Check out the awesome action from Pistol River as part of the 2013 American Windsurfing Tour. The event started with 2 days of light wind perfect for a SUP contest. The forecast delivered for day four with 10-25 knot winds. Waves were small but enough to get through the entire single elimination. After the long day at the beach Camille Juban won the Single Elimination!
A few last word, we’d like to give a shout out to Sam Bittner who runs the tour, Kevin Pritchard who produce the awesome videos, and Starboard who sponsored the event!
The next AWT event in the Desert Showdown in San Carlos, Baja from July 27th to August 3rd, head over to AmericanWindsurfingTour.com for more details.
The forecast delivered for day four at the 2013 AWT Pistol River Wave Bash presented by Starboard with 20-25 knot wind. The waves were small but there was enough to get through a full single elimination bracket for all the divisions. It was a long day at the beach but it was exciting to see what the riders could deliver in such challenging conditions.
Continue Reading →
2013 is the 25th Anniversary of the Gran Canaria Wind and Waves Festival, which takes place form July 9th to 14th. Many of the pros are alreadyt here training and it should be an awesome event. But check out this trailer with some old school footage.
Day 2 at Pistol River saw the finals of the Gold Beach SUP Challenge completed. It was a fun contest that came down to a serious final featuring Bernd Roediger, Pascal Hardy, Matt Spencer and Brian Caserio. The heat some some of the best waves of the day with Bernd finishing on top. The ladies also had a solid final heat with Fiona Wylde winning by a tie-breaker over Katie McAnena.
Check out a full report on Day 2 of the Pistol River Wave Bash, with pics and full results.
The 2013 Défi Wind in Gruissan was one of the most successful editions since the launch of the event in 2001. After a day of tow-in freestyle 3 Days of strong wind kicked in for the 805 windsurfers on 1 starting line and 175 km of full speed racing. Check out the 22 minute video that try’s do do the Defi Wind justice but is a unique event, it can not be explained, it must be done, it must be lived.
The competitors have descended on the town of Gold Beach, Oregon for the 2013 AWT Pistol River Wave Bash presented by Starboard. The opening night party and registration was hosted by the Inn of the Beachcomber and everyone had a blast with BBQ, beer and music… always a winning combination. Day 1 was a relaxing day as the wind didn’t materialize enough to run any heats, but we’re ready for when it does show up. The main action on the beach was with a SUP clinic from Bernd Roediger and Fiona Wylde. They gave the crowd plenty of great tips on paddling and catching waves. I’m sure some will use them to their advantage at the upcoming SUP Gold Beach Challenge presented by the Inn of the Beachcomber that will be running on Day 2. Stay tuned tomorrow for a report on the action and photos from this exciting SUP event.
Event Summary: A familiar face surrounded by two, new, potential stars of the slalom world
The final day of the PWA Catalunya World Cup witnessed a mammoth final elimination, which took four hours to complete due to the gusty and shifty winds. After a long and largely frustrating afternoon, Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde), eventually powered to victory in race four and more importantly this clinched the overall event victory for him. The reigning world champion’s first event victory of the year sees him return to the top of the overall rankings too. A grueling day was eventually completed shortly after 7pm to conclude another fantastic event on the beautiful shores of Costa Brava.
Antoine Albeau was able to claim two bullets, as well as a third and a fourth to cement his place as the King of Costa Brava. The reigning world champion became the first man to stop his arch nemesis – Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Dunkerbeck Eyewear / Chris Benz) – from claiming the title for the first time in three years. Albeau demonstrated his perfectly timed starts time and time again, along with a phenomenal top speed to blow the competition out of the water.
Words from the winner:
“I’d like to thank all the organizers – thanks Panxo – because you did a great job again to organize this wonderful event. Thanks also to the owner’s of the campsite as we stay here, and this really is a beautiful, beautiful place to windsurf, and it is perfect for holidays too. I’m also really happy to see new blood on the podium [Julien Quentel and Matteo Iachino], it’s really nice and I think I’m going to have a big battle with Julien this year. And thanks to everyone because today was really hard. Thanks to Juan Aragon and his team, I think they did a really good job re-adjusting the course so quickly and see you next year!”
Bjorn Dunkerbeck managed to recover from a disastrous first round exit in the opening elimination to fight back to fourth place. The most successful windsurfer of all time started his recovery with a seventh and a tenth place, before showing what he is truly made of to take home second place in the final elimination, which allowed him to discard a 44.5 point score, which then saw him fly up through the rankings.
Micah Buzianis (JP / MauiSails) was able to put the disappointment of Korea behind him and firmly get his season back on track with a fifth place finish. The American showed his perfectly timed starts and super consistent gybes to claw his way back towards the top of the pack. He will now be hoping to continue the form he showed here, at the next event in Turkey.
Flying Dutchman – Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic / Different) – was able to back up his third place finish in Korea with a solid sixth this week with a gritty display of sailing. Van Der Steen now sits in fourth place overall in the rankings, perfectly poised to make an attack for the top in Turkey. Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne) is similarly positioned and showing the kind of consistency that is required to finish in the top five and above overall.
Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde) continues to prove that his change of equipment in the winter is working wonders for him as he now sits inside the top then. The Israeli was able to finish seventh this week, and his result may have been even better – with a bit more luck – if the first attempt to complete the winners’ final hadn’t been cancelled due to a drop in the wind.
