2009 Colgate World Cup Sylt – Event Summary

by PWA / Paul Griffiths on 8 Oct 2009
2009 Colgate World Cup Sylt – Event Summary

Westerland beach provides a perfect week of wind and waves to conclude the 2009 World Tour in an epic showdown of freestyle, wave, and slalom, in front of the thousands of spectators lined up on Sylt’s superb Brandenberger Strand.

The Super Grand Slam event took place from the 25th September – 4th October in an array of conditions, allowing the sailors from all three disciplines a chance to wow the crowds on their given day, and battle it out for both event and World title victory.

This year Sylt will surely go down in the history books as the windiest on record, with the wave sailors competing in gusts of over 50kts during their double elimination showdown.

The organizers couldn’t have planned the weather better themselves. Momentum built throughout the week, allowing head judge Duncan Coombs to schedule the wave final for the second weekend in front of the biggest crowds on record.

Men’s Slalom

Racing super star, Antoine Albeau (JP, NeilPryde) had already claimed the overall slalom crown for 2009 having won the previous five events in a row in a variety of conditions, from Korea to Costa Brava, Gran Canaria to Alaçati, and Fuerteventura as well.

This did however leave the remaining podium positions somewhat open, although Finian Maynard (RRD, NeilPryde) was fairly comfortable in second, and would only loose his position if something extreme occurred. The final place on the podium was wide open with many sailors able to step up if they had their day in Sylt. Four full rounds of slalom were completed during the week giving the racers plenty of opportunity to prove their worth.

Race 1
In the winner’s final of race one, Albeau stamped his authority on the contest and proved his position as the World’s number one. He flew out of the starting blocks, and sped to the finish line without a hint of ever being overtaken. This was domination at its best, and Albeau looked comfortable at the top of his tree.

Behind Albeau there was a real race going on, and this time it was a family affair. Fellow Frenchmen, Benoit Moussilmani (Starboard, Simmer) and his brother Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard, North) fought hard, trading places at various points on the course for 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Patrick Diethelm (North) was also flying round the course during race one and managed to hold off a charge from windsurfing legend Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard, Severne). An excellent achievement for the Italian who has just launched his own board brand.

Maynard failed to qualify for the winners final of race one, but was in extremely good company with the likes of Micah Buzianis (JP, NeilPryde) and Ben Van Der Steen (Exocet, Simmer) also failing to make the grade. Maynard and Buzianis still managed to put on an awesome show for the spectators with a neck a neck race that Maynard eventually won.

Race 2
The usual suspects dominated their heats during race 2, but the true excitement came during the final when the sailors were pushing extremely hard at the start. Both Josh Angulo (Angulo, MauiSails) and Albeau showed the crowds just how competitive they were and both gained a PMS, for being over the line early. This could have been a fatal blow for both sailors had four races not been completed to allow for a discard.

After two recalls the fleet finally got away, and this time Maynard was leading the charge. He fought hard the whole way round the course, but failed to get planing immediately after his last gybe, allowing Buzianis to take the bullet, Cyril Moussilmani 2nd, and Diony Guadagnino (Hot Sails, MFC) 3rd. Maynard had to settle for 10th place - a bitter pill to swallow after leading from almost start to finish.

Top Brit all rounder, Robby Swift (JP, NeilPryde), sailed a great race to finish 4th, his best result of the contest. Also racing hard was another Frenchman, and light wind master, Julien Quentel (RRD, NeilPryde) who finished just behind Swift in 5th.

Dunkerbeck had failed to make the grade for the winner’s final and therefore had to settle with the next best thing, winning the loser’s final. This result just goes to show how tough the slalom fleet is at the moment and also what a great sportsman Dunkerbeck is.

At this point in the contest, Cyril Moussilmani was leading and would have claimed the final spot on the podium. Unfortunately for him, there was still plenty of wind, and the racing continued.

Race 3
Many sailors raced in the wrong heats for race 3 which caused chaos on the course, and left many failing to qualify for the final.

Experience however shone through as Albeau and Dunkerbeck stole the show during the winner’s final. Dunkerbeck couldn’t quite match the newly crowned World Champion around the course and therefore had to settle for 2nd. Maynard also found his form in race 3, and this time, without losing any wind at the final mark, came home in 3rd.

The World’s highest ranked slalom sailors filled the rest of the spots in this race with Buzianis, Ross Williams (Tabou, Gaastra) and Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Exocet, MauiSails) all proving that they’re up to speed and able to compete with the best of them. PWA Chairman, Jimmy Diaz (Starboard, North), also qualified for the final of race 3 and posted his best result of the contest.

Race 4
The wind began to moderate during the heats for race four creating mayhem for those that sailed out to the start line on their smaller gear. Even the most experienced sailors were caught out causing huge upsets as they failed to qualify for the finals. Victims included seasoned veterans such as Angulo, Maynard and Kevin Pritchard (Starboard, Gaastra, Dakine).

The heat carnage cleared the way for many younger sailors, allowing them to seize the moment and qualify for the final. However, none could quite match the masters. Plus, Dunkerbeck had a score to settle with Albeau and no one was going to get in the way of that. Dunkerbeck sailed a flawless race to take his first proper victory of the day, Albeau having to settle for second.

2009 Overall Slalom Ranking
Maynard had done enough to secure his spot next to Albeau on the podium for the year, but the third and final place was hard fought for throughout the contest. Buzianis and Kevin Pritchard (Starboard, Gaastra, Dakine) were in contention at the start of play, but failed to get the results needed to stop Dunkerbeck from overtaking them. Dunkerbeck sailed a fairly solid event, and with his final race victory claimed his place on the podium. Buzianis was unfortunate to finish the year in fourth overall on count back.

Men’s Freestyle

Although Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo had dominated the last two events, he still had some work to do in Sylt to be crowned the 2009 World Champion. With only three events scheduled for the year, there would be no discard and therefore no room for error.

Also going into Sylt with high hopes of a podium finish - and all on equal points - was Kiri Thode (Starboard, Gaastra), Everon ‘Tonky’ Frans (F2, Gaastra), and Marcilio ‘Brawzinho’ Browne (Fanatic, North, MFC). Steven Van Broeckhoven (F2, MauiSails) also had a good chance of claiming an end of year podium position if he could secure a good result.

With the points so close, it was always going to be a tough competition, but factor in the difficult North Sea conditions, and it makes for an emotional roller coaster. One full double elimination round was completed and a second single started. Unfortunately due to the ballistic weekend winds the second round was never finished, and therefore the results would not stand.

Single Elimination
After the first few rounds of playing it fairly safe in the typical Sylt style conditions, the World’s best freestylers began to raise the bar creating an amazing spectacle