As forecast, Fuerteventura delivered the goods for the second successive day, which enabled the men’s and women’s single eliminations to be completed in even better conditions than yesterday. Over the course of the day, there was plenty of world class action as the world’s best delivered an outstanding show. Come the end of the day though it’s the reigning world champions - Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) and Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (Fanatic / NorthSails) - who head up the event rankings after the 9-time and 7-time freestyle world champions produced superb performances to deservedly win the single eliminations.  Freestyle Women’s Single Elimination Last year’s World No.3 Oda Johanne (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) sailed an excellent semifinal against vice-world champion Maaike Huvermann (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) to book her place in the opening winners’ final of the event. The Norwegian started off in fine form by landing a regular kono before adding a skopu, flaka, shaka and forward loops on both tacks to setup a tie against reigning world champion - Sarah-Quita Offringa. Winners’ Final A Worthy Winner Sarah-Quita Offringa peaked at the perfect moment as she produced her highest scoring heat of the contest in the final - 137.3 points - as she linked together another majestic display. The Aruban gem is going in search of her 10th successive freestyle world title and based on her latest showing it’s hard to see anyone stopping her. In the final Offringa landed an array of the latest power moves - burners, konos, culos - with shakas, air flakas and a massive toad to leave the result in no doubt, while unfortunately Johanne couldn’t scale the heights of her semifinal performance with the Norwegian completely overpowered on 4.0m. In reality, it wouldn’t have made a difference to the result with Offringa posting a score that would have rivalled many of the guys scores in the opening round of the double.  Arrianne Aukes (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) made the brighter start to the losers’ final against Maaike Huvermann, but the current vice-world champion gathered momentum as the heat progressed and a quick flurry of tricks earned her 3rd place in the single and the 19-year-old will now look to fight back in the double elimination.  Men’s Reigning world champion - Jose ‘Gollito' Estredo - and vice-world champion - Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) both sailed superbly in the quarterfinals and semifinals to set-up a mouthwatering winners’ final.  Gollito defeated Adrien Bosson (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) before producing the performance of the day to defeat Yentel Caers (JP / NeilPryde) as the Venezuelan racked up a humungous total of 191.4 points with a spectacular display of sailing, while Vrieswijk manoeuvred his way past Steven Van Broeckhoven (JP / NeilPryde / Shamal Sunglasses) and Jacopo Testa (RRD / RRD Sails). Winners’ Final As expected the winners’ final produced plenty of fireworks with both Gollito and Vrieswijk producing an outstanding aerial display, while also landing the latest combinations as the action went off. Both sailors nailed backloops and spock culos in an evenly matched affair, but it was Gollito who came out on top in their opening clash of the season as he landed an air chachoo, shuvit cheeseroll and shuvit forward loop to gain the upperhand. Even a signature double air culo from Vrieswijk couldn’t prevent the 7-time world champion from winning the single elimination, as crucially, the 21-year-old was missing a move on port tack.  In the battle for third and fourth place Yentel Caers took on Jacopo Testa and for the majority of the heat, it looked as though Caers had the final place on the podium wrapped up after dominating the duel at the beginning. However, as the losers’ final headed towards its climax the Italian found his rhythm and staged a superb comeback to secure a first ever podium and he will now do everything in his power to defend that position in the double elimination. Meanwhile, Caers was extremely disappointed that his bongka was adjudged to be outside the competition area, while he performed one of his best moves, a burner into one-handed burner, when he was out of moves on starboard tack. However, take nothing away from Testa, who has certainly stepped his game up and seems to be starting to fill his potential.  Double Elimination After the conclusion of the single elimination, the double elimination soon began with the conditions continuing to fire and even in the opening round of the double there were several outstanding displays, which is testament to the level of the current standard on the world tour.  