Yesterday may have been windy, but today’s wind was on a completely different scale. The wind at times was gusting to sixty knots, but this didn’t deter the world's most radical sailors from launching into rocket propelled stunts as they delivered a truly breathtaking display. In the morning Philip Köster (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) was able to win the single elimination ahead of Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / North) after a battle of the former against the current PWA World Champion.
Men’s Single Elimination
Winners’ Final
The top two riders from Pozo last year prevailed once more as the first winners’ final of the year took place. The conditions were epic and the action that ensued was astonishing. Philip Köster opened the heat with an absolutely ridiculous stalled forward that caught him mid-air and floated him to the side, setting the tone for things to come. Fernandez replied with a wave 360, before searching out a ramp to land his own massive forward loop. The caliber of the sailing witnessed was out of this world and the pair continued to push each other for the duration of the heat. Fernandez was sailing incredibly as he landed one handed goiters, double forwards and an amazing backside 360. However Köster was fully in his stride and he soon delivered one of his trademark ankle dry double forwards before going onto nail huge wave 360s and backloops which were close to leaving the atmosphere. As the judges score cards were tallied up it was revealed that Köster was the champion of the single elimination. We will now have to wait and see if he can defend his crown in the double elimination tomorrow.
Losers’ Final
The losers’ final was also a sight to behold as Dany Bruch (Starboard / Severne / AL360) and Dario Ojeda (Tabou / Gaastra / MFC) gave their all in the fight for third place. The action was relentless right from the word go and Ojeda launched straight into an astronomical backloop. As the heat progressed, it was clear that the local boy was reveling in the nuclear winds and the Canarian threw an absolutely insane stalled forward as well as delivering some astonishing wave rides, which included amazing front and backside aerials along with his usual backside 360s and takas to take control of the heat. Bruch delivered an outstanding performance as well but on this occasion his silky smooth wave riding and perfect backloops weren’t enough to beat Ojeda, who claimed his place on the podium.
Men’s Double Elimination
The epic conditions continued for the entire day, which meant the first three rounds of the double elimination were completed before the close of play. The first round went according to plan, as did much of the second. However there were a couple of talking points. First up was heat thirty four, which saw Britain’s Adam Lewis (Patrik / Point-7) taking on the youngsters champion Alessio Stillrich (Fanatic / North / AL360). Both sailors sailed brilliantly as they pulled off big backloops, super tweaked pushloops and some super fluid wave riding, by the end of the heat only half a point separated Lewis and Stillrich such was the closeness of the battle. Fortunately for Stillrich the decision went in his favor and the seventeen year old Spaniard advanced into the third round. Peter Volwater (Fanatic /Avanti) also missed out on the third round by the narrowest of margins to Leon Jamaer (Fanatic / Hot Sails Maui) in heat thirty four.
Ben Proffitt (Simmer) battled his way back through double elimination today after his early exit in the single. The Brit, who is also our commentator extraordinaire, found his form as he defeated the hugely talented Jonas Ceballos to advance into the third round. Proffitt sailed a great heat landing super tweaked pushloops as well as linking some exceptional waves, unfortunately though he was up against Kauli Seadi (JP / NeilPryde), who was on fire. The Brazilian looked like a different sailor compared to Wednesday as he landed almost any move he wanted. Seadi landed amazing one handed goiters, wave 360s and a whole host of aerial maneuvers, as he unleashed his full repertoire of tricks to book his place in the fourth round at the expense of Proffitt.
The standout sailor of the double elimiation thus far though has to go to Alex Mussolini (Tabou / Gaastra). The Spaniard sailed exceptionally as he defeated Jamie Hancock (Tabou / Gaastra) and the Vice World Champion for the past two years, Ricardo Campello (JP / NeilPryde / MFC), to secure his place in heat forty six. Mussolini’s jumping was outstanding today, but it was his wave riding that really separated him from the rest of his opponents. Against Campello, Mussolini caught the wave of the day as he scored eleven points for the single wave. He pulled an amazing wave 360 and taka along with an extra couple of backside smacks to leave the crowd and judges astounded. Advancing from the other side of heat forty five would be Marcilio Browne (Goya / MFC), who sailed an unbelievably, landing a perfect double forward and a backside 360 right in the pocket of the wave to dispatch of his fellow Brazilian Kauli Seadi. Elsewhere Voget (Fanatic / Simmer / MFC) had too much Klaas for Thomas Traversa (Tabou / Gaastra), whilst Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) sailed through the pain of a broken toe for three successive heats, to defeat Ross Williams (Tabou / Gaastra) in the all English affair.
