equipment, but not to themselves . Without having enough time to find a new foil, McMillan missed out again in Elimination 3, but then came storming back in Elimination 4. Originally he thought he had been eliminated in the quarterfinals, but that was the heat Bruno Martini incorrectly sailed, so he understandably packed up for the day, only to be reinstated in 4th place. Cue a mad dash of rigging etc and the young Thai soon showed the form he demonstrated in Garda - powering to the front of the pack in both the semifinals and finals to claim a decisive bullet.  Elsewhere, Cedric Bordes (Severne / Severne Sails) enjoyed his best day for a long time - and without doubt his best day ever on the foil. The Frenchman clicked in to top gear today with perfectly timed starts and an excellent top speed making him a force to be reckoned with, which resulted in him finishing third in the last two races to jump into the event top 10 - 7th. The current event top 10 is completed by - Alexis Mathis (Tabou / GA Sails), Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / Patrik / Patrik Sails) and Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde). Unfortunately, it looks as though Pierre Mortefon’s (Duotone / Duotone / Phantom Foils) world title challenge for this year has more than likely to come an end for the with the 2019 world champion currently ranked 12th for the event.  Just like last year here in Yokosuka, the best wind is seemingly more often in the morning and that’s how the forecast looks again for Sunday with moderate northeasterly winds being predicted until about 1pm local time. With this in mind the sailors will meet again at 8am (GMT-9) tomorrow with the action commencing from 8:30am onwards. You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Japan— including live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page. Current Event Ranking 2023 Fly! ANA Yokosuka, Miura Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Slalom
*After 4 Eliminations
1st Justine Lemeteyer (FRA | FMX Racing / S2Maui)
2nd Blanca Alabau (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails)
3rd Lina Eržen (SLO | Starboard / Severne Sails)
4th Helle Oppedal (NOR | Starboard / Severne Sails)
5th Marion Mortefon (FRA | Duotone / Duotone Sails)
Current Event Ranking 2023 Fly! ANA Yokosuka, Miura Windsurf World Cup - Women’s Slalom
*After 4 Eliminations
1st Johan Søe (DEN | FMX Racing / Point-7 / F4 Foils)
2nd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
3rd Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Severne Sails)
4th Bruno Martini (ITA | JP / NeilPryde)
5th Daniele Benedetti (ITA | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails / F4 Foils)
6th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
7th Cedric Bordes (FRA | Severne / Severne Sails)
8th Alexis Mathis (FRA | Tabou / GA Sails)
9th Alexandre Cousin (FRA | Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils)
10th Nico Prien (GER | JP / NeilPryde)

2023 PWA/IWT Cold Hawaii Youth WC

20 10.2023
Die Gewinner des 2023 PWA/IWT Cold Hawaii Youth Windsurf World Cups wurden offiziell ermittelt.
Am fünften Tag des 2023 PWA/IWT Cold Hawaii Youth Windsurf World Cups fand die offizielle Siegerehrung statt, bei der die jeweiligen Gewinner ausgezeichnet wurden, um eine weitere hervorragende Veranstaltung in Cold Hawaii abzuschließen. Danke an die Teilnehmer, an alle freiwilligen Helfer und auch an diejenigen, die die Veranstaltung unterstützt haben - ohne sie könnte eine solche Veranstaltung nicht stattfinden. Thy hat sich wieder einmal von seiner besten Seite gezeigt und bewiesen, warum es ein so attraktiver Ort für Windsurfer und Wassersportbegeisterte ist. In ganz Europa kann man leicht windigere Orte und viele Orte mit besseren Wellen finden, aber es gibt nicht viele Orte, an denen diese beiden Dinge Hand in Hand gehen und fast immer gute Wellen bieten, wenn es guten Wind gibt. Result U20 Boy’s PWA/IWT Cold Hawaii Youth World Cup 2023 1st Liam Dunkerbeck (ESP | Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
2nd Tobias Bjørnaa (DEN | Duotone / Duotone Sails)
3rd Marlon Maethner (GER | Duotone / Duotone Sails)
4th Hannes Gobisch (GER | Duotone / Duotone Sails) Result U17 Boy’s PWA/IWT Cold Hawaii Youth World Cup 2023 1st Carlos Kiefer Quintana (GER | Duotone / Duotone Sails)
2nd Leon Maethner (GER | Duotone / Duotone Sails)
3rd Ryu Noguchi (JPN | Starboard / Severne Sails / Black Project Fins)
4th Fernando Sottile 
Result U15 Boy’s PWA/IWT Cold Hawaii Youth World Cup 2023 1st Peter Gobisch (GER | Duotone / Duotone Sails)
2nd Bjorn Olesen (DEN | Severne / Severne Sails)
3rd Javier Escribano Toribio (ESP | Goya Windsurfing)
4th Emil Skov Nielsen (DEN | Simmer)
Result U13 Boy’s PWA/IWT Cold Hawaii Youth World Cup 2023 1st Mika Henning (GER | Ezzy)
2nd Liam Calo (ITA | Severne / Severne Sails)
3rd Anton Gobish (GER | Duotone / Duotone Sails)
4th Lorenzo Raisa (RRD)
Result U20 Girl’s PWA/IWT Cold Hawaii Youth World Cup 2023 1st Sol Degrieck (BEL | Severne / Severne Sails)
2nd Emma Miron (DEN | Sailloft Hamburg)
3rd Trine Gobish (GER | Duotone / Duotone Sails)
4th Frida Miron (DEN | Sailloft Hamburg)
5th Runa Krabbenhöft (GER | Goya Windsurfing)
6th Smilla Petersen (GER | Duotone / Duotone Sails)