Alberto Menegatti (Starboard / Point-7) came into the event as the leader of the tour, but a combination of bad luck and a major error – sailing to the wrong mark in the opening elimination – cost him dearly. The Italian finished eighth overall and still finds himself in third place overall. Menegatti reaffirmed his title winning credentials with another bullet in the third elimination, so it remains to be seen whether his mistake in the first race comes back to haunt him, come the end of the season.
Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7) achieved his first top ten finish on the PWA in almost a decade with a fantastic display of sailing. The man behind Point-7 made one appearance in a winners’ final along with two losers’ finals to claim his best finish in a very long time.
The remaining winner of a race this week was Finian Maynard (RRD / Avanti) – who stole the show in the second elimination. Maynard lit a trail a blaze as he hunted down Patrick Diethelm (Patrik / Loft Sails) to move into the lead, and once in the lead he was in complete control of the race.
The 2013 PWA Catalunya World Cup Standings:
1st Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)
2nd Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde)
3rd Matteo Iachino (F2 / Challenger Sails / AL360)
4th Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Dunkerbeck Eyewear / Chris Benz)
5th Micah Buzianis (JP / MauiSails)
6th Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic / Different)
7th Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde)
8th Alberto Menegatti (Starboard / Point-7)
9th Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7)
10th Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne)
Action of the third elimination of the winners finals at the 2013 PWa Catalunya World Cup in Costa Brava. Alberto Menegatti won the third elimination in front of Micah Buzianis and Julien Quentel.
Ben Proffitt’s Pozo Training Diaries are back for 2013! Here’s what Ben had to say;
it’s still early days before the comp so not too many riders are here yet but we still have plenty of action for you.
Planning doubles from Koster, Blood from Adam Lewis, mystery crash from Alex Mussolini, Victor floaty jumps… and some nugget huggers of course!!Early days yet and the forecast is looking windy so stay tuned for some full power crashing in the coming weeks!
Also don’t forget to like Ben Proffits Facebook page, its new!
Maynard and Menegatti steal the show with one elimination victory apiece
Day four of the PWA Catalunya World Cup saw the wind arrive much earlier than the opening three days of the competition, which enabled the conclusion of two more eliminations. The competitors endured a grueling day – spanning seven hours – after they began competing shortly after eleven o’clock. Finian Maynard (RRD / Avanti) claimed the first bullet of the day – his first of the season – before Alberto Menegatti reaffirmed his title winning credentials with his second victory of the season in elimination three after a thrilling finish with Micah Buzianis (JP / MauiSails).
Head over to the PWA website for there full report on Day 4 of the PWA Catalunya World Cup.
The Top 5 After Elimination Three
1st Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)
2nd Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde)
3rd Micah Buzianis (JP / MauiSails)
4th Matteo Iachino (F2 / Challenger Sails / AL360)
5th Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne)
The third day of the PWA Catalunya World Cup saw winds ranging from 7-20 knots as two wind directions hit the Golf-de-Roses over the course of a few hours. Costa Brava was transformed from a starboard tack slalom paradise into a port tack slalom heaven in the same afternoon. The sea breeze, which is synonymous with Costa Brava enabled a further six heats to be completed. Shortly after three o’clock it looked as though the racing was over for the day, before the local ‘Garbi’ wind kicked in from the Northeast. Unfortunately it only made a brief appearance, meaning that only a further three heats were completed before the end of the day.
Read the full report on Day 3 over at the PWA website. If you’re like us and missed day 2 here it is!
Antoine Albeau won the first elimination of the winners final in Costa Brava. Content Seven was unhand to capture the action.
First blood to Albeau as the reigning world champion claims the first victory of the week
The local thermal effect kicked in once again on day two of the PWA Catalunya World Cup as the remainder of the opening elimination was completed, under glorious sunny skies and winds ranging from 7-14 knots. Reigning world champion – Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) – sailed a flawless elimination and was duly rewarded with the first bullet of the week, firmly stamping his name at the top of the event rankings, but it was truly a day to forget for Alberto Menegatti.
Get indepth coverage of day 2 at the PWA Catalunya World Cup at PWAWorldTour.com
Results After Elimination One
1st Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)
2nd Matteo Iachino (F2 / Challenger Sails / AL360)
3rd Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne)
4th Pieter Bijl (Angulo / NeilPryde)
5th Micah Buzianis (JP / MauiSails)
Nice video by Gunnar Proppe of the pro single elimination finals at the Santa Cruz Goya Windsurfing Festival.
Day 1: Tricky conditions make for a tense start in Costa Brava
The inaugural day of the PWA Catalunya World Cup saw the competitors registering for the upcoming competition between 10am and 11am. With a less than promising wind forecast, combined with a very quiet start to the day, not everybody was expecting to be competing come the afternoon. However, as the skippers’ meeting took place at one o’clock the wind gradually started to increase as the local thermal effect kicked in. Shortly after 14:45 the first heat of race one was underway in winds ranging from 7-10 knots. A stop-start afternoon was eventually concluded at around 17:30 with five heats being completed – there were however a number of casualties in the opening round as the marginal winds made for very tricky racing conditions.
Continue Reading →