Women’s Double Elimination
There were two heats completed today in the women’s double elimination, as they proved that they are more than capable of handling the extreme conditions, even though some of them were on bigger sails then their male counterparts. Heat forty four saw Steffi Wahl (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) defeat Fanny Aubet (JP / NeilPryde), whilst Carmen Afonso Martin sailed extremely well to knock out Alice Arutkin (Starboard / North).
The only sour note of the day came in heat forty five, which featured Eva Oude Ophius (Fanatic / North) versus Hester Anderiesen (Fanatic / North) and Olga Raskina (JP / NeilPryde) taking on Astrid Muldoon (Fanatic / North). Oude Ophius was able to successfully navigate her way past Anderiesen, but the real story of this heat involved Raskina. Having already landed a very end over end forward, Raskina found a perfect ramp and showed no fear in launching herself straight into another forward. Unfortunately this time she wasn’t so lucky as she went super end over end again and she landed extremely flat. It appears she has injured her knee, how badly remains to be seen but we wish her a speedy recovery and hope to see her back competing again very soon.
Tomorrow promises to be another day filled with epic action as the latest forecast predicts yet more wind and waves. This means we should see the completion of the men and women’s double eliminations. The skippers meeting has been called for 10am with the first possible start at 10:30. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to see the action unfold as it happens via the live stream.
The third day of the PWA Gran Canaria Wind & Wave Festival turned out to be ‘Big Wednesday’ and we certainly weren’t left disappointed, as the women’s single elimination was completed in nuclear winds and powerful waves. By the end of an exhausting day it was Iballa Ruano Moreno (Starboard / Severne) who was declared the winner, whilst Philip Köster (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) and Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / North) secured their places in the men’s winners' final. The losers’ final will feature Dany Bruch (Starboard / Severne / AL360) against his good firend Dario Ojeda (Tabou / Gaastra / MFC).
Men’s Single Elimination
The men’s semi-final saw the level go quite literally sky high, as the wind hit forty knots or more and the waves continued to increase. Victor Fernandez set the tempo of the heat from the outset, as the Spaniard launched into an astronomical stalled forward followed by a perfect double forward to put himself in a brilliant position. Fernandez’s wave riding was also out of this world, and his consistency at times was scary. He was able to pull off textbook goiters, time and time again with consummate ease, as well as landing an unbelievable one handed, one footed backloop. Fernandez’s performance was duly rewarded as he defeated Bruch, who was suffering with a back injury after landing his own one handed, one footed backloop during his quarter final, to book his place in the winners’ final. The B-side of the heat saw Köster versus the local boy Dario Ojeda. Just like Fernandez, Köster’s sailing was in a league of its own. The wonder kid landed an amazing wave 360, which most people would have settled for alone, but Köster wasn’t content with that, and he rotated straight into a flawless taka to score nine and a half points on this one wave. Ojeda tried to respond with a wave 360 of his own, but Koster put the remaining nails in his coffin by nailing a quite brilliant goiter and one of his trademark double forwards, off almost no ramp, to secure his place in the winners’ final. This now sets up a mouth-watering final between Fernandez and Köster.
The closest heat of the day was between Marcilio Browne (Goya / MFC) and Victor Fernandez, in the quarter finals. The two riders were inseparable as they tied the heat. In the end it was Fernandez who advanced after it was revealed that the Spaniard received the highest wave score. However Browne deserves a special mention as he landed an outrageous pushloop forward as well as a fully planing forward off the lip, and he was extremely unlucky not to advance. If it wasn’t for an inform Fernandez there is no doubt the Brazilian would have been marching on in the single elimination. As it happens now though, Browne will have to fight his way back through the double elimination.
Britain’s Ross Williams (Tabou / Gaastra) performed brilliantly to knock out the three times World Champion Kauli Seadi (JP / NeilPryde)in the third round. The Brit is renowned for his slick wave riding style and today proved no different. However, Williams was stopped in his tracks by Ojeda in the very next round. Meanwhile, Phil Horrocks (Tabou / Gaastra) pushed Köster all the way in his third round heat with his table top forward being one of the standout moves of the day. Unfortunately for Horrocks, Köster was in formidable form as he nailed a pushloop forward and an unreal reverse, which he landed right in the critical section of the wave, to advance past the Brit.
