Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam - Reno SUP Challenge begins

by Chris Yates on 2 Oct 2014 With light winds continuing to dominate on day six of the Davidoff Cool Water Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam, the decision was made to begin the Reno SUP Challenge during the afternoon, which saw twelve teams battling it out in heats of two for a place in tomorrow’s final, to keep the crowds entertained.

The opening heat of the Reno SUP Challenge saw Team 11 - consisting of Sarah Bibby (Simmer), Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails), Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde) and Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) - take on Caroline Weber (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg), Björn Dankers (Patrik / GA Sails / Maui Ultra Fins), Ingmar Daldorf and Jordy Vonk (F2 / Point-7) of Team Five. However, Team 11 were able to claim an emphatic victory after leading from start to finish.

Heat two saw an excellent comeback from Team Two made up of Josine Schmitz (KA Sail), Valentin Böckler (Starboard / Gun Sails / Maui Ultra Fins), Yuma Kobayashi (Starboard / Severne) and Yentel Caers (Fanatic / North / Maui Ultra Fins), as they defeated Team 7 to advance into the final.

The next two heats saw comprehensive victories for Teams Three and Six consisting of Caterina Stenta (RRD / RRD), Malte Reuscher (RRD / Challenger Sails / AL360), Andrea Ferin (RRD / Challenger Sails / AL360), Matteo Iachino (Fanatic / North) and Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins), Ricardo Campello (Patrik / Point-7 / MFC), Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) and Moritz Mauch (Starboard / Severne / MFC) respectively.

Heat five proved to be the best and most closely fought heat of the day as the contest to qualify for the final saw an intense finale between Team One and Team 12. The pivotal moment in the heat came on the third straight as Adrien Bosson (Fanatic / North) battled it out against Adrian Beholz (Fanatic / Sailloft Hamburg / Maui Ultra Fins). The German looked to have built a good lead after rounding the penultimate buoy, but Bosson stepped on the gas to close the gap, before catching a small wave to cruise into the lead. From here Steve Allen (Starboard / Severne) did the rest, despite Adam Lewis’s best efforts.

Team Four became the last team to qualify for tomorrow’s final as Serena Zoia (GA Sails), Danni Jakobsen (Starboard / Loft Sails), Albert Pijoan (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) and Sebastian Kornum produced an efficient to display to dispatch of Team Nine.

The final of the Reno SUP Challenge will take place tomorrow afternoon at 3pm, if conditions aren’t suitable for competition.

Tomorrow evening will see the qualification round of the Philips Tow-in contest, before the final at 7:30pm on Friday night. The top four ranked sailors in the PWA Freestyle World Tour will receive automatic qualification for final, whilst thirteen sailors will be battling it out for the remaining six spots. Each sailor will be given three attempts each to impress the judges with their best manoeuvre to count.

The forecast doesn’t look too promising for tomorrow, but there will be plenty of activities going on. Tomorrow’s skippers’ meeting will be held at 10am with the first possible start at 10:30am.