Youp Schmit (99NoveNove / Avanti) was on the wrong-side of a very close heat against Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails) in just the second round of the single, but he again showed why he is such an exciting and dangerous talent as he produced the highest scoring performance of the first round with a polished display consisting of a pushloop, backloop and radical shifty to name just a few and he will now face 18-year-old Johnny Yagen (RRD / RRD Sails). The Young Israeli sailed out of his skin to defeat Bjorn Saragoza (Starboard / Hot Sails Maui) - who was previously ranked as high as 6th in the world - which marks a disappointing return to the world tour for the Bonairean, but Yagen deserves all the plaudits and was visibly delighted upon hearing the result.  Davy Scheffers (Tabou / GA Sails) was one of the other standouts in the double so far as the Dutchman found his best form to begin his comeback. The highlight being a shifty on the way in and also an air spock - the only person to have landed one Elsewhere, Adam Sims (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) produced an excellent jumping display to end the hopes of Julien Mas (JP / Gun Sails), while Italy’s Riccardo Marca (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) looked extremely impressive in Heat 31a with the Italian producing his best heat so far on the world tour. Italy’s Giovanni Passani (Tabou / GA Sails / AL360) won an extremely close heat against Japan’s Yuma Kobayashi (Starboard / Severne), which saw the lead change hands on several occasions. Julian Wiemar (Starboard / Severne) will be ruing not checking his equipment as the German was firmly in contention against Russia’s Yegor Popretinskiy (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) only for a snapped inhaul to ruin his chances of progression. In the final heat of the day, Italian Francesco Cappuzzo (RRD / RRD Sails / AL360) made the most of the diminishing conditions to book his place in the second round and he looks as though he can be a continued threat going forwards. The forecast looks excellent again for tomorrow which should result in another day of world class freestyle. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10:30am - with the action commencing from 11am (GMT+1) onwards. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to watch all of the explosive action as it happens via the PWA live stream.  To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Fuerteventura — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page. Result Women's Freestyle Single Elimination - Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam 1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins 2nd Oda Johanne (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 3rd Maaike Huvermann (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 4th Arrianne Aukes (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) Result Men's Freestyle Single Elimination - Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam 1st Jose ‘Gollito; Estredo (Fanatic / NorthSails) 2nd Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne) 3rd Jacopo Testa (RRD / RRD Sails) 4th Yentel Caers (JP / Point-7) 5th Kiri Thode 5th Adrien Bosson (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) 5th Dieter Van der Eyken (Starboard / Severne) 5th Steven Van Broeckhoven (JP / NeilPryde / Shamal Sunglasses) 9th Sam Esteve (JP / NeilPryde) 9th Antoine Albert (Goya Windsurfing) 9th Balz Müller (Patrik / Severne) 9th Philip Soltysiak (Starboard / Sailworks) 9th Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails) 9th Tonky Frans (RRD / RRD Sails) 9th Mattia Fabrizi (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) 9th Nicolas Akgazciyan (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)

Neben den sportlichen Highlights der Windsurfer wird es beim Multivan Surf Cup Sylt vom 25. bis 30. Juli 2017 auch abseits des Wassers hoch hergehen. Die Catering- und Shoppingmeile lädt mit einem abwechslungsreichen Angebot für Groß und Klein zum Verweilen ein. Int. Deutsche Meisterschaften Die nationale Windsurf-Elite trifft beim Multivan Surf Cup Sylt auf ihre internationalen Kontrahenten. Je nach Windbedingungen werden Wettkämpfe in den Disziplinen Formula Windsurfing, Slalom, Wave und Freestyle ausgetragen. Fahrzeugausstellung: Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge Der Titelsponsor des Multivan Surf Cup Sylt - Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge - zeigt eine umfangreiche Fahrzeugausstellung auf der Promenade vor Westerland. Erlebt