PWA Tenerife World Cup - Howling winds and big waves bombard on day 4

by PWA Information on 7 Aug 2013 The fourth day of the PWA Tenerife World Cup saw the best conditions of the week thus far as winds of 35-42 and big waves bombarded the shores of El Medano.

The action, which followed for the entirety of the day, was nothing short of epic, as the most radical sailors in the world launched themselves into the biggest gravity defying stunts on the planet. After an enthralling eight hours of competition we are now down to the final five sailors in both the men’s and women’s double eliminations, which will be concluded tomorrow.

Men’s
Double Elimination
Today witnessed two heats, which were almost inseparable. Firstly in the a-side of heat twenty-two Klaas Voget (Fanatic / Simmer / MFC) battled it out against Jamie Hancock (Tabou / Gaastra) and come the end of the heat there was only 0.05 of a point between the two sailors. Thankfully for Hancock the decision went in his favor after a slightly better performance on the wave, which included a radical frontside 360 and several vertical turns. The Brit progressed one further round after defeating Dario Ojeda (Tabou / Gaastra / MFC), before fellow compatriot John Skye (RRD / MFC) proved too strong, but he still finished the double in the top ten. The next agonizingly close heat featured Dany Bruch (Starboard / Severne / AL360) and Leon Jamaer (Fanatic / Hot Sails Maui) in heat 29b. Bruch was ahead for much of the heat, but Jamaer pulled it out of the bag with his final wave of the day, as he racked up the best wave of the heat to snatch the victory by 0.05 points.

Striking Late
One of the most exciting battles of the day proved to be the final heat as Ricardo Campello (JP / NeilPryde / MFC) lined up against Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing / MFC). In the heat prior to this Browne produced the highest scores of the day as he accumulated 31.63 points against Leon Jamaer. The Brazilian landed a perfect double forward and a big, fully planing frontside wave 360 to rack up the points early on. Campello, meanwhile, raised the bar even further as he produced the first tweaked pushloop-forward of the competition to end John Skye’s hopes - The Brit suffered a broken UJ and mast mid way through a double forward - as well as setting up the mouthwatering tie against Brawzinho. Browne opened the heat in almost identical fashion to the last as he stomped a brilliant double forward and a frontside 360 again. On the other hand Campello’s first run ended without a jump, but he soon tacked and made amends for the with an absolutely amazing stalled double forward, off of an already breaking wave. With one minute to go the two sailors were tied on points, but it was Campello who managed to step-up and claim the victory as he propelled himself into a massive tweaked pushloop to setup a battle for fourth and beyond with Thomas Traversa (Tabou / Gaastra).

Waves of the Day
Adam Lewis (Patrik / Point-7) produced one of the waves of the day, as did Scott McKercher (Starboard / Severne). In heat 23a Lewis combined a powerful frontside smack with a superb frontside wave 360 before finishing off the wave with a couple of extra gauging turns. The Brit looked in good form, but unfortunately he was a little off his best when facing Ricardo Campello and so he finishes the double in ninth place.

As already mentioned Scott McKercher produced the other really outstanding wave of the day against Ben Proffitt (Simmer). The former world champion landed a sick frontside air before backing it up with another aggressive hack, which sent the spray flying to receive 8.88 points from the judges and progress into the next round.

Injury Hits
The one sour note on an otherwise fantastic day - involved Boujmaa Guilloul (Starboard / Severne) who suffered a suspected broken foot in the warm up, after landing a stunning super tweaked tabletop forward. The Moroccan’s injury saw Florian Jung (RRD / Gun Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) receive a bye into the next round. Everyone at the PWA wishes Boujmaa a speedy recovery.

Women’s
Double Elimination
Amanda Beenen (Tabou / Gaastra) looked in impressive form in heat forty-four as she stomped a forward loop along with several fluid turns, including one top turn which the Dutch girl almost rotated into a taka. Beenen’s performance saw her through to the next round after defeating Caroline Weber (F2 / Sailloft Hamburg). The otherwise side of the heat saw Nayra Alonso (Fanatic / Severne) end Arrianne Aukes’ (RRD / Simmer / Maui Ultra Fins) fight back in the double

Heat forty-five saw Alice Arutkin (Fanatic / North) and Eva Oude Ophius (Fanatic / North) progress as they defeated Katrien Smits (RRD / Hot Sails Maui) and Justyna Sniady (Quatro / Simmer / Mystic) respectively. When they met in the next round it was Oude Ophius came out on top as her forward loop and fluid wave rides clinched her the victory.

Next up for Oude Ophius was Nayra Alonso - who was the standout sailor of the day and the Spaniard continued to excel in heat thirty-one as she booked her place in the battle for fourth and fifth place against Steffi Wahl (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) tomorrow. Over the duration of the day Alonso demonstrated her stylish wave riding time and time again, as well as growing in confidence in the air as she landed super clean forwards and big tabletops as well as attempting a couple of backloops. Alonso will now have her sights on the podium after a fine fourth day in Tenerife.

The double eliminations are now beautifully poised for tomorrow. The fight for the top spots will be resumed tomorrow, with the skippers’ meeting being held at 09:30am and the action commencing from 10am. With a superb looking forecast it looks as though the finals should be taking place in epic conditions, so prepare yourself to see some truly breathtaking action on the water. Don’t miss a thing by tuning into the PWA TV at PWA TV website