Women’s Single Elimination
Winners’ Final
The winners’ final once again saw the legendary Moreno twins lining up against each other as Iballa Ruano Moreno and Daida Ruano Moreno (Starboard / Severne) commenced battle on three meter sails. Daida quickly racked up her jumps as she opened the heat with a perfectly executed backloop and a massive stalled forward in the crazy winds. Iballa on the other hand began the heat by hunting for waves and she quickly found a set wave to let loose on. Iballa wasted little time in throwing an awesome backside shuvit before going frontside to deliver a devastating top turn to leave the heat finely balanced. Daida was now the one hunting for the waves and once she found them she unleashed her trademark backside airs along with numerous powerful front and backside turns. At this point Daida looked as though she had taken control of the heat, especially after she landed a super tweaked pushloop. However Iballa wasn’t going to let her sister have it all her own way and she began to mount a fight back, which started with a radical pushloop before pulling off a stunning stalled forward. As the heat entered the dying moments, Iballa sailed the wave of the day as she threw an outstanding wave 360 as well as linking a couple of slick turns to leave things in the balance. This final wave proved to be pivotal, as Iballa went on to win the single elimination by way of a 3-2 judges decision in her favor.
Iballa Ruano Moreno after winning the women’s single elimination:
“ I’m feeling really good, this is one of the first times that anyone has beaten Daida in Pozo. I was really lucky with my final wave, I managed to pull off a wave 360 and link together a couple of nice turns, which I think made a difference to the points. We still have the double to run, where I expect to be waiting for Daida, so we will have to wait and see.”
Losers’ Final
The losers’ final was a strictly Swiss affair as Laure Treboux (Fanatic / North) took on Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne). As the heat unfolded it was Treboux who scored the best waves and Jaggi who excelled in the jumping. The stand out moment of the heat though definitely belonged to Jaggi. She showed absolutely no hesitation in throwing herself into a super end over end forward to wow the judges. Treboux looked confident on the wave but on this occasion she couldn’t pull off a backloop to retaliate, so she was left to settle for fourth place.
The forecast for tomorrow is even better than today, with a bigger swell being predicted and even stronger winds. The skippers' meeting has been called for 9:30am with the action commencing from 10am. Thursday promises to be an epic day, don’t miss a thing by watching the live stream at www.pwaworldtour.com.
Results After Single Elimination - Women’s Wave
1st Iballa Ruano Moreno (Starboard / Severne)
2nd Daida Ruano Moreno (Starboard / Severne)
3rd Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne)
4th Laure Treboux (Fanatic / North)
With lighter winds than yesterday head judge Duncan Coombs made the decision to run the women’s single elimination ahead of the remainder of the men’s. Although the winds were lighter than on Monday, the women were still reaching for their 3.4-3.7 sails in order to survive the powerful winds of Pozo.
Women’s Single Elimination
The opening round of the women’s single elimination saw Olya Raskina (JP / NeilPryde) narrowly edge out France’s Fanny Aubet (JP / NeilPryde), whilst Eva Oude Ophius (Fanatic / North) delivered a sterling performance. The Dutch woman’s wave riding was what really separated her from her opponent Carmen Afonso Martin, who was making her debut on the tour. Meanwhile Alice Arutkin (Starboard / North) advanced against Hester Anderiesen (Fanatic / North) after an extremely close fought contest. Steffi Wahl (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) demonstrated the best wave riding of the opening round, with her backside hits being particularly impressive. The German was rewarded as she knocked out Astrid Muldoon (Fanatic / North) to progress into the quarter finals.
Heat twenty one witnessed Olga Raskina up against the former World Champion Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne) and Eva Oude Ophius versus Iballa Ruano Moreno (Starboard / Severne). Both sides of the heats were dominated by Jaggi and Iballa Ruano Moreno respectively, as the highly ranked seeds showed their class to advance. Iballa Moreno set the bar extremely high as she landed an impeccable pushloop as well as throwing massive backside aerials.