die Flotte vom historischen Bulli, über Caddy und Amarok, bis zu den Kultmodellen Multivan und California auf der Promenade. Chiemsee Pop-Up Store Der Pop-Up Store von Chiemsee direkt auf der Westerländer Promenade präsentiert die neuste Sommerkollektion, von Bikinis über Shorts, T-Shirts, Tops, bis hin zu Handtüchern, Hoodies und Flip Flops. Bei Chiemsee kann man sich komplett für den Urlaub eindecken. Viel Spaß beim Stöbern! LVM Kids Camp Die LVM Versicherung wird auch in diesem Jahr mit ihrem LVM Kids Camp vor Ort sein. Neben dem LVM-Airstreamer auf der Promenade wird auch eine Fläche am Strand mit Leben gefüllt. Die großen und kleinen Besucher sind dazu eingeladen, ihr Glück beim Glücksrad herauszufordern oder mit „Pferdinant“ gemeinsam vor die Kamera zu treten. LIVE! Urban Beach Am Freitag, den 26. April 2017 sorgt die legendäre Coverband "Urban Beach" ab 19:00 Uhr mit ihrer Mischung aus Lagerfeuer- und Strandmusik für Stimmung. Getreu dem Motto "Sonne, Strand und die richtige Musik zum Seele baumeln lassen – was braucht man Mee(h)r?“ sorgen die Entertainer Martin Röttger und Farhad Heet für Highlights auf der Eventbühne. Für alle, die den Sommer lieben, spielen Urban Beach genau die richtige Musik - nicht nur zum Relaxen. Bootcamp-Insel-Sylt Annett Kötting ist Fitnesstrainerin und bietet seit diesem Jahr unter dem Namen „Bootcamp-Insel-Sylt“ ein abwechslungsreiches Outdoor-Training an. In den 50 minütigen Einheiten bringt sie die Teilnehmer mit einem Mix aus Kraft- und Ausdauertraining an ihre Leistungsgrenzen. Anlässlich des Surf Cup Sylt bietet das Syltfit-Team die Bootcamps vom 26. bis 30. Juli jeweils ab 16 Uhr kostenlos am Brandenburger Strand an. Die Anmeldung zu den Kursen ist unter annett@syltfit.com und www.syltfit.com direkt bei Annett Kötting möglich! Funsport am Brandenburger Strand Auch an Land wird der lockere Funsport-Lifestyle während des Multivan Surf Cups auf Sylt gelebt. Mit der Whitezu kommt eine Innovation auf die Promenade von Westerland. Die modulare Rampe imitiert eine Welle, die durch ihre glatte Oberfläche und spezielle Surf Skates exzellentes Gleiten ermöglicht. Chiemsee Surf Cup Party @ American Bistro Bei diesem Großevent darf eine offizielle Party natürlich nicht fehlen. Mit den Stars der Szene feiern - kein Problem! Am 29. Juni findet ab 23:00 Uhr die legendäre Chiemsee-Party im American Bistro statt.

The opening day of the 2017 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam - sponsored by René Egli - began with a bang as freestyle exploded on to the world tour. Fuerte provided the world class conditions it is renowned for - with stunt ramps and strong winds providing the ideal playground for the contortionists of the freestyle world to show what they are capable of and by the end of the first day of competition only the top 4 women and top 8 men remain standing in the single eliminations.  Women’s  In the women’s fleet, all of the top seeds safely survived their opening heat. First of all Oda Johanne (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) produced a solid display to defeat Birgit Rieger (Flikka), while reigning vice-world champion Maaike Huvermann (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) looked to be in good form as she progressed against Hanna Poschinger (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg), who was making her debut on the PWA World Tour and won her opening heat against Alexa Escherich (JP / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins). Last year’s world No.2 and No.3 will now face each other in the semifinals. In Heat 22a Arrianne Aukes (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) sailed well to navigate her way past a tricky second round heat against Olya Raskina (JP / NeilPryde). The Russian made the brighter start to the heat, but as time progressed Aukes found her rhythm as she put together a fine heat by the end with shakas on both tacks. The 30-year-old now faces a tall order in the semifinal where she will face 9-time freestyle world champion - Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) - who busted out culos, burners and regular konos to post the highest heat of the day - 99.5 points. Men’s   Close Call Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sail) had been in excellent form all day - posting the highest score of the first round - 153.6  points - before narrowly defeating Youp Schmit (99NoveNove / Avanti) in the second round to set up a tie against the current vice-world champion and reigning event champion Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne). The Frenchman continued his fine form and by the end of the heat there was just 0.03 of a point