2023 PWA Youth and Junior Slalom WC

12 10.2023
Nach 5 Tagen solider Rennen wurden die 2023 PWA Youth und Junior Slalom World Cup Champions in Alacati ausgezeichnet.
Nach 5 Tagen solider Rennen wurden die 2023 PWA Youth und Junior Slalom World Cup Champions ermittelt.  Wieder einmal lieferte die wunderschöne Bucht von Alacati den Beweis, dass die Windmaschine einfach nicht aufhören wollte, mit mindestens 4 Durchgängen Finslalom für jede Division und 9 Durchgängen für Foil-Slalom. Die jungen Athleten aller Altersklassen boten eine großartige Show, die von den Zuschauern im stadionähnlichen Veranstaltungsort genossen wurde, der die Cagla Kubat Windsurf Academy zu einem idealen Ort für Weltklasse-Events macht.  
It was an incredibly consistent event for John Soukos (RRD / RRD Sails), who pulled off victories in both the fin slalom and foil slalom categories in the U21 division. For the second year in a row, the young Greek showed up ready to fight for the titles. After last year’s battle with Armand Genevois (Starboard / S2Maui) of France, this time it was the the lightning fast Greek, who claimed the top spot on the podium. Already a veteran of several events on the PWA World Tour, Soukos has emphatically shown he is ready to fight it out with the big boys in the coming years. 
In the fin division, Armand Genevois claimed second place behind Soukos, while fellow countryman Brendan Lorho secured the final place on the prestigious podium. Be on the lookout for Lohro in the coming years as this talented sailor is one to keep an eye on. In the Foil Slalom division it was once again Genevois in second place followed by the big Dutchman Sem Stroosma (Loftsails) in 3rd.
 
In the Girl’s U21 Fin Slalom fleet the top prize went to the ever smiling and hard working Sinem Alper, ahead of Zeynep Hacudi, who was closely followed by Agniya Mikheyeva, who finished just one point behind. The U21 Foil division saw a very dominant performance by Damla Kurtdemir with the Turk taking all but one of the 9 races completed. She was followed by the hugely talented sailor from Bonaire, Bobbi-Lynn de Jong (Starboard / Severne Sails), and the emerging Turkish talent of Yagmur Guzel.
 
The U17 Boy’s division saw some of the most closely contested and exciting fights on the fin throughout the week, with the Turkish duo of Mert Kacan and Tan Tandogan finishing tied on points.  However, victory in the last race for Mert Kacan deservedly brought him the victory.  The top two were followed by another great talent hailing from Bonaire, Storm Nicolai, whose consistency throughout the week secured him the final spot on the podium. 
 
In the Foil division, it was another Turkish victory this time for the quiet and unassuming Burak Orhan, whose calm demeanour on the beach does nothing to hide his killer racing instincts. Tan Tandogan secured his second podium of the week as he once again secured second place, followed by the gybing phenomenon, Ibrahim Ali Donmez, who displayed impressive skills around the racing marks.
 
The U15 Boy’s category saw more heated battles in both the fin and foil divisions.  In the fin, we saw a very impressive performance by yet another great talent from Bonaire, Tycho Smits, who was able to win 3 out of the 4 races with great speed and very consistent racing. Jules Kandasamy from the Seychelles was a very late entry into the event, but he came here meaning business. This was the second time for Kandasamy in Alacati and he showed an incredible improvement in his performance since making his debut in 2022 - claiming second place after winning one of the finals. He was followed by another two up and coming talents from Turkey, Kuzey Ziyal and his compatriot Mavi Ruzgar Falay, whose fight for the last spot on the podium came down to a tiebreaker!
In the U15 Boy’s Foil division, it was Kuzey Ziyal coming in first, followed by Mavi Ruzgar Falay, who was again involved in a tie breaker for second place. However, this time he came out ahead of yet another Turkish talent, Ayberk Deniz Pinar.
 
The U15 Girl’s Fin division saw more exciting battles on the race course between Bobbi-Lynn de Jong and Damla Kurtdemir.  This time, however, it was de Jong who turned the tables and put in a dominating performance, which saw her win 4 out of the 5 eliminations. The Bonairean talent was followed by the ever consistent Damla from Turkey and her compatriot Zeynep Tecmen.
 
One of the most exciting and motivating age divisions of the week was the U13 category.  The turnout for this division clearly showed that our sport is in good hands with these very young sailors showing no fear whether on fin or foil!
 
With a great performance throughout the week, Irem Metin from Turkey saw victories in both the Foil and Fin Slalom categories - showing an incredibly consistent level of concentration and delivery. In the Fin Slalom, the young twins from Bonaire put on a great show and took the final two steps on the podium just edging out Derin Gokmeral and Ilya Paksoylu. 
 
The U13 Girl’s Foil division saw another impressive victory for Irem, but this time it was the fighting spirit of Ilya Paksoylu and the ever consistent Derin Gokmeral, who rounded off another Turkish podium clean sweep.
 
