Day 2: First blood Alberto Menegatti
A slow and sunny start to the day led to the wind starting to build around lunchtime and by 14:20 the first elimination had been resumed in 8-13 knots. The winners’ final was completed just in time as Alberto Menegatti (Starboard / Point-7) claimed the first victory of 2014.
Read the full report from Day 2 on the PWA website.
Tomorrow’s action will kick off bright and early with the skippers’ meeting being called for 7am. The latest forecast promises the infamous Tramontana wind – which last appeared here back in 2011, producing exhilarating slalom with gusts of up to 50 knots – so tomorrow should see frantic, adrenaline fuelled racing with a first possible start at 07:30am.
Day 1: The opening round of race one completed before the wind halts play
The inaugural day of the 2014 PWA Catalunya World Cup saw a hazy and chilly start, however it wasn’t long before bursts of sunshine started to burn through the cloud and 6 heats were completed.
Dunkerbeck reflects on day one:
“The wind started off pretty good 10-12 knots and sunny, up until my heat no. 6 it was on the limit but ok, then a cloud came, the wind dropped and changed angle, so even on my 10m2 Severne reflex 5 and 130 Litre Starboard I was underpowered. I’m really happy with the sail but in no wind there is a limit…! A few heats later the day was called off for not good enough wind for slalom! Looks like there will be Tramontana in a few days… I really hope to get some better wind for windsurfing soon (;-))) AND SOME FUN SLALOM!”
NeilPryde slalom team spent three months in Maui this winter preparing for the PWA slalom season ahead. They created a short video series documenting their experience and providing racing tips and tricks for slalom windsurfers. In Episode 1, Antoine Albeau talks us through racing sail tuning.
Gastra takes on a new brand and new look GA Sails. The GA Sails slalom team: Ross Williams, Ben Van der Steen and Cedric Bordes visited El Medano in Tenerife this winter to test new GA Sails the Vapor and Phantom.
Check out Kurosh Kiani’s latest video update.
Over the winter, I went into hiding for a little while. I had a tough year throughout 2013 and needed for new things to happen. I changed my equipment sponsors and now embark on a total new time with completely new equipment and a new mindset. I spent the winter months on the island of Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands.
During these months I had lots of time to get everything back in order, and at the same time, I had time to reflect and put together this little clip to shortly tell a bit about how I feel about it all and what my deal is now.
Luckily I had a little bit of help getting a couple of clips together and as I am setting out to proper start my training times, I managed to put it all together to this short episode of my Kiani TV series. It is done completely from the heart. Nobody over my shoulders asking for specific things, just my own stuff.
See you out there in 2014!
Sometimes it’s just about kicking back and having a good time. French slalom rider Estelle Barre does just that and brings us this feel good clip. Enjoy.
Slalom sailor Antoine Questel finished an impressive 7th overall on the PWA Slalom World Tour. Earlier this year Antoine was training in Leucate along with Pierre Mortefon, Tristan Algret and Nicolas Warembourg.
Check out the RRD in Sylt.
Kurosh Kiani is back with another great episode of Kiani TV where he takes a look at the World Cup competition scene.
In August, I spent a couple of weeks in Turkey preparing and then competing in the PWA world cup in the town of Alacati. In this months episode “The Contest” I try to portray the stuff that happens during a contest, all compressed into a combination of action and talks with two good friends and among the best windsurfers in the world: Ross Williams and Arnon Dagan.
We reflect on everything from arrival to departure and the things that go in between worth talking about. Mixed with some action from the hours spent training and the actual competition moments, I hope that this will give everyone who clicks by to watch an insight of what you go through in an action packed world cup week. Arrival, setting up, racing, crashing, heat of the moment and so on.. Check out the rest yourself.
A great clip from down under, Australian National under 21 Slalom Champion, Izaak Perkins teamed up with Cairns local Locky McDermott for a windsurfing expedition to an amazing flat water paradise on the outer Great Barrier Reef.
This looks like the trip for the bucket list, as very few riders have ever windsurfed the Great Barrier Reef.
Check out the wrap up video of the final day at the 2013 PWA Alacati World Cup.
Starboard is no doubt one of the leading brands in the industry, with riders like Philip Koster, Dany Bruch, Boujmaa Guilo, KevinPritchard and many many more. So what does trhat mean for you other then some of the best boards on the market? It means some of this action in the 2014 Starboard Flagship DVD! Enjoy!
Just out the highlights of the 2013 Maui Race Series. Some serious slalom action that attracts top names from around the World and Maui alike.
Profesional PWA slalom sailor Kurosh Kiani bring us his latest update with this clip of his preparations to compete on the PWA slalom tour. Here are some words from the man himself:
This July episode looks into my journey to team up with a friend, Arnon Dagan to prepare for a competition. All the things that you need to be good at as a windsurfer is more than you would think. In the words of Arnon Dagan: “The mechanic, the travel agent and the marketing guy”. Through this episode I have given all of these things a thought while having the best of times with Arnon sailing and training.
I traveled from Denmark down to Israel where I spent a while in the waters of Bat Galim, Haifa, and then went onwards to Alacati, Turkey where I had some amazing days of sailing and preparing.
In these minutes of this episode, I have tried to go through just a small amount of things you need to have in place when competing as a world tour sailor.
All the while not forgetting the fun aspect of making sure you are having a good time no matter what work you do. I have also for the first time documented the “worm” which only comes out on special occasion.
Also in this episode, you will see Formula Windsurfing world champion Casper Bouman sailing with us in these beautiful spots.
All in all, another amazing month which I hope will be visible in this months episode.
RRD is on the fifth version of the X-Fire hi-performance slalom board and the choice of 11 time World champion Antoine Albeau. Check out what what he’ll be riding in this years PWA slalom tour.