between them. Vrieswijk landed a kabikuchi in the dying moments of the heat, which proved pivotal and swung the heat in his favour. Both sailors were missing a move on port tack, so if Ruenes could have landed one of his air chachoo attempts then he would’ve progressed, but now he will have to wait for the double elimination to come back. So, Vrieswijk goes on and will meet Steven Van Broeckhoven (JP / NeilPryde / Shamal Sunglasses) in the quarterfinals. Man on a Mission Former world champion - Steven Van Broeckhoven - came out with all guns blazing today as he consistently posted some of the highest scores of the day to win both of heats with ease - dispatching of Loick Spicher (RRD / RRD Sails) and Albert with an explosive repertoire of powerful aerial moves and combos.  Sailor of the Day  7-time PWA Freestyle World Champion - Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (Fanatic / NorthSails) posted the highest scoring heat of the day proving he means business again this year as he goes on a quest for world title No.8. The Venezuelan racked up 175.3 points against Sam Esteve (JP / NeilPryde) with a combination of radical jumping - stalled forward, air chachoo and a pushloop - as well as pulling off technical combos such as double burners and double culos. Plus he also landed a new combination… a shuvit forward loop, which he punched the air in celebration upon landing.  Upsets Antoine Albert (Goya Windsurfing) produced the first major upset of the competition as the New Caledonian ended the hopes of Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic) in the second round with a textbook kabikuchi and a technical spock into kono inflicting the majority of the damage.  Heat 19b was always going to be a close heat between Tonky Frans (RRD / RRD Sails) and Dieter van der Eyken (Starboard / Severne) and that’s the way it played out. Originally it looked as though Tonky had booked his place in the next round, but unfortunately for the Bonairean a couple of van der Eyken’s moves had been incorrectly judged, which resulted in the result being overturned and the Belgian will now face Jacopo Testa (RRD / RRD Sails). Testa came into the event off of recent success in Lanzarote and the Italian carried that confidence and form into today as he clinically dispatched of Davy Scheffers (Tabou / GA Sails), who will be disappointed with his result in the single, before going on to defeat last year’s world No.5  Philip Soltysiak (Starboard / Sailworks) with another impressive display.  Elsewhere, Kiri Thode progressed against Balz Müller (Patrik / Severne), but Müller had his chances to reverse the result. However, he overcooked too many of his moves and was crucially missing a move on port tack. The 2013 world champion will now face Yentel Caers (JP / Point-7) in what should be another pulsating duel. Adrien Bosson (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) is the remaining sailor to have booked his place in the quarterfinals after the Frenchman beat fellow countryman - Nicolas Akgazciyan (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) in Heat 18a.  The forecast looks superb again for tomorrow with the promise of further strong winds and similar stunt ramps as today, which should guarantee a pulsating end to the single eliminations. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10:30am - with the action commencing from 11am (GMT+1) onwards. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to watch all of the explosive action as it happens via the PWA live stream.  To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Fuerteventura — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Nach 10-monatiger Verletzungspause gewinnt der dreimalige Windsurf-Weltmeister den World Cup Auftakt der Waverider in Pozo auf Gran Canaria. Philip Köster hat sich mit einem Paukenschlag in der Weltelite zurückgemeldet. Nach einer zehnmonatigen Verletzungspause gewann der dreimalige Windsurf-Weltmeister den ersten Waveriding World Cup dieses Jahres in Pozo/Gran Canaria und übernahm damit auch die Gesamtführung in der PWA World Tour. Der 23-Jährige, der in Vargas auf Gran Canaria lebt, zeigte bei seinem grandiosen Comeback Windsurfen von einem anderen Stern, so als habe es einen Kreuzbandriss und die monatelange Zwangspause niemals gegeben. „Damit habe ich überhaupt nicht gerechnet. Ich wollte in Pozo nach der langen Pause einfach nur Wettkampferfahrung sammeln, hatte deshalb keinen Druck und bin total locker in den World Cup gegangen. Ich habe mich sofort wohl gefühlt, es gab keinerlei Probleme mit dem Knie und ich konnte alle Manöver und Sprünge durchziehen, die ich vor der Verletzung in meinem Programm hatte. Es hat