PWA Tenerife World Cup - Single elimination conclusion on the horizon

by Chris Yates on 5 Aug 2013 Day two of competition at the PWA Tenerife World Cup required patience from both the sailors and the judges as marginal conditions teased the competitors until quarter to four. Earlier in the day an attempt was made to complete the re-sail of women’s heat ten but light winds soon brought an end to the proceedings. Eventually though good, but sometimes tricky, conditions did prevail with winds of 22-30 knots and small to medium sized waves rolling through the bay of El Medano, meaning that wave selection played a key role today.

The first men’s heat of the day featured Klaas Voget (Fanatic / Simmer / MFC) versus Dany Bruch (Starboard / Severne / AL360) and the local boy took full advantage of his extra knowlege of the spot to select better waves, which eventually proved critical as Bruch advanced after linking several fluid turns with a superb frontside wave 360 and a one-handed, one-footed backloop. Meanwhile, Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / North) dispatched of Phil Horrocks (Tabou / Gaastra) as the 2010 world champion rotated through a perfect one-footed backloop before throwing caution to the wind as he launched into a brilliant frontside wave 360 in the critical section.

Marcilio ‘Brawzinho’ Browne (Goya Windsurfing / MFC) demonstrated that he’s a real contender for top honors this week as he wasted little time in heat ten to rack up the highest scoring heat of the day thus far. The Brazilian propelled himself into a perfect double forward before boosting a radical frontside wave 360 off the lip to open a big lead over Adam Lewis (Patrik / Point-7). The Brit tried to respond, but the ramps and waves didn’t quite align for him on his occasion and Browne marched on. On the b-side of the heat Alex Mussolini (Tabou / Gaastra) progressed against Kenneth Danielsen (F2 / Simmer).

Heat eleven witnessed the closest heat of the day as Boujmaa Guilloul (Starboard / Severne) lined up against Thomas Traversa (Tabou / Gaastra). The Moroccan looked in much better form than on the opening day as he quickly made amends for a flamed backloop by tweaking a pushloop table top. From here Guilloul landed a forward off the lip as well as several smooth turns and a super frontside air to place all of the pressure on Traversa. With just a couple of minutes to go Guilloul held the lead, but Traversa held his nerve to pull a great last wave out of the bag, which proved just enough, 0.87 points ahead, to escape an otherwise earlier than expected exit. The Frenchman will now face Ricardo Campello (JP / NeilPryde / MFC) in the last eight after he successfully defeated Jules Denel (JP / NeilPryde). Neither sailor enjoyed a particularly strong start to the heat and it wasn’t until Campello exploded into a massive double forward that he started to relax. With the nerves now settled Campello then showed what he can truly do with a stylish frontside wave 360 and a selection of powerful turns, which sent the spray flying.

The a-side of heat twelve saw John Skye (RRD / MFC) take on Aleix Sanllehy (Goya Windsurfing / MFC) - who knocked out Dario Ojeda (Tabou / Gaastra / MFC) yesterday - but the Catalonian couldn’t cause another upset today as Skye advanced with better wave selection and more consistent execution over the duration of the heat.

The final men’s heat of the day saw Ben Proffitt (Simmer) versus Philip Koster (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) and it was the reigning world champion who prevailed. The voice of the PWA opened with a super tweaked pushloop only to have to watch Koester open with one of his trademark double forwards. Proffitt landed a couple of good frontside wave 360s but without a solid second turn, he never quite achieved the big wave scores he required. Koester in the meantime landed an excellent tweaked frontside aerial and a taka to set up a tie against Skye.

Alice Arutkin (Fanatic / North) and Daida Ruano Moreno (Starboard / Severne) successfully navigated their way through the resail of heat ten to advance into heat thirteen, whilst Steffi Wahl (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) and Nayra Alonso (Fanatic / Severne) also advanced through their second round duels.

In heat thirteen Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne) saw off the challenge of Eva Oude Ophius (Fanatic / North) with a combination of a great backloop and solid wave rides, whilst on the b-side of the heat saw Daida Ruano Moreno (Starboard / Severne) produce a good performance against Alice Arutkin. Meanwhile, Steffi Wahl and Nayra Alonso enjoyed a tight heat in the final battle of the day. Wahl booked her place into the top four eventually after stomping a bolt upright forward and a superb wave - Alonso also produced a terrific wave but the German advanced after a better performance in the air.

With just over three hours to complete the single elimination, tomorrow should see the winners’ of the single elimination crowned. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10am tomorrow morning with the first possible start at 10:30am.

PWA World Event website