The U13 Boy’s showed great performance and potential - especially Ali Demirci, who convincingly took the victories in both Foil and Fin Slalom. This kid will be a big threat in a few short years. Demirci, was followed by the always smiling Sarp Mutluel and Sabri Ediz Garip, whom are both from Turkey, completing the podium. The U13 Boy’s Foil division saw another dominating victory by Demirci, once again followed by Sarp Mutluel, but this time rounding out the podium was Berk Orge, also from Turkey, who was one of the stars of Tae Kwon Do show at the awards ceremony.
 
The Alacati Windfest produced another great week of racing, activities, music, entertainment, night races, and a great parade marching through the majestic quaint streets of Alacati village.  With these kids, we see that the future is bright, and the plan for 2024 will be to expand on these exclusive PWA Youth and Junior Slalom World Cups with potentially a tour of 3 to 4 events.
Until next year!

Weltcup Sylt 2023 Final

01 10.2023
Amado Vrieswijk verteidigt Event-Titel, Marine Hunter & Lennart Neubauer gewinnen ersten Event & Yentel Caers offiziell zum Freestyle-Weltmeister gekrönt
Der letzte Tag des 2023 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt, presented by got2b, sah ein ruhiges Ende mit leichtem Wind, der die Teilnehmer heute Morgen begrüßte. Mit ein wenig übrig gebliebenem Swell wurde der Wave Contest bis zum frühen Nachmittag auf Eis gelegt, aber die Bedingungen blieben bestenfalls marginal. Da es am letzten Tag in Sylt keine weiteren Wettkämpfe gab, bedeutet dies, dass Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) seinen Titel aus dem letzten Jahr erfolgreich verteidigen konnte, wodurch der Bonaier in der Gesamtwertung auf Platz 4 vorrückte. Marine Hunter (Quatro / KA Sail) verlässt Deutschland mit ihrem ersten Sieg auf der World Tour. In terms of the overall world rankings, nothing really changes in the Men’s and Women’s Wave with Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) and Ricardo Campello (Naish / Naish Sails) continuing to lead heading into the final event on the year in Maui, Hawaii, later in October. However, in the Men’s Slalom, Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) continues to lead, but he is now joined at the top of the rankings by Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails) on 30,300 points after the Italian finished second here.  Meanwhile, Pierre Mortefon (Duotone / Duotone Sails / Phantom Foils) and Johan Søe (FMX Racing / Point-7) are just a further 100 points further back, so the world title decider in Japan promises to be a thrilling affair, whilst Amado Vrieswijk still has an outside chance on 30,000 points.  Unfortunately, the weather didn’t really play ball for the official prize giving ceremony at 3pm, but there was still a solid turnout from the local crowd as they watched the respective event champions crowned, whilst Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) was officially crowned Freestyle World Champion for the second time in his career. 17-year-old Takumi Moriya (Severne / Severne Sails) was also awarded his Youth Freestyle world title - after finishing in an excellent 14th place overall on his first year on tour.  That concludes another action packed 10 here in Sylt and we’ll be back with a full roundup in the Event Summary early next week.  You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Sylt — including live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page. Result 2023 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt - Women’s Wave 1st Marine Hunter (FRA | Quatro / KA Sail)
2nd Maria Behrens (GER | Duotone / Duotone Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
3rd Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU | Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
4th Justyna Sniady (POL | North Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) Result 2023 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt - Men’s Slalom 1st Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Severne Sails)
2nd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails) 
3rd Nicolas Goyard (FRA | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils) 
4th Johan Søe (DEN | FMX Racing / Point-7)
5th Mateus Isaac (BRA | Severne / Severne Sails)
6th Michele Becker (GER | Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils)
7th Bruno Martini (ITA | JP / NeilPryde) 
8th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
9th Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Fanatic / Duotone / Phantom Foils)
10th Enrico Marotti (CRO | JP / NeilPryde) Overall Rankings 2023 PWA World Tour - Men’s Freestyle 1st Yentel Caers (BEL | JP / NeilPryde)
2nd Lennart Neubauer (GRE | Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
3rd Adrien Bosson (FRA | Duotone / Duotone Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
4th Steven Van Broeckhoven (BEL | Starboard / GUNSAILS)
5th Jacopo Testa (ITA | AV Boards / Point-7 / AL360)
6th Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Severne Sails)
7th Antony Ruenes (FRA | Tabou / GA Sails)
8th Antoine Albert (NC | Goya Windsurfing)
9th Youp Schmit (NB | Tabou / GA Sails)
9th Balz Müller (SUI | Severne / Severne Sails) Result 2023 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt - Men’s Freestyle 1st Lennart Neubauer (GRE | Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Yentel Caers (BEL | JP / NeilPryde) 
3rd Steven Van Broeckhoven (BEL | Starboard / GUNSAILS)
4th Adrien Bosson (FRA | Duotone / Duotone Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
5th Jacopo Testa (ITA | AV Boards / Point-7 / AL360)
6th Antoine Albert (NC | Goya Windsurfing)
7th Balz Müller (SUI | Severne / Severne Sails)
7th Takuma Sugi (JPN | Tabou / GA Sails / Black Project Fins)
9th Takumi Moriya (JPN | Severne / Severne Sails)
9th Youp Schmit (NB | Tabou / GA Sails)
9th Sam Esteve (FRA | JP / NeilPryde)
9th Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Severne Sails)

