PWA Catalunya World Cup - Action aplenty on day 2 + Video

by Vivienne Masters on 14 Jun 2012 Day two of the 2012 PWA Catalunya World Cup in Costa Brava started very calm and overcast, but just after two o’clock the wind kicked in, enabling the completion of the first race. Bjorn Dunkerbeck stepped up to the plate to win the opening elimination, as he kicked off his event with a perfect start. More importantly, the victory firmly re-establishes his bid for the world title and the terminator will now look to cement his place at the top of the rankings over the remainder of the week.

In Elimination One of the Winners’ Final, Antoine Albeau crossed the start line first just ahead of his nemesis Bjorn Dunkerbeck, but by the first gybe Dunkerbeck’s blistering speed had taken him clear of the Frenchman. Whilst the terminator exited his gybe cleanly, further extending his lead, Albeau was caught in a melee of sailors, which cost him dearly as he struggled to get back onto the plane. Steve Allen, Pieter Bijl and a flying Alberto Menegatti all leapfrogged Albeau, who now found himself in fifth.

Dunkerbeck held a commanding lead over his nearest rival, Allen, and the terminator made no mistakes over the remainder of the course to claim the first bullet of the week. By this point Steve Allen had built an unassailable lead over Bijl in third place to claim second. Despite Albeau’s best efforts he was unable to catch the flying Dutchman ahead of him, so he had to eventually settle for fourth. Menegatti had been right in the thick of the action from the start, but he crucially dropped his gybe meaning he dropped to the back of the pack.

In the Losers’ Final, Heat fifteen needed to be restarted as Taty Frans and Josh Angulo were both a little too eager with their starts. When the heat was re-sailed it was Benoit Moussilmani that made the best start and he went on to lead from start to finish in an accomplished display. The Frenchmen combined his brilliant top speed with fluid and effortless gybes to leave the rest of the fleet in his wake. Micah Buzianis and Ludovic Jossin were involved in a tight battle as they approached the first mark, but the American had enough in his tank to see off the challenge of the Spaniard, as they finished in second and third respectively. Jimmy Diaz completed the top four ahead of Peter Volwater.

Incredibly in the seven heats that were completed today, we witnessed no fewer than eight false starts. In heat eleven, Bora Kozanoglu and Ross Williams were the first sailors to cross the start line early and from then on it proved contagious. In the very next heat a further three sailors all suffered the same fate, as they pushed a little too hard for the perfect start. Ben Van Der Steen, Finian Maynard and Sean O’Brien would all be missing from the next round as some big names exited the first elimination prematurely. The semi-final saw Taty Frans jump the gun, whilst Italian Alberto Menegatti eventually went on to win the heat ahead of Dunkerbeck, Sylvain Moussilmani and Pieter Bijl.

After the completion of the first elimination the wind deteriorated, meaning that the start of race two shall have to wait until tomorrow. The forecast for Thursday offers considerable promise with stronger winds than today being predicted for the afternoon. Make sure you join us again for what should be an afternoon packed with high-octane action. The skipper’s meeting has been called for 10:30 tomorrow morning with the racing commencing from 11am.

Men’s Slalom Results After Elimination One:

1st Bjorn Dunkerbeck
2nd Steve Allen
3rd Pieter Bijl
4th Antoine Albeau
5th Sylvain Moussilmani

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