Storm Force 10 winds bring Pozo to life

Pozo lived up to its reputation today as one of the windiest places in Europe — if not the world — as the pros were finally unleashed having spent the opening four days on hold. Throughout the day the wind steadily increased until all the sailors were left reaching for their smallest gear in order to survive as winds exceeding 50 knots battered Pozo Izquierdo — leading to a day of brilliant action as the world’s best sailors seemingly defied gravity.

Women’s

Having advanced through the second round Alice Arutkin faced Sarah-Quita Offringa in Heat 13A, while Lina Erpenstein was rewarded with a stern test against reigning world champion — Iballa Moreno — for defeating Caterina Stenta in the first round.

Offringa, who finished 3rd overall last year, made her intentions clear from the start and the lady from Aruba claimed an emphatic victory as she landed a brilliant pushloop to earn 9.38 points and 6.25 point tabletop to ensure her place in the semifinal. Arutkin was able to earn a higher individual wave score, but was unable to find an answer to SQ Offringa’s aerial prowess.

Meanwhile, Iballa Moreno, ended Erpenstein’s hopes in the single elimination with a polished display. The reigning world champion saw off her German rival by stomping a radical pushloop and stalled forward, while showing her usual fluidity and style on the wave and Iballa will now face Offringa in the semifinals.

In the second quarterfinal Amanda Beenen and Steffi Wahl enjoyed an incredibly close heat, but in the end it was Beenen who advanced into the semifinal. Wahl made the better of the waves on offer while fully powered on 3.0m², but Beenen gained the upper-hand with her jumping ability carrying her through. Beenen stomped a tabletop forward and a stalled forward to secure victory.

Daida Moreno has only been beaten once here in her life and she showed why in Heat 14B against Justyna Sniady as she racked up the highest score of the day with 26 points. Daida is clearly on a mission to reclaim her world title and she sent out a serious warning to her rivals as she rotated through a massive, perfectly landed backloop and a stalled forward, while pulling off stylish backside airs and attempting goiters on the wave to progress.

Men’s

The men’s single elimination began with a bang as local boy Josep Pons Casanova took down Klaas Voget in the opening heat as his superb array of jumping inflicted the damage. Meanwhile, reigning freestyle world champion Dieter van der Eyken pushed Dany Bruch all the way on the B-side with the Belgian missing out by just half a point, but Bruch’s stunning one-handed, one-footed backloop proved to be the difference. The German then went on to defeat Pons Casanova in Heat 9 to secure his place in the quarterfinals.

In the B-side of Heat 10 Alessio Stillrich produced a couple of the standout moments of the day, but suffered a narrow defeat to Jaeger Stone. The local boy became the first person to land a klei in competition — a move invented by Alex Mussolini — before launching into the biggest jump of day which saw him soar way above horizon as he boosted into a huge backloop, but unfortunately he couldn’t quite hold on to the landing. Had the 21 year old been able to land it then he would probably have defeated Stone, who's wave riding once again stood out today. The Australian needed a last minute wave to defeat Julien Taboulet in the first round, but is now safely into the quarters.

Heat 10 featured Victor Fernandez and Marcilio Browne, both of whom are expected to be fighting it out at the business end of the competition. Fernandez safely navigated his way past Florian Jung as he stomped a huge stalled forward and a fully planing goiter to advance, while Browne had to be at the top of his game to defeat Jules Denel, who sailed superbly in both of his heats today. The Frenchman actually matched Browne in the air but couldn’t quite find the wave he needed, so there will now be a mouthwatering quarterfinal between Browne and Fernandez.

Heat 11A saw an all French affair as the 2014 PWA Wave World Champion — Thomas Traversa — took on Antoine Martin in what proved to be another exceptionally close heat with less than half a point separating the two sailors. Traversa raced into an early lead by landing a 9 point double forward, but Martin soon hit back as he landed the only pushloop forward of the day to earn 9.77 points. However, it is TT who marches on after making the better of the waves on offer. Meanwhile, Alex Mussolini dispatched of Leon Jamaer — who was unlucky enough to suffer a broken mast, costing him valuable time — but the Spaniard was a worthy as he showed off more of his trademark frontside 3s and silky smooth takas.

The final men’s heat of the day saw reigning world champion Philip Köster in action again and the German made another explosive start to the heat — just as he did in Heat 8 — by launching into an ankle dry double forward to earn 9.87 points, before quickly adding an excellent wave to his score sheet — consisting of a perfectly executed frontside 360 and a smooth taka — to immediately put Adam Lewis under pressure. Lewis deserves a lot of credit for the way he forced his way back into the heat as he landed a double forward of his own and a huge one-footed backloop to bring himself back into contention. The Brit was also able to land a radical frontside 360 of his own, but it wasn’t enough to overhaul Köster, who will now face another British opponent in the form of Robby Swift, who added that today was the windiest he has ever sailed Pozo, after he ended the hopes of Camille Juban.