World Cup Sylt 2023 Tag 5

26 09.2023
Slalompiloten verbrachten den Tag in der Warteschleife.
Die Vorhersage für den fünften Tag des 2023 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt, presented by got2b, sah auf dem Papier immer grenzwertig aus, und so kam es dann leider auch. Kurzzeitig sah es so aus, als würde sich der Wind so weit stabilisieren, dass einige Wettfahrten durchgeführt werden konnten, aber am Ende mussten die Fahrer der Slalomfleet den Tag am Strand verbringen. Current Ranking 2023 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt - Men’s Slalom
*After 4 Eliminations (1 Discard)
1st Mateus Isaac (BRA | Severne / Severne Sails)
2nd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails) 
3rd Johan Søe (DEN | FMX Racing / Point-7)
4th Bruno Martini (ITA | JP / NeilPryde)
5th Nicolas Goyard (FRA | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)
6th Daniele Benedetti (ITA | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
7th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
8th Michele Becker (GER | Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils)
9th Nico Prien (GER | JP / NeilPryde)
10th Sebastian Kördel (GER | Starboard / Severne Sails)

World Cup Sylt 2023 Tag 4

26 09.2023
Yentel Caers feiert ein kolossales Comeback und holt sich seinen zweiten Weltmeistertitel, während Lennart Neubauer seinen ersten Sieg auf der World Tour feiert.
Der vierte Tag des schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt (dritter Wettkampftag) wurde als einer der größten Actiontage des diesjährigen Events angekündigt, und genau so kam es auch: Die Freestyle Double Elimination der Herren wurde bei den besten Freestyle-Bedingungen, die man seit langem auf Sylt gesehen hat, beendet. Nach dem Ende des epischen Freestyles blieb noch Zeit für eine Elimination, die einen Wechsel an der Spitze der Rangliste brachte. Men’s Freestyle Having been eliminated by the eventual single elimination winner - Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) - in the round of 16 yesterday, Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) left himself a mountain to climb in order to claim his second world title. However, Caers didn’t simply climb the mountain, he absolutely conquered it as he produced a superb comeback, which saw him win 8 successive heats in the double to deservedly claim his second world crown - adding to his previous success from 2019.  No-one can argue with Caers’ achievement as he really was a cut above the rest of the competition today. Not only was the Belgian the sole sailor to break the 40 points barrier, the 28-year-old achieved this feat in 6 out of his 7 winning heats today as he produced not only an extremely explosive performance, but also one of unbelievable consistency to prove that he is currently the best freestyler in the world as he finishes 2023 with a first and second place, and more importantly a second world crown.  Caers was only denied the event victory by Neubauer, who sailed a brilliant final to successfully claim his first event victory on the World Tour as the 19-year-old signs off the 2023 season in the perfect fashion, whilst putting his serious knee injury from 2021 firmly behind him. Neubauer finishes 2023 as the vice-world champion and you wouldn’t bet against him going one place better in the next season or two based on his level of performance here.  Adrien Bosson (Fanatic / Duotone / Maui Ultra Fins) started the day in pole position to defend his world title, but despite going toe-to-toe with Caers in the early stages of Heat 33 the Frenchman would eventually lose out to his world title rival. The 32-year-old still finishes the season ranked third overall, which is made all the more impressive by the fact that he has not been able to solely focus on his freestyle pursuits. We’ll be back in the event summary to take a full look at the overall Freestyle results. Slalom After the completion of the explosive Freestyle, attention soon switched back to the racing, which saw Elimination 4 completed in 8-20 knots of wind, which brought the discard into play and with it a change atop of the rankings.  Johan Søe (FMX Racing / Point-7) started the day as the event leader and remains the only sailor to have qualified for every winners’ final thus far, but the young Dane slides two places to third after Elimination 4. Søe is yet to finish outside the top 5, but it is Mateus Isaac (Severne / Severne Sails), who picks up the event lead after continuing to make a quite brilliant return to the slalom scene. The Brazilian missed out on the opening winners’ final, but has since recorded results of two second places followed by a third today, which sees him open up a 2.7 point advantage over Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails) at the top of the event rankings. Iachino is able to discard a 12th place from Elimination 3, but ‘only’ ended up finishing 7th in the winners’ final today. The Italian looked set to challenge for the top positions after another well-timed start, but dropped back with his gamble of not changing up gear size, not paying off on this occasion.  On the opening day of racing, Nicolas Goyard (Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils) had threatened to strike, but ultimately missed out for one reason or another, but today he earned his first bullet of the event, which sees him remain fifth in the current event rankings.  Elsewhere, Bruno Martini (JP / NeilPryde) gains a couple of places and climbs into 4th, while Daniele Benedetti (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) climbs four spots to 6th after booking his place in another winners’ final. The Italian missed out on the top 8 in the opener, but has since finished 4th, 5th and 6th.  The top 10 is currently completed by Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails), - 7th - who came into the event leading the World Tour rankings, but if things were to finish as they were now, Matteo Iachino would assume the title race control. Michele Becker (Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils), Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde) and Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / Severne Sails). The Slalom fleet will meet again at 10am (GMT+2) tomorrow morning for their skippers’ meeting. The forecast looks marginal on paper with 7-12 knot winds from the south-southeast currently predicted, but given how low the threshold to now be able to compete on foils is, there is still every chance of more racing tomorrow. If conditions are suitable, the first possible start is 11:30am.  You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Sylt — including live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page. Overall Rankings 2023 PWA World Tour - Men’s Freestyle 1st Yentel Caers (BEL | JP / NeilPryde)
2nd Lennart Neubauer (GRE | Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
3rd Adrien Bosson (FRA | Duotone / Duotone Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
4th Steven Van Broeckhoven (BEL | Starboard / GUNSAILS)
5th Jacopo Testa (ITA | AV Boards / Point-7 / AL360)
6th Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Severne Sails)
7th Antony Ruenes (FRA | Tabou / GA Sails)
8th Antoine Albert (NC | Goya Windsurfing)
9th Youp Schmit (NB | Tabou / GA Sails)
9th Balz Müller (SUI | Severne / Severne Sails) Result 2023 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt - Men’s Freestyle 1st Lennart Neubauer (GRE | Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Yentel Caers (BEL | JP / NeilPryde) 
3rd Steven Van Broeckhoven (BEL | Starboard / GUNSAILS)
4th Adrien Bosson (FRA | Duotone / Duotone Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
5th Jacopo Testa (ITA | AV Boards / Point-7 / AL360)
6th Antoine Albert (NC | Goya Windsurfing)
7th Balz Müller (SUI | Severne / Severne Sails)
7th Takuma Sugi (JPN | Tabou / GA Sails / Black Project Fins)
9th Takumi Moriya (JPN | Tabou / GA Sails)
9th Youp Schmit (NB | Tabou / GA Sails)
9th Sam Esteve (FRA | JP / NeilPryde)
9th Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Severne Sails) Current Ranking 2023 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt - Men’s Slalom
*After 4 Eliminations (1 Discard)
1st Mateus Isaac (BRA | Severne / Severne Sails)
2nd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails) 
3rd Johan Søe (DEN | FMX Racing / Point-7)
4th Bruno Martini (ITA | JP / NeilPryde)
5th Nicolas Goyard (FRA | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)
6th Daniele Benedetti (ITA | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
7th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
8th Michele Becker (GER | Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils)
9th Nico Prien (GER | JP / NeilPryde)
10th Sebastian Kördel (GER | Starboard / Severne Sails)