The second quarter final saw the multiple World Champion Daida Ruano Moreno (Starboard / Severne) hit the water and the crowds and judges were not disappointed, as she delivered the best wave ride of the day to score a perfect ten. The Spaniard opened up with a big backside aerial before going onto throw an outstanding wave 360. It was so good that it would have rivaled many of the men’s best efforts. It wasn’t just Moreno’s wave riding which was a class above either, as she put together an astonishing jumping performance consisting of a super tweaked pushloop and a rocket propelled backloop to steal the show. Steffi Wahl didn’t go down without a fight though as she attempted a wave 360 of her own which she couldn’t quite pull out of the bag. On the A-side of the heat Laure Treboux (Fanatic / North) put together a confident display to dispatch Alice Arutkin. Treboux nailed a perfect forward loop at the beginning of the heat and from here she never looked back.
Into the semi-finals and the Moreno twins made no mistakes by booking their places in the winners’ final. Iballa Ruano Moreno successfully defeated the Swiss gem Karin Jaggi. During the heat she was able to land a massive stalled forward and a beautifully controlled backloop as well as throwing an impressive amount of spray with her front and backside riding. Jaggi sailed a solid heat but her backloops and slick wave riding weren’t quite enough today. Meanwhile, Daida Ruano Moreno continued to launch into massive back and forward loops, as the World Champion sailed in devastating fashion to book her place in winners’ final ahead of Laure Treboux. On the bright side for Treboux, the Swiss styler now has the opportunity to secure her first ever top three finish in the waves, when she takes on Karin Jaggi in the losers’ final.
The decision was made to postpone the women’s finals until the conditions improved as the high tide cancelled out the waves. Unfortunately as the tide receded the waves never returned with the same quality as in the morning, so we will have to wait until tomorrow to complete the single elimination.
Youngster competition
Whilst the men and women waited patiently for the condition to improve, a youngsters competition was held. The contest saw eight up and coming sailors take to the water for two twelve minute heats, in which the biggest move would see the top two sailors advance into the final.
In the first heat Alessio Stillrich (Fanatic / North / AL360) and Moritz Mauch (Starboard / North) booked their place in the final. Stillrich landed a sick bolt upright pushloop whilst Mauch excelled in the wave riding as well as landing a text-book backloop. Pablo Ramirez (Goya / MFC) and Arthur Arutkin (Starboard / Severne) both advanced from the second heat after landing a brilliant backloop and a monster stalled forward respectively.
The final saw Stillrich deservedly claim the youngsters' crown as he landed a stunning repertoire of tricks. The pick of the bunch was a super tweaked pushloop which he landed ankle-dry. The forecast for tomorrow offers an increase in both the wind and waves, so we should see the conclusion of the women’s single elimination at an absolute minimum. With this in mind the skippers meeting has been called for 9:30am with the action commencing from 10am.
The opening day of the new look PWA Gran Canaria Wind&Waves Festival saw sailors registering for the week of competition ahead between 10am and 12pm. From the outset the sailors were greeted with strong winds and waves as brilliant conditions hit the shores of Pozo, by 2:15pm the men’s single elimination was up and running as twelve heats were completed before the end of the day.
Men’s Single Elimination
The opening round of the contest saw the talented Catalonian Eric Sanllehy (Goya / MFC) advance against Spain’s Albert Pijoan (Starboard / Severne). Sanllehy looked dangerous in the air as he threw perfect backloops and tweaked pushloops to knock out Pijoan. Antoine Martin (JP / NeilPryde) managed to edge his way past Brazil’s Levi Lenz (Goya) in what was a close heat.
The second heat of the day belonged to Jonas Ceballos, who put together a comprehensive display to book his place in the second round at the expense of fellow countrymen Pablo Ramirez (Goya / MFC). Meanwhile on the other side of the heat Finland’s Tuomo Naalisvaara (Starboard / Severne) looked in confident mood as he safely navigated his way past Arthur Arutkin (Starboard / Severne).
Heat three saw Leon Jamaer (Fanatic / Hot Sails Maui) taking on Gustav Hagestrom, who was making his debut on the PWA World Tour. Unfortunately the Swede couldn’t make a winning start to his life on tour, as Jamaer proved too much for him. The otherside of the heat saw a German head-to-head battle between Moritz Mauch (Starboard / North) and Michael Kleingarn (Fanatic / Gaastra). By the end of the heat it was Kleingarn who would be marching into the next round, after his better consistency proved vital.