After a scintillating day of competition the sailors were released at 7 PM and they will meet again tomorrow morning for a 9:30 AM skippers’ meeting with the action commencing from 10 AM (GMT+1) — if conditions allow. The forecast looks equally as windy tomorrow and the waves are expected to be slightly bigger than today, which should provide a cracking finale to the single eliminations before the start of the doubles. Make sure you tune into PWA World Tour.com to follow the amazing action as it happens via the PWA live stream and live ticker.

Day 4: Victories for Gil, Pasquale and Lesauvage as the wait continues for the pros

Day 4 of the Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival saw the waiting game continue for the men’s and women’s pro fleets, so it was once again left to the next generation to provide the show, which they duly obliged to do. At the end of the fourth day the second single eliminations for the Youth’s have been completed and attention will now start to turn towards tomorrow, which will hopefully see the pro’s begin their contests.

12-13 Year Olds Final

Marino Gil claimed back-to-back victories in the youngest division of the youth’s as the 13 year old saw off the competition of Takuma Sugi, Liam Dunkerbeck and Jose Antonio Casanova Perez. Gil made a brilliant start as he landed a perfect backloop to earn 8 points and from there no-one could catch him. Gil’s closest challenger was Sugi, who claimed 2nd ahead of Casanova Perez and Dunkerbeck, who pushed his level today as the 12 year old launched into his first backloop attempts.

14-15 Year Olds Final

Valentino Pasquale claimed victory to overtake Miguel Chapuis in the current overall standings for the 14-15 year olds. The conditions were extremely difficult during the final, but it was Pasquale who managed to make the better of the waves while landing a backloop and forward loop. Chapuis sits in 2nd place with Henry Kolberg moving into joint third with Mike Friedl after qualifying for the final today.

16-18 Year Olds Final

Noah Vocker Roche made a flying start to the final as he landed a fully planing forward and a clean, stylish backloop to claim a healthy, early lead. However, Loick Lesauvage soon began to hit back as he stomped a stalled forward and a big backloop. At this stage the final was quite close and in the end Vocker Roche and Lesauvage finished leveled on 19 points. However, it was Lesauvage who walks away with the victory today due to his more dynamic rail-to-rail wave riding which earned him the highest single wave score. As things stand, Vocker Roche and Lesauvage share the lead with Max Honchgrassl occupying the final place on the podium.

The forecast for tomorrow promises more wind than today, so the sailors will be reaching for their small sails and boards. The waves are forecast to be slightly bigger tomorrow although the period is predicted to be shorter at between 5-7 seconds, so we will have to wait and see how the day materializes. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 9:30 AM tomorrow morning with the action commencing from 10 AM (GMT+1) — if conditions allow. Make sure you tune into PWA World Tour.com to see all of the gravity defying stunts as they happen via the PWA live stream and live ticker.

Day 3: A look at the men’s qualifying round

Day 3 of the Gran Canaria Wind & Wave Festival saw a break in the competition with Pozo Izquierdo flattening out with the tide. At around mid-day an attempt was made to run the Youth’s but the heat was cancelled after only 5 minutes, due to the conditions deteriorating.

With the competitors remaining on hold for the majority of the day we decided to take a look at the men’s qualifying round, which will see 12 sailors competing for the remaining four places in the main draw. The winner of each heat will progress followed by one more sailor progressing from a final heat consisting of the 2nd place finishers.

The first qualifying heat will see three aspiring youths: Marc Paré, 18, against Julian Salmonn, 19 and Jake Schettewi, 15, against the more experienced Eric Sanllehy. However, Sanllehy will not have an easy route into the main draw with Paré finishing 3rd here in the Youth’s last year and has apparently progressed significantly again over the winter, while Julian Salmonn almost defeated Philip Köster in Tenerife last year.

The second heat will see two Pozo locals pitted against the youthful talents of Loick Lesauvage, 16, and Arthur Arutkin, 19, who both successfully qualified for the main draw last year via the trials. However, they will face a stern test if they wish to make the main draw this time around with Ceballos a previous event winner and someone who has also been ranked as high as 3rd overall in the world. Both he and Eleazar Alonso will be able to use their extensive local knowledge to their advantage, but the heat promises to be an intriguing battle against two up and coming sailors.