Weltcup Sylt 2023 Tag 3

25 09.2023
Ein historischer Tag für Lennart Neubauer: Der 19-Jährige führt das Event an und spielt gleichzeitig eine entscheidende Rolle im möglicherweise entscheidenden Titelrennen, da Adrien Bosson die Pole Position einnimmt
Die Freestyle-Männer standen zum ersten Mal im Mittelpunkt des 2023 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt, powered by got2b, und die Freestyler der Windsurfwelt enttäuschten nicht, während das Titelrennen einige dramatische Wendungen nahm. Die wichtigste Nachricht des heutigen Tages betrifft jedoch Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins), der sich nicht nur für sein erstes Siegerfinale qualifizierte, sondern auch die Single Elimination gewann und mit einer explosiven Vorstellung die Führung übernahm. Men’s Freestyle Today will live long in the memory of Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) after the young Greek enjoyed his best day to date on the World Tour, which saw him claim victory in the Single Elimination with a dynamic and powerful display of sailing despite the tricky conditions. The 19-year-old posted the highest scoring heat of the contest - 38.3 points - in the winners’ final against Steven Van Broeckhoven (Starboard / GUNSAILS) to deservedly lead the event at the close of play, while if things were to finish as they are now, Neubauer would finish 2023 as the vice-world champion.  Lennart Neubauer on winning the Single Elimination: “It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had on the water. Training or non-training. The conditions were really difficult, but moves kept happening and I felt like I could do anything. It’s an unreal feeling. This has probably been my dream for the last 10 years, I’m just really, really thankful. It’s unbelievable to win the single at the biggest windsurfing event on the planet!” Meanwhile, Neubauer may have also played a pivotal role in deciding this year’s Freestyle world title after winning a close heat against Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde), who led the overall rankings coming into Sylt, in the round of 16, which leaves the Belgian with a mountain to climb if he is to add to his sole world title from 2019. Caers made a successful start to his comeback in the double elimination by defeating Marco Vinante (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360), but would need to fight back to at least fourth place to deny Adrien Bosson (Duotone / Duotone Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) - assuming the Frenchman remains in third place.  Steven Van Broeckhoven sailed brilliantly to book his place in the final and will be delighted with his top two finish in the single elimination. The Belgian didn’t enjoy his best final by his own admission against Neubauer, but he still enjoyed a fantastic day on the water.  Adrien Bosson lost out to Van Broeckhoven in the semifinals, but then came out on top of another incredibly close heat against Jacopo Testa (AV Boards / Point-7 / AL360) to secure his place in the top 3, which puts the reigning world champion firmly in the driving seat to be able to successfully defend his world title. World title race connotations given that the worst position Adrien Bosson can now finish is 4th (9700 points), which means the Frenchman can only be denied; - If Jacopo Testa comes back and wins the double elimination and Caers finishes outside the top 5. This would mean the Italian and Bosson would finish tied on 19,600 points, but Testa would win the world title on countback  - If Bosson was to remain in third place, then Caers would have to fight back into at least fourth place. This would see Caers and Bosson finish tied on 19,700 points, but Caers would win the world title on countback. - In the event that Bosson was to slip one place to fourth then a fifth place finish could still prove good enough for Caers to win the world title, but only if Testa failed to then win the event. Caers and Bosson would then be tied on 19,600 points, but Caers would win on countback. - In the event that Testa was to win the double elimination, Bosson finish fourth and Caers finish fifth then there would need to be a sail off - if conditions allowed - to decide the world title as Caers and Testa would then have identical results.  Away from the world title race the other sailor of the day was Takumi Moriya (Severne / Severne Sails) after the 17-year-old earned his best result to date with an excellent joint fifth place in the single elimination after claiming the scalp of fellow countryman - Takuma Sugi (Tabou / GA Sails / Black Project Fins) - in the opening round before also defeating Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails). Also finishing in joint fifth for the single are; Sam Esteve (JP / NeilPryde), Antoine Albert (Goya Windsurfing) and Youp Schmit (Tabou / GA Sails). The Freestyle and Wave fleets will meet bight and early tomorrow morning with the current forecast predicting 18-28 knot southerly winds for the majority of the day. Both fleets will have a skippers’ meeting at 7am (GMT+2) - with the action commencing from 7:30am onwards. If it’s flat we will continue with the Freestyle, however, if there is enough of a bump the Wave fleets will take centre stage for the first time this event. Meanwhile, an announcement regarding the Slalom fleets skippers’ meeting will be made at 9am.  You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Sylt — including live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page. Current Ranking 2023 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt - Men’s Freestyle 1st Lennart Neubauer (GRE | Starboard / Severne Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Steven Van Broeckhoven (BEL | Starboard / GUNSAILS)
3rd Adrien Bosson (FRA | Duotone / Duotone Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)
4th Jacopo Testa (ITA | AV Boards / Point-7 / AL360)
5th Takumi Moriya (JPN | Severne / Severne Sails)
5th Sam Esteve (FRA | JP / NeilPryde)
5th Antoine Albert (NC | Goya Windsurfing)
5th Youp Schmit (NB | Tabou / GA Sails)
Current Ranking 2023 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt - Men’s Slalom 1st Johan Søe (DEN | FMX Racing / Point-7)
2nd Mateus Isaac (BRA | Severne / Severne Sails)
3rd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
4th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
5th Nicolas Goyard (FRA | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)
6th Bruno Martini (ITA | JP / NeilPryde)
7th Michele Becker (GER | Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils)
8th Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Severne Sails)
9th Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Duotone / Duotone Sails / Phantom Foils)
10th Daniele Benedetti (ITA | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)