mir einen Riesenspaß gemacht und ich bin super happy über diesen Erfolg“, freute sich Philip Köster nach seiner triumphalen Rückkehr in den World-Cup-Zirkus und seinen insgesamt dritten Sieg in Pozo. Der Deutsche zeigte von der ersten Runde an, dass er während seiner Verletzungspause nichts von seinem überragenden Talent eingebüßt hat. Mit traumwandlerischer Sicherheit sprang und landete er Doppel-Loops, zeigte spektakuläre Wellenritte und hatte immer eine Antwort auf die Manöver seiner Konkurrenten parat. Im einem fantastischen Finale besiegte der 23-Jährige den aktuellen Weltmeister Victor Fernandez Lopez aus Spanien und bekam dabei von den internationalen Kampfrichtern für seine Sprünge die Höchstnote zehn. Auch das war ein deutliches Statement von Philip Köster im Hinblick auf einen möglichen vierten WM-Titel in diesem Jahr. Nach seinem erfolgreichen Comeback freuen sich vor allem die deutschen Fans auf ein Wiedersehen mit dem dreimaligen Titelträger beim Windsurf World Cup Sylt. Beim größten Windsurf-Event der Welt, der in diesem Jahr vom 29. September bis zum 8. Oktober in Westerland stattfindet, wurde Philip Köster 2011 zum ersten Mal Waveriding-Champion.

After a slow start to the penultimate day of the 2017 Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival the wind and waves eventually returned to provide a short window of competable conditions, which saw two of the Youth categories in action again - the 14-15 & 16-18 year olds - while only the top 4 women - Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins), Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins), Lina Erpenstein (Patrik / Severne) and Justyna Sniady (Simmer / Simmer Sails / Mystic) - and the top 5 men - Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins), Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / NorthSails / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses), Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails), Ricardo Campello (Point-7) and Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing) - remain standing in the double eliminations after another couple of hours of competition.  Women’s Double Elimination Justyna Sniady continued her comeback through the double elimination as she firstly dispatched of teammate Sarah Hilder (Simmer / Simmer Sails) before winning a tight battle against Nayra Alonso (Fanatic / Severne). Sniady then went on to cause the upset of the day as she produced an inspired performance to take down last year’s world No.3 - Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) - to claim quite possibly the biggest scalp of her career so far. The Pole landed a super clean backloop and a stylish forward, while linking together a solid wave to progress with Offringa unable to reply for once as she struggled to land a pushloop. Sniady was understandably delighted and released a few tears of joy upon hearing the result and  will now meet Lina Erpenstein in the battle for third and fourth.  Men’s Marcilio Browne continued his fine form today as the Brazilian won three consecutive heats today to move up to a minimum of 5th place. The Brazilian was unlucky to meet an on fire Ricardo Campello in just the 3rd round of the single elimination, but has since fought his way back from 9th place with a series of polished performances, which saw the 2013 PWA Wave World Champion defeat Omar Sanchez (Carbon Art / KA Sail), Adam Lewis (Fanatic / NorthSails / SWOX) and Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / SWOX) with outstanding double forwards and dynamic wave riding inflicting much of the damage. Browne will now have a chance to exact revenge against Campello in the fight for fourth and fifth - providing there are enough conditions to compete tomorrow.  Close Call  Dany Bruch (Starboard / Flight Sails / AL360 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) claimed the narrowest of victories over Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD Sails) with under half a point separating the two sailors by the end of the heat. However, that would be as far as Bruch would go as Robby Swift ended his hopes in the very next round, which leaves Bruch in joint 7th with Adam Lewis.  Swift finished joint 9th in the single elimination, but has sailed superbly in the double to fight his way back into an excellent 6th place. The Brit has consistently landed excellent double forwards, while banging out several tweaked frontside airs today and he needed to be at the top of his game to take out Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) and Bruch, but Browne proved too good on this occasion.  