PWA Bonaire World Cup day three on and off

by Ed Sinclair on 15 Jun 2011 PWA Bonaire World Cup day three competition saw Bonaire’s winds take a turn for the worse from consistent cross shore to frustrating fluctuations, putting the sailors on and off standby throughout the second single elimination.

Lighter winds meant that pleas to cancel heats were high, and the sailors had to work extra hard in order to make the moves that would put them ahead of their contenders.

Alongside lighter breezes, a lower than usual tide meant the competition area was really shallow playing havoc with the day’s opening heats. Yegor Popretinskiy (JP / NeilPryde / MFC) was first to fall victim to Bonaire’s change in conditions losing out to Davy Scheffers (Tabou / Gaastra). Close behind Andy Chambers (JP / NeilPryde) suffered as his fin caught the sea floor numerous times during his heat, opening the gates for Deivis Paternina Teran (Fanatic / North) to move into the next round.

Paternina Teran went on to challenge fellow Venezuelan and team-mate Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (Fanatic / North). However Estredo didn’t go easy on his travel partner, quickly taking the upper hand using this heat to show he meant business after a fourth place finish in yesterday’s double elimination.

Heat 21 saw brothers Taty Frans (Starboard / MauiSails / Mystic) and Tonky Frans (Tabou / Gaastra) fight it out for a place in the semi-finals. The Bonaire boys put on a show like no other trying to outdo each other on the style front as well as the complexity of their maneuvers. Taty managed to sail his way through the heat without dropping a single move whereas Tonky failed to match his brother’s consistency and dropped several vital moves.

The action really picked up in the semi-finals as the sailors decided it was time to raise their level. Steven Van Broeckhoven (F2 / Gaastra) pumped his way to victory ahead of Taty Frans with an outstanding display of aerial maneuvers. On the other side of the draw, Kiri Thode (Starboard / Gaastra) disposed of the reigning world champion Gollito Estredo using his home knowledge to drive home his advantage.

Men’s winners final.
The second single elimination saw a changing of the guard as Van Broeckhoven stepped up to the table to challenge Kiri Thode (Starboard / Gaastra). The lighter winds had minimal effect on both parties as they both pumped their way into massive maneuvers. The sailors both chose to open the heat with perfect Culos shortly followed by a succession of double moves. Van Broeckhoven pushed the level higher with a Spock Culo but was quickly matched by Thode’s enormous air bob. The heat was incredibly close; Van Broeckhoven managed to snatch the victory by just half a point.

The PWA caught up with Steven Van Broeckhoven (F2 / Gaastra) to find out about his momentous day.
'Today was super light winds; my first few heats were on the edge of the wind line. I was against Taty Frans (Starboard /MauiSails / Mystic) in the semi-finals, he was planing the whole time and I wasn’t, but I sailed my best. We then had to re-sail the heat due to the changing winds, I had nothing to lose so I went 100%. In the final I made my three moves on each side then I tried to perform to the highest level, a few of my maneuvers were not really clean but the judges chose me and I am really happy.'

Women’s second elimination.
A difficult day for the ladies saw their heats being re-run several times as the wind refused to play ball. Mio Anayama (NeilPryde) delivered a seriously impressive display of powerful moves, from fully planning Grubbys to smooth spock 540’s but it wasn’t enough to defeat the all mighty Venezuelan Yoli De Brendt (Fanatic / North). De Brendt sealed the deal ensuring every move was completed with as much style as possible, often one handed.

In the semi-finals Laure Treboux (Fanatic / North) and De Brendt blitzed through their heat making the best use of every gust. Treboux displayed perfect one-handed e-sliders and floaty flakas providing her with the advantage and enough points to make it into the winners final.

Women’s winners final.
For the third consecutive day it came down to arch rivals Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic) and Laure Treboux (Fanatic / North) to out-style each other first place. With lighter winds a new set of tactics were needed, Treboux chose to work her way down the whole competition area quickly in order to maintain speed and rack up her moves, whereas Offringa played it more cautiously. She maintained her ground upwind and performed her moves directly in front of the judge’s tower. Despite Treboux’s spectacular performance Offringa’s diverse range of maneuvers proved, once again to be too much to contend with.

Results

Men’s Single Elimination 2

1st Steven Van Broeckhoven (F2 / Gaastra)
2nd Kiri Thode (Starboard / Gaastra)
3rd Taty Frans (Starboard / MauiSails / Mystic)
4th Jose ‘ Gollito’ Estredo (Fanatic / North)

Women’s Single Elimination 2

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic)
2nd Laure Treboux (Fanatic / North)
3rd Yoli De Brendt (Fanatic / North)
4th Arrianne Aukes (RRD / Simmer / Dakine)

The skippers meeting at 8:00am tomorrow with a first possible start to competition at 8:30.

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