World Cup Sylt 2023 Tag 2

24 09.2023
Ein turbulenter Tag mit 3 verschiedenen Gewinnern aus 3 Rennen und Johan Søe übernimmt die frühe Führung des Events
Der zweite Tag des 2023 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt begann, und die Unberechenbarkeit des Slaloms setzte sich mit drei verschiedenen Siegern in den drei Rennen fort. Nach zwei aufeinanderfolgenden Events auf den Kanaren war der heutige Tag das genaue Gegenteil: Winde von 5-18 Knoten und schwieriges Wasser sorgten für einen ganz anderen Test als auf Gran Canaria und Fuerteventura, aber die Rennen erwiesen sich als genauso aufregend mit einer Kombination aus spannenden Rennen und einigen massiven Stürzen, die die Zuschauer gut unterhalten haben. Men’s Slalom Johan Søe (FMX Racing / Point-7) heads up the event rankings at the close of the opening day of racing after producing an extremely solid and consistent set of results. The young Dane qualified for all three winners’ finals where he was able to record a 3rd, 4th and a 5th, which sees him hold a two point advantage at the top of the rankings over Mateus Isaac (Severne / Severne Sails), who enjoyed a brilliant return to the World Tour.  The Brazilian has been focusing on his Olympic campaign for the majority of the year, but slotted seamlessly back into the slalom scene. The 29-year-old missed out on the opening winners’ final, but still finished in 10th place, before going from strength-to-strength by securing back-to-back second places to cap an excellent return, and more importantly a solid start to the event.  Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails) made a flying start to the event as the Italian finished second in the opener, before going one better in the next after doing brilliantly to hold off Nicolas Goyard (Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils), who eventually crashed, when under severe pressure. Iachino looked in fine form - consistently pinging the start and looking fast in a straight line - so it was a real surprise to see him fall at the first mark in the third semifinal when leading, whilst the same fate struck when in pole position of the b-final. It later turns out that Iachino had broken the front wing of his foil, so he didn’t have any stability when gybing. The 33-year-old, whose birthday it was yesterday, will be frustrated with the equipment failure / breakage, but at least has the opportunity to discard the 12th place from Elimination 3 after the completion of the next race, and he should take great confidence from today after looking so competitive and on it.  Besides Søe, Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) was the only other sailor to qualify for all three winners’ finals. The current World Tour leader finished eighth in the opening two races after a dropped gybe and a premature start, but everything clicked into place in the last race of the day as the Pole signed out in style by securing his first bullet of the event, which is good enough to see Rutkowski climb into 4th having been ranked eighth after Elimination 2, and is just 4.7 points off of the top.  People were wondering if Nicolas Goyard would struggle in Sylt’s lighter airs having registered smaller equipment for Fuerteventura and that was certainly evident in the first race where the wind was typically 5-10 knots. Goyard still looked absolutely rapid in a straight line, but struggled to remain on the foil through the lulls - particularly when exiting the gybes - which resulted in the Frenchman going from first to dropping out of the qualifying positions after the third gybe of the opening semifinal. Fortunately for Goyard, the wind picked up in the next two races, but he was unable to land a telling blow. In Elimination 2, Goyard tried to dive down the inside of Iachino at the third buoy only to stall on a piece of chop and go over the handlebars, whilst in the third elimination he lost control when trying to negotiate an evil piece of swell / chop when leading again. So, it was a day of close calls for Goyard, but there is still plenty of time for him to mount a comeback. Goyard finishes the opening day ranked 5th.  