Youth’s Boy’s 16-18 Year Olds There was a turn up for the books in the 16-18 year olds division as Miguel Chapuis (JP / NeilPryde) came out on top today as he landed a radical tweaked pushloop and a backloop, while Jake Schettewi (JP / Hot Sails Maui) claimed second place after landing backloops and pushloops, but Noah Vocker (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) had to settle for third after a bit of a disappointing performance in the final. In the heat prior the 17-year-old had been on fire, but then was somewhat off the pace. However he still leads the rankings with one day to go.  14-15 Year Olds Marino Gil (Goya Windsurfing) once again dominated proceedings in the 14-15 year olds division and the 14-year-old now holds an almost unassailable lead ahead of Mike Friedl (Goya Windsurfing) - who came through the repechage round to eventually finish second today, which moves him into second in the overall rankings as well. As things stand Takuma Sugi (Tabou / GA Sails) currently occupies the final place on the podium just ahead of Adam Warchol (Goya Windsurfing) just ahead of 4th.  The forecast for tomorrow predicts less wind for tomorrow with similar wave conditions as today, so hopefully there will be enough of a window to allow the double eliminations to be completed. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10am tomorrow morning with the action commencing from 10:30am (GMT+1) onwards. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to follow the final day live.  To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Pozo — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page. Current Ranking Women's Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival *Positions may change from 4th place onwards 1st Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 2nd Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 3rd Lina Erpenstein (Patrik / Severne) 4th Justyna Sniady (Simmer / Simmer Sails / Mystic) 5th Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) Current Ranking Men's Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival -  *Positions may change from 5th place onwards 1st Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 2nd Victor Fernández Official (Fanatic / NorthSails / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) 3rd Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) 4th Ricardo Campello (Point-7) 5th Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing) 6th Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / SWOX) 7th Dany Bruch (Starboard / Flight Sails / AL360 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) 7th Adam Lewis (Fanatic / NorthSails / SWOX) 9th Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD Sails) 9th Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) 9th Omar Sanchez (Carbon Art / KA Sail) 9th Moritz Mauch (Severne / Severne Sails) Result 15-18 Year Old Girls 1st Nicole Bandini (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) 2nd Alexa Escherich (JP / NeilPryde) 3rd Maike Lang (NorthSails) 4th Regina Villegas  Result Under 14s Girls 1st Mar de Arce (Point-7) 2nd Julia Pasquale (Goya) 3rd Maria Morales (Goya) Result 16-18 Year Old Boys 1st Noah Vocker (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) 2nd Jake Schettewi (JP / Hot Sails Maui) 3rd Valentino Pasquale (Fanatic / NorthSails) 4th Miguel Chapuis (JP / NeilPryde) 5th Henri Kolberg (Starboard / Hot Sails Maui) Result 14-16 Year Old Boys 1st Marino Gil (Goya Windsurfing) 2nd Mike Friedl (Goya Windsurfing) 3rd Takuma Sugi (Tabou / GA Sails) 4th Adam Warchol (Goya Windsurfing) 5th Oliver Rodgriguez (Goya Windsurfing) Result Under 13s Boys 1st Jahdan Tyger (Severne) 2nd Liam Dunkerbeck (Severne) 3rd Pepe Krause 4th Miguel Casanova Perez

To start Day 5 of the Gran Canaria Wind & Waves there was barely a breath of wind with hazy, overcast skies, which meant the outlook didn’t look good for today, but by midday, the wind machine returned to action to provide a short afternoon of sailing for the Youth’s, while the Pro divisions spent another day waiting for the conditions to improve.  