2015 Alacati PWA World Cup – Painstaking elimination on final day

by Chris Yates on 23 Aug 2015 The final day of the 2015 Pegasus Airlines Alacati PWA World Cup saw a painstakingly long final elimination for both the men and women - in what must go down as one of the longest eliminations ever due to the light and gusty nature of the wind. In the end elimination four was completed in just over five hours and there was no way of stopping Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North) from claiming a hugely deserved maiden victory on the PWA Slalom World Tour.

Meanwhile, Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins), completed a stunning comeback by winning the last three eliminations to cement her place at the top of the world rankings.

Women’s

Elimination Four

Winners’ Final

The last winners’ final of the week had to be completed at the second time of asking after Lena Erdil (Patrik / Point-7 / Mystic/ AL360) was disqualified after jumping the gun. Upon the restart Sarah-Quita Offringa timed her start best as she looked to lead from start to finish to secure back-to-back event victories, which is exactly what she managed to do as she continued to find another gear to blitz away the rest of the competition to claim her third bullet of the week. Behind her Delphine Cousin (Starboard / Gun Sails) finished the week with her best result of the event - second - after managing to manoeuvre her way past Valerie Ghibaudo (Tabou / GA Sails), who finished third ahead of Cagla Kubat (Starboard / Severne). The local hero completes the podium here in Alacati and will be delighted with her result this week.

Men’s

Winners’ Final

Steve Allen (Starboard / Severne) made the best start to Heat 16, but the Australian couldn’t maintain the advantage heading into the first mark as Pierre Mortefon once again marched into the lead. The Frenchman has been first the opening mark to every final and just like previous finals he never relinquished the lead to claim an emphatic victory - not only in the final race but also for the entire event. Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) tried his best to hunt down his fellow countryman, but couldn’t quite get there as he had to settle for second place. Malte Reuscher (JP / NeilPryde) produced a great gybe at the first to round Allen and the Italian didn’t look back as he secured third place to earn his best ever result - second overall, whilst Allen claimed fourth place.

The Black Heat of Doom

Heat 7 was without doubt the worst heat to be involved in today with the sailors involved in the heat requiring over 10 attempts to finish the heat. The final to four was Andrea Cucchi (Patrik / Point-7), Andrea Rosati (RRD / NeilPryde), Bora Kozanoglu (RRD / Point-7) and Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Point-7). However, Jordy Vonk (Starboard / Point-7), was extremely unimpressed with the outcome having led the heat on several occasions, before seeing the cancel flag raised. Kurosh Kiani (Starboard / Point-7) was also unfortunate as his footstrap snapped at a critical moment to miss out on the quarters.

A GPS contest was also held with the quickest sailor in both the men’s and women’s fleets competing for €1,000 each. Ben Van der Steen (Tabou / GA Sails) came out on top in the men’s — posting a score of 69 kmh, whilst Lena Erdil proved to be the fastest woman with a speed of 61kmh.

Overall Result Pegasus Airlines Alacati PWA World Cup - Men’s Slalom

First Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North)
Second Malte Reuscher (JP / NeilPryde)
Third Matteo Iachino (Fanatic / North)
Fourth Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne)
Fifth Steve Allen (Starboard / Severne)
Sixth Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic)
Seventh Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)
Eighth Ben Van der Steen (Tabou / GA Sails)
Ninth Casper Bouman (Starboard /NeilPryde)
10th Bora Kozanoglu (RRD / Point-7)

Overall Result Pegasus Airlines Alacati PWA World Cup - Women’s Slalom

First Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins)
Second Marion Mortefon (Patrik / Gun Sails)
Third Cagla Kubat (Starboard / Severne)
Fourth Delphine Cousin (Starboard / Gun Sails)
Fifth Fulya Ünlü (Starboard / Severne)
Sixth Lena Erdil (Patrik / Point-7 / Mystic / AL360)