Bruno Martini (JP / NeilPryde) is currently ranked sixth after a solid performance, which saw the Italian improve in each race - 11th, 7th and a 4th in the last race of the day. Michele Becker (Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils) made a dream start to the event as the German earned his maiden bullet on the World Tour - much to his own delight and to the home crowd as well as they celebrated his victory. However, the wheels then fell off slightly as the 25-year-old missed out on a place in the winners’ final in the next two eliminations.  Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) started Elimination 3 ranked in second place, but he then suffered a quarterfinal exit to fall 6 places. Like Iachino, Vrieswijk will have the opportunity to discard that 22.5 point result after the completion of the next race.  The top 10 is currently completed by Pierre Mortefon (Duotone / Duotone Sails / Phantom Foils) - 9th. The Frenchman came into Sylt ranked in second place, but only managed to qualify for one out of three winners’ finals and Daniele Benedetti (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails), who mounted a strong recovery after been taken down in the quarterfinals of the opener, by then finishing 4th and 5th respectively.  The forecast for Sunday looks windier than today with the current forecast predicting winds in the region of 17-24 knots from the south-southwest during the afternoon. In light of the stronger forecast the priority is likely to be given to the Freestyle fleet, but if the wind doesn’t arrive then the racers will probably be in action again. The Freestyle and Slalom fleets will meet again at 10am (GMT+2) tomorrow morning with the action commencing from 10:30am for the Freestyle and 11:30am onwards for the Slalom. Meanwhile, the Wave fleet will have a meeting at 11am.  You can stay up to date with all the latest developments from Sylt — including live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the page. Current Ranking 2023 schauinslandreisen Windsurf World Cup Sylt - Men’s Slalom 1st Johan Søe (DEN | FMX Racing / Point-7)
2nd Mateus Isaac (BRA | Severne / Severne Sails)
3rd Matteo Iachino (ITA | Starboard / Severne Sails)
4th Maciek Rutkowski (POL | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)
5th Nicolas Goyard (FRA | Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils)
6th Bruno Martini (ITA | JP / NeilPryde)
7th Michele Becker (GER | Patrik / Patrik Sails / Patrik Foils)
8th Amado Vrieswijk (NB | Future Fly / Severne Sails)
9th Pierre Mortefon (FRA | Duotone / Duotone Sails / Phantom Foils)
10th Daniele Benedetti (ITA | FMX Racing / Challenger Sails)

Starboard 2024

25 08.2023
2024er Wave- und Freestyle-Boards
Starboard hat die 2024er Wave- und Freestyle-Boards vorgestellt. Die beliebten Waveboards Ultra, Hyper und auch der Freestyler Ignite wurden für die 2024er Saison überarbeitet. Neu ist  der Foil-Freestyler Ignite Air und auch der Shape des Kode 2024. HYPER
  • Eine reine Quad-Finnen, leistungsstarke Wave-Waffe für radikale, sichere Rides in steilen, kraftvollen Wellen.
  • Perfekt für erfahrene Surfer, die über das Rail surfen möchten.
  • Größen von 78 bis 93 Litern bieten blitzschnelle Reaktionen und hervorragende Anpassungsfähigkeit.
  • Idealer Begleiter für Sideshore Bedingungen.
ULTRA
  • ·         Ein Konzept von Remi Vila mit verbessertem Wave-Riding-Eigenschaften und noch früherem Gleiten.
  • ·         Schnelle Beschleunigung, präzise Manöver und eine abgesenkte Deckkonstruktion für besseres Handling.
  • ·         Niedrigere Mastfußposition für mehr Geschwindigkeit bis zum Takeoff.
  • ·         Verwandle mehr Wellen in unvergessliche Erlebnisse.
KODE
  • Wave-Performance trifft auf Freeride-Speed.
  • Effizienter flacher Mittel-Rocker für müheloses Gleiten.
  • Dünne Rails für optimalen Grip.
  • Vee-Konkave für ultimative Drehfreudigkeit.
  • Mehr Wave-Riding- und Blasting-Eigenschaften als je zuvor.
iGNITE

·         Maximierter Pop, schnelle Rotationen und verbessertes Sliden.

·         Flache Slalom-Rockerlinie für Beschleunigung und Geschwindigkeit.

·         Extra Tail-Volumen für einfacheres Gleiten in den Moves.

·         Leicht reduzierte Dicke für komfortablere Switch-Moves und verbessertes Carving.

·         Großer Windbereich für mehr Kontrolle bei starkem Wind.

iGNITE AIR

·         Extreme Sprunghöhe, blitzschnelle Rotationen und optimierter "Flight-Mode".