The final qualifying heat sees Kenneth Danielsen going against Federico Morisio, Markus Rydberg and Nicolas Akgazciyan. Danielsen is probably the favourite for the third qualifying heat and the Dane enters the event off the back of a brilliant result obtained in Denmark last year — when the 32 year old sailed superbly to claim 6th place. If he sails anywhere near that that level then he should comfortably progress into the main draw. Meanwhile, Rydberg has been in Pozo for a couple of months and has recovered from a shoulder injury that originally hampered his preparation for the event and the Swede is raring to go. Akgazciyan, who finished 4th overall in freestyle last year, will be a major threat and you can expect to see doubles, backloops and shiftys as he looks to claim his place in the single elimination, while Federico Morisio is fresh from his winter training in Cape Town, South Africa, and it will be interesting to see how his level has progressed since last year.

The forecast for tomorrow predicts slightly more wind than today, which will hopefully allow the action on the water to resume, while Thursday onwards still look solidly windy. The sailors will once again meet at 10 AM with the action commencing from 10:30 AM (GMT+1) — if conditions allow. Make sure you tune into PWA World Tour.com from the 3rd 'til the 9th July to see all of the gravity defying stunts as they happen via the PWA live stream and live ticker.

Day 2: Marino Gil, Miguel Chapuis & Noah Vocker Roche win opening Youth Eliminations

The second day of the Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival saw the Youth’s take centre stage again in the late afternoon and the next generation showed that windsurfing is in safe hands for the future with a solid display of sailing.

Marino Gil shone again today as the 13 year old claimed a deserved victory in the opening youth’s final. Gil landed a fully planing forward off the beach after a sail change and linked together the wave of the day — consisting of two backside airs and one fluid frontside hit to earn 8.5-9 points from the judges to see off Takuma Sugi, who claimed 2nd with a back and forward loop, while Liam Dunkerbeck completed the opening podium of the week.

In the 14-15 year old category, Miguel Chapuis came out on top as he landed a planing forward and a couple of powerful frontside snaps to see off Valentino Pasquale — who was his closest rival in 2nd place followed by Adam Warchol and Mike Friedl.

Noah Vocker Roche built on a solid performance yesterday to secure the top spot on the podium in the 16-18 year old category. The 16 year old opened proceedings with a stylish backloop before adding an 8 point forward and 6 point wave ride to his score sheet. Meanwhile, Loick Lesauvage claimed a clear 2nd ahead of Juliann Salmonn, who was missing a good second jump to complete his score sheet.

The sailors in the qualifying round for the main draw were released shortly after the completion of the youth’s with the waves not improving sufficiently to begin.

The forecast for tomorrow looks similar to today so the youth’s may well be given more opportunity to show what they are capable of with another elimination. The sailors will meet again tomorrow morning at 10 AM with the action commencing from 10:30 AM (GMT+1) if conditions allow. Make sure you tune into PWA World Tour.com to see all of the gravity defying stunts as they happen via the PWA live stream and live ticker.

Day 1: The next generation take centre stage on opening day

The opening day of the 2016 Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival saw the sailors registering for the upcoming week of competition between 9:30 AM and 11 AM before the first skippers’ meeting of the week was held at 12:30 PM.

The wind was present from the word go, but unfortunately the waves dropped during the afternoon with the high tide meaning the pro’s remained on standby today. However, there was some action during the afternoon as the Youth’s took centre stage for the first time this week.

The Youth’s contest was split into 3 separate categories:

— 12-13 year olds— 14-15 year olds— 16-18 year olds

In the 12 and 13 year old category Marino Gil stole the show as he threw down a sick tabletop forward and a planing backloop and he will meet Sugi Takuma, Jose Antonio Casanova Perez and Liam Dunkerbeck in a 4-man final, which will be held tomorrow if conditions allow.

Meanwhile, Miguel Chapuis came out on top in the opening 14 and 15 years old as the Spaniard combined a shuvit and a stylish forward with a 7 point wave ride to finish ahead of Mike Friedl, who stomped a sick tabletop forward.

In Heat 2, Valentino Pasquale caught the eye of the judges with his wave riding in particular setting him apart. The Argentinian recorded the highest single wave score of the day — earning 8.5 points, while Adam Warchol also progressed.

Heat 1 of the 16-18 year olds saw Loick Lesauvage and Juliann Salmonn use there previous event experience to successfully advance, while Noah Vocker looked the most impressive as he landed a perfect one-handed backloop. The fight for the remaining qualifying place saw a close battle between Max Schettewi and Tim van dam Sanchidrian — in the Schettewi was given the verdict by way of a 2:1 decision.

The forecast for tomorrow predicts slightly less wind and smaller waves so the pro fleet may well remain on hold again, but there will hopefully be enough to complete the Youth’s. The forecast from Thursday onward looks excellent with strong winds and waves just under 2 metres being predicted, which should lead to a fascinating contest.

The sailors will meet again tomorrow morning at 10 AM with the action commencing from 10:30 AM (GMT+1) if conditions allow.

- Text and Pictures by PWA World Tour.com / Chris Yates & John Carter -