Pegasus Airlines Alaçati PWA World – Event Summary

by PWA / Andrew Buchanan on 19 Aug 2008 The picturesque Turkish town of Alaçati delivers six days of non-stop wind to crown two World Champions, and witness a spectacular battle for the men's event title in the final decisive race of the competition.

For the third successive year, the PWA returned to the shores of Alaçati, Turkey for the Pegasus Airlines World Cup. Before the event had even started its name had been etching into the history books, after the biggest fleet in almost decade signed up for the ensuing six-day showdown.

The event marked the final stop on the women's slalom tour, and would subsequently crown the 2008 Women's Slalom World Champion.

In the men's fleet, the event was the penultimate slalom fixture in the 2008 calendar, having already completed four previous competitions. Dominating the season, Frenchman Antoine Albeau (Starboard, NeilPryde) had a firm grip on first position having won every event thus far.

Aiming to claim the World Title before the season finale in Sylt, Albeau would have to pull all the stops out one last time to seal the deal. Lower down the ranks, the remaining podium positions were wide open for the taking, with Bjorn Dunkerbeck (T1, North), Kevin Pritchard (Starboard, Gaastra, Dakine, MFC), Ross Williams (Tabou, Gaastra) and Finian Maynard (RRD, NeilPryde) all in the running.

Day 1
Christening the event, competition's first day let the sailors get dialed into conditions with a single race added to the tally. Looking hungry to kick start his campaign with a solid result, Maynard showed a welcome return to form when he breezed to victory in the first semi final, and proceeded to take third overall for race one.

Stating his intentions from the outset, Albeau sailed a perfect race to win every single heat on the way to the final, before claiming victory and the early event lead. Always consistent, Pritchard settled into his familiar second position, and Maynard looked like he was warming up for bigger and better things in third.

In the women's fleet, Valerie Ghibaudo (Tabou, The Loft) and Karin Jaggi (F2, North) took the reigns of their first race. In this instance it was Ghibaudo that took top honors, leaving Jaggi simmering in second and Verena Fauster (F2, Gaastra) in third as the sun set on day one.

Day 2
16-18 knot wind greeted competitors for the start of race two on competition's second day. Showing his thirst for victory, Dunkerbeck made light work of the 4 buoy down wind course to win his semi final, with rival Albeau mimicking his performance in the second semi final. The pair both advanced to the final where they'd go head to head.

The resulting final saw Dunkerbeck, Albeau and Pritchard spearhead a three-man breakaway that lead the ten strong heat. The final reach produced a classic drag race to the line, with Dunkerbeck edging the victory, leaving Pritchard in second and Albeau close by in third. Fronting the chasing pack, Williams kept himself in contention to take fourth.

Moving directly into race three, the crowds were dumbstruck when they heard that seven of the ten-man heat had false started. Amongst the perpetrators were Albeau, Maynard, Peter Volwater (F2, North) and Ben Van Der Steen (Exocet, Simmer). The mass disqualification left Pritchard, Matt Wemms (Fanatic, North) and Jesper Orth (Starboard, Severne) free to advance without even having to sail the heat.

The race final saw local Bora Kozanoglu (Starboard) steal the show. Sniffing his first ever race win, and backed by the ecstatic local crowd, the Turkish racer summoned an almighty performance to fend off Dunkerbeck and defy all the doubters. Rapturous applause congratulated the local hero as he claimed the race as his, leaving Dunkerbeck to settle for second, Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Exocet, NeilPryde) in third and Pritchard fourth.

In the women's second race, Jaggi seemed the most determined out of the ten finalists. After a spirited performance she sat untouched at the front of the fleet, leaving Marta Hlavaty (MauiSails) and Lee Korzitz (Tabou, Gaastra) to fight it out for second. On the finish line, Jaggi won by a clear margin, and Hlavaty sneaked ahead of Korzitz to take second.

The third and final race of the day saw Ghibaudo return to dominance after victory in her semi final. In the ensuing final she laid waste to Jaggi's advances to add another victory to her name. Jaggi had to make do with second place and Armenia's Sarah Hébert (Starboard, Naish) mopped up the remaining podium place in third.

Day 3
Day three started badly for Albeau who crashed into Maynard in the race four final. The mistake left him languishing at the back of the pack, and despite an effort to climb back up the ranks, he crossed the finish line in tenth position.

At the front of the pack, Dunkerbeck dialed into the conditions, opening up a massive lead before finishing the race a solid half reach ahead of his nearest rival, Williams, in second. Filling out the remaining podium position was Pritchard, who managed to hold off a sustained attack from Maynard, who had to settle for fourth.

Entering race five, disaster struck for Pritchard when he failed to qualify from his quarterfinal. Similarly, Jimmy Diaz (Starboard, North) also stuttered in his quarterfinal after finishing in seventh position, forcing him to make a premature exit from the elimination.

Saving the biggest upset until last, the winners' final witnessed a spectacular error when seven of the ten finalists were disqualified following a mass false start. Included in the mix up were Pieter Bijl (Fanatic, NeilPryde), Volwater and Costa Hoevel.

The rerun of the race gave spectators the rare site of a three-man heat, comprising of Dunkerbeck, Albeau and Van Der Steen. The bout started out fairly evenly, but after the second mark it was Dunkerbeck and Albeau who'd taken the lead. A final blast to the finish saw Albeau hold on to his lead, leaving Dunkerbeck close behind in second, and Van Der Steen in third.

The women's first race of the day, race four, was dominated by slick sailing from Ghibaudo, who had her foot firmly on the throttle. On the finish line she was rewarded with the victory almost an entire reach ahead of the chasing pack. Padding out the all-French podium was Alice Arutkin (Starboard, North) in second, and fifteen year old Morane Demont (Starboard, Severne) in third.

Following a short break, Ghibaudo showed she needed little more than a single reach before she dominated the fifth women's race. Familiarly, it was Jaggi who fronted the assault on Ghibaudo, but the domineering French racer showed her mettle, extending her lead all the way to the finish line. Jaggi was left to take second, and Hlavaty finished in third to wrap up another successful day of competition in Alaçati.

Day 4
Starting the day with victory in race six, Albeau sent event leader at that time, Dunkerbeck, a clear message of his intentions. Dunkerbeck could only reply with second position in the losers final after failing to qualify for the final.

Moving onto race seven, Van Der Steen didn't help his cause with a premature start in his quarterfinal heat. He was joined by fellow false starters Julien Quentel (Starboard, NeilPryde) and Alberto Menegatti (Starboard).

In the semi finals, local Kozanoglu gave the crowd something to cheer about when he beat Pritchard to the finish line to take victory. The pair took their places in the race final alongside the likes of Maynard and Albeau who came first and second respectively in the second semi final.

The race final saw Dunkerbeck reply to Albeau's previous race win with a victory of his own, far ahead of Albeau and Williams who were battling it out for second. Solid racing from Williams saw him hold off the reigning World Champion to be rewarded with second plac