·         Sofortige Beschleunigung und aufregende Topspeeds ohne Tail-Kick.

·         Umverteiltes Volumen für mehr Kontrolle bei starkem Wind.

Ab sofort bei Deinem Händler bestellbar!

Heiligenhafen 2023 Tag 2

26 08.2023
Wolf und Langer kämpfen um Europameistertitel. Sechs weitere Racings bei Multivan Windsurf Cup Heiligenhafen.
Nachdem am zweiten Tag die Bedingungen nicht für offizielle Rennen geeignet waren, kehrte der Wind am Samstag zum Multivan Windsurf Cup nach Heiligenhafen zurück. Vier bis fünf Windstärken boten optimale Bedingungen für Formula Windsurfing. So konnte die Maximalzahl von sechs Wettfahrten am Tag gefahren werden. Zahlreiche Zuschauer nutzten die Erlebnis-Seebrücke als Tribüne und verfolgten die Rennen der Racing-Elite. Dabei konzentrierte sich das Interesse auf das Titelduell zwischen Fabi Wolf (GER-404, FMX Racing, Gun Sails) und Vincent Langer (GER-1, Fanatic, Duotone). Langer war am Eröffnungstag mit zwei Laufsiegen perfekt in die Europameisterschaft gestartet. Am Samstag wehte der Wind aber stärker, sodass er auf ein kleineres Segel wechselte. Fabi Wolf hingegen hatte am Eröffnungstag noch mit seinem Größennachteil gehadert. Nun passt sein Segel perfekt, sodass er mit dem Setup, auf dem er optimal eingefahren ist, auftrumpfen konnte. Die ersten drei Wettfahrten des Tages konnte Wolf gewinnen. Damit übernahm er auch die Führung im Rennen um die Europameisterschaft. Langer hielt sich mit zwei zweiten und einem dritten Platz im Titelkampf. Nach drei Wettfahrten hatten die Fahrer eine Pause. Langer nutzte die Gelegenheit zum Segelwechsel. Mit dem großen Segel vom Eröffnungstag konnte er sich auf Anhieb zwei Laufsiege und einen dritten Platz sichern. Fabi Wolf hielt mit einem Sieg, einem zweiten und einem dritten Platz dagegen. Vor dem Finaltag haben die Formula Racer beim Multivan Windsurf Cup Heiligenhafen insgesamt acht Racings absolviert. Die beiden Ausnahmeathleten Wolf und Langer liegen mit 8,0 Punkten punktgleich an der Spitze. Aufgrund der Tiebreak Regelung liegt Fabi Wolf aber aktuell auf Platz Eins und hat damit die besten Chancen auf den EM-Titel. Vincent Langer hält den Druck auf den Führenden aber maximal hoch und wartet nur auf eine Schwäche von Wolf, um sich dann den Titel zu sichern. Hinter dem deutschen Führungsduo bei der EM folgen starke internationale Rider. Den dritten Platz auf dem Podium hält seit dem Eröffnungstag der Pole Thomasz Romanowski (POL-163, Starboard, Severne). Vor dem Finaltag liegt er mit 19,0 Punkten knapp vor dem zweiten Polen Pawel Dittrich (POL-381, Starboard, Severne). DieTop-5 werden von dem Spanier Fernando Martinez del Cerro (ESP-71, Severne) komplettiert. In der Youth-U20 Wertung dominiert der Schönberger Meno Büchler (GER-91, Starboard, Severne). Mit Platz sechs im Gesamtfeld hält er den Druck auf die Spitzenfahrer hoch. Auf dem zweiten Platz bei den Youth U-20 liegt der Kieler Leo Richter (GER-9, JP, Neil Pryde) gefolgt von Felix Wehkamp (GER-247, Fanatic, Duotone). Auch im Feld der Junioren U-17 tobt der Kampf um den Titel weiter. Nach einem katastrophalen Start mit zwei Frühstarts kann Erik Wehkamp (GER-240, Fanatic, Duotone) am Samstag mit starken Leistungen nicht nur wieder ins EM-Rennen einsteigen, sondern sogar die Führung übernehmen. Auf dem zweiten Platz folgt der erst fünfzehnjährige Paul Regber (GER-17, Tahe, Techno Windfoil), der bei der Europameisterschaft seine Regattapremiere feiert. Der Berliner Pelle Bo Behrendt (GER-769, Starboard, Sailloft) komplettiert die Top-3 der Junioren. Bei den Mastern Ü40 liegt der Spanier Fernando Martinez del Cerro (ESP-71, Severne, F4) an der Spitze. Jacek Dubaniewicz (POL-212, Starboard, Loftsails) und Wojciech Olejnik (POL-2119, FMX, Loftsails) aus Polen folgen auf den Plätzen zwei und drei. Für den Finaltag ist leichter Wind angesagt. Es bleibt abzuwarten, ob die Bedingungen weitere offizielle Wettfahrten beim Multivan Windsurf Cup Heiligenhafen zulassen. Der erste Start ist für 10:00 Uhr angesagt. Bis 15:00 Uhr sind an der Seebrücke noch Rennen möglich, um 17:00 Uhr werden dann die neuen Europameister im Formula Windsurfing gekürt. #multivanwindsurfcup #vwn #partnerdersurfer #volkswagen_journey #lvm #königpilsener #chiemsee #heiligenhafen