PWA Tenerife World Cup - Women kick start action in El Médano

by Chris Yates on 5 Aug 2014 The opening day of the Dunkerbeck-Eyewear Siam Park - El Médano - Tenerife PWA World Cup saw the sailors registering between 10am and 12pm. Over the duration of the morning the wind slowly built and by the late afternoon the women began their single elimination, after the juniors had earlier taken centre stage. By the end of the opening day, all but one heat of the first two rounds has been completed.

The opening race of the day saw Carmen Afonso Martin take on Lucy Robson (Fanatic / North) on the a-side, whilst Sarah Bibby (Simmer) battled it out against Montse Collado (RRD). In the end Afonso Martin proved too much for Robson, whilst Bibby produced an excellent display of sailing to dispatch of Collado.

Heleen Muijsers (F2 / Challenger / AL360) lined up against Maeli Cherel (Severne) in the second heat of the day and it was Cherel who managed to progress. Cherel combined a forward loop with a couple of solid waves to end the hopes of the Dutch girl for now. Meanwhile, Olya Raskina (JP / NeilPryde) safely negotiated her way into the second round after defeating Caterina Stenta (RRD.

In the last race of the opening round Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Mystic / Chris Benz / Maui Ultra Fins) earned the highest scores of the day so far. The lady from Aruba launched into a big shaka before backing it up with a couple of good waves, as she showed that she will be a threat in the waves as well as freestyle and slalom. On the opposite side of the draw Serena Zoia (GA Sails) successfully advanced past fifteen year old Nicole Bandini (Fanatic / North), who was making her debut on the PWA World Tour.

Steffi Wahl (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) looked in fine form in her opening race of the contest against Sarah Bibby. The German demonstrated her fluid wave riding once more to accumulate the highest score thus far - 17.625 points - after also landing a clean forward loop. Meanwhile, Afonso Martin received a bye into the next round.

Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) safely advanced into round three as she efficiently dispatched of Maeli Cherel. On her way to victory Iballa showed off her powerful and aggressive wave riding whilst rotating through a perfectly executed forward loop, before launching into a big backloop, but unfortunately she couldn’t quite hold the landing. on the a-side Sara Sommer (Severne) looked in confident mood as she defeated Caroline Weber (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg).

Race eleven proved to be the final race of the day and in the end Olya Raskina (JP / NeilPryde) and Amanda Beenen (Tabou / GA Sails) were able to navigate their way into the next round.

Marc Pare (Patrik / Simmer / Maui Ultra Fins) claimed the opening victory of the week in the youths division as he made a strong defence to his title from Pozo. The man from Catalan landed a perfect, ankle dry backloop to move into the lead and he soon backed up his score with some stylish waveriding. Noah Vocker Roche (Fanatic / North / Maui Ultra Fins) finished a close second, whilst Romain Cordier and Gustav Haggstrom claimed third and fourth place respectively.

The forecast for tomorrow promises slightly stronger wind and waves, so the skippers’ meeting tomorrow morning has been called for 10am with the action commencing from 10:30am.

Results - Junior’s
1st Marc Pare (Patrik / Simmer / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Noah Vocker Roche (Fanatic / North / Maui Ultra Fins)
3rd Romain Cordier
4th Gustav PWA World Tour