The final heat of the first round consisted of just two sailors, Robert Baldyga (Quatro / MauiSails) and Nicolai Litterscheidt, who is also a newcomer to the PWA. Baldyga safely dispatched of the debutant as he pulled off a slick forward off the lip as well as a precise backloop.
The opening heat of the second round saw the standard of sailing increase dramatically. Klaas Voget (Fanatic / Simmer / MFC) was carving apart the waves at free will as he effortlessly linked together each section of the wave, whilst performing backside wave 360’s and takas to leave Christopher Friis with no chance. Dany Bruch (Starboard / Severne / AL360) was also involved in this heat and he was one of the standout sailors of the day. Bruch looked in formidable form, both in the jumping and wave riding department. He threw the first forward double loop of the competition as well as landing a one handed backloop and a super tweaked pushloop. To cap an already impressive performance he combined his brilliant jumping with shakas, takas and wave 360’s to deliver the best display so far.
Heat ten saw John Skye (RRD / RRD / Mystic / MFC) advance against fellow Brit Jamie Hancock (Tabou / Gaastra). Skye was able to score a couple of sweet wave rides combined with a forward off the lip to guarantee his place in the next round. Hancock reportedly caught his fin on a rock, which cost him dearly. Ricardo Campello (JP / NeilPryde) started off poorly as he crashed his opening forward and backloop. However the Venezuelan soon found his form to end the hopes of Antoine Martin.
Heat eleven saw the closest contest of the day between Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) and Omar Sanchez (Simmer), with just two points separating to the two of them. In the end it was Swift who would be progressing to the next round as his wave riding proved to be slightly better than Sanchez’s. The other stand out sailor of the day was Marcilio Browne (Goya / Goya / MFC). The Brazilian threw a massive double forward to please the crowds on the beach, as well as launching into super tweaked pushloop tabletops. Brawzinho also looked on fire on the wave too, as he landed a goiters and takas demonstrating his thoroughbred wave riding pedigree.
The standout sailor of heat twelve was the former World Champion Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / North). The Spaniard landed the best double forward of the day and from here he just went from strength-to-strength as everything he touched turned to gold. By the end of the heat he had racked up wave 360’s, takas and one-handed backloops to end Ceballos’ elimination. Ben Proffitt (Simmer / Simmer) and Jules Denel (Exocet) continued their battle against each other in the A-side of the heat, and on this occasion it was Denel who came out on top.
Heat thirteen witnessed Ross Williams progress comfortably against Peter Volwater (Fanatic / Avanti), who didn’t have his best heat. That’s not to take anything away from the Brit though as he put together a confident display, with a super smooth taka being the stand out move from him. The Three times World Champion, Kauli Seadi (JP / NeilPryde), made no mistake of beating Jamaer with an assured display.
Local boy Dario Ojeda (Tabou / Gaastra) sailed in heat fourteen, and the Canarian delivered an accomplished display. His backside wave 360’s and big backloops proved too much for Kleingarn to handle, and Ojeda progressed. Meanwhile, Kenneth Danielsen’s (F2 / Simmer) powerful wave riding deservedly saw the Dane advance into the third round at the expense of Martin Ten Hoeve (Goya / Point-7).
Teammates Thomas Traversa (Tabou / Gaastra) and Alex Mussolini (Tabou / Gaastra) both successfully navigated their way through heat fifteen. Traversa tore the waves apart with a number of outstanding turns, which sent the spray flying. Mussolini proved to be the pushloop king and despite Alessio Stillrich’s (Fanatic / North / AL360) best efforts to stage a comeback he couldn’t quite do enough to over hall Mussolini.
The final heat of the day saw the reigning World Champion Philip Köster (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) enter the fray. The wonder kid didn’t look his usual unbeatable self at the start of the heat, but after coming back to the beach to change equipment he started to show what he is capable of. His best moment saw him rotate through a massive backside 360 before linking two takas on an incredible wave ride. After this he started to find his stride and by the end of the heat he had also added one of his trademark double forwards to the score sheet. Britain’s Phil Horrocks (Tabou / Gaastra) sailed a great heat to defeat the dangerous local Eleazar Alonso (JP / NeilPryde).