Girl’s 15-18 Year Olds Nicole Bandini (Fanatic / NorthSails) asserted her dominance in the 15-18 year olds division as she backed up yesterday’s victory with another decisive victory after landing a forward and a tabletop, while linking together a 6 point wave ride to deny Alexa Escherich (JP / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins), who finished second again today, but Regina Villegas earned 3rd place today ahead of Maike Lang (NorthSails). U14s In the under 14s division Mar de Arce once again proved too good as she pulled off several rocket airs and a donkey kick to defeat Julia Pasquale (Goya Windsurfing) and Maria Morales (Goya Windsurfing). Boy’s  14-16 Year Olds The opening round of the 14-15 year olds division was also completed before the conditions deteriorated further and the contest was called off. In Heat 1 there was an exceptionally close battle between Adam Warchol (Goya Windsurfing) and Mike Friedl (Goya Windsurfing) with both sailors stomping big backloops, forward and tabletop forwards while being equally matched on the wave. In the end, it was the young Pole - Warchol - who advanced into the final on a tiebreak decision, while Friedl goes into the repechage. Heat 2 saw a terrific performance from Japan’s Takuma Sugi (Tabou / GA Sails) and he deservedly booked his place in the winners’ final, while Oliver Rodriguez (Fanatic / NorthSails) goes into the repechage round for a chance to claim the last spot in the final.  Yesterday’s winner - Marino Gil (Goya Windsurfing) - looked to be in fantastic form again as he made the most of the small conditions on offer to earn the highest scores of the day - 25.5 points out of a possible 30. The 14-year-old pulled off a big, stylish backside 360 which he backed up to earn an 8 point wave, while he also earned perfect 10s for a superb one-footed backloop and he will be the one that everyone else has to beat. Jose Antonio Casanova Perez is the final sailor to go into the repechage.  U13s Jahdan Tyger (Severne) and Liam Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne) continued their battle for the top two positions in the Under 13s fleet, but it was once again the young Brazilian who came out on top as he landed an excellent forward, while almost landing a backloop to move into a 3-1 lead in the head-to-head. However, Dunkerbeck was clearly pushing himself today as he pulled the trigger on the forward loop while continuing to attempt backloops and pushloops. Meanwhile, Miguel Casanova Perez pipped Pepe Krause to 3rd place this time around.  With the tide becoming too high and what waves there were backing off the sailors were released at 4:30pm and they will meet again tomorrow morning at 10am for the skippers’ meeting - with the action commencing from 10:30am (GMT+1) onwards. The forecast for tomorrow offers some potential again, but it will all depend on whether the wind funnels through with WindGuru suggesting that there may be to much North in the wind. However, there were concerns regarding today and the wind still came through, so hopefully it will do the same tomorrow.  To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Pozo — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Andy Laufer fährt mit Medium Setup (114L/7.0qm/36cm) von Platz 4 auf 1 vor. Auf dem Ammersee reichten ihm Böen von 28 kn für einen 5x10s Speed von 36,25kn bei einem Topspeed von 39,25kn zu seiner persönlichen Bestleistung. Wir gratulieren zu dieser Topleistung und natürlich auch allen anderen die sich verbessert haben. Hier geht’s zum aktuellen Ranking.

The pro fleet stayed on hold until 2pm on Day 4 of the Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival with the wind and waves remaining too light and too small for them.  However, there was still plenty of action on the water today as the next generation of boys and girls took centre stage for the first time this week. Girl’s In the Under 14s division Mar de Arce (Point-), who is also the Spanish Slalom Champion in her age division, claimed victory ahead of Julia Pasquale with some excellent wave riding and a variety of regular and one-handed jumps.  Meanwhile, Nicole Bandini (Fanatic / NorthSails) consistently landed forward loops and made the best of the waves on offer to show why she was the top seed in the 15-18-year-olds category as she defeated 15-year-old Alexa Escherich (JP / NeilPryde), Maike Lang (NorthSails) and Regina Villegas. Boy’s 16-18 Year Olds Noah Vocker (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) bounced back from the disappointment of not winning his opening heat, by winning his repechage heat to take his place in the final alongside Jake Schettewi (JP / Hot Sails Maui), Henri Kolberg (Starboard / Hot Sails Maui) and Valentino Pasquale (Fanatic / NorthSails). The final of the boy’s 16-18-year-olds saw an exceptionally close heat with the lead changing hands on several occasions, but ultimately it was Vocker who managed to come out on top after landing a one-handed backloop, pushloop and a frontside 360 as he showed off his repertoire of moves. Meanwhile, Pasquale claimed second with Schettewi completing the podium. 14-15 Year Olds Marino Gil (Goya Windsurfing) competed in the main event and was unlucky not to make the second round of the double elimination after tying on points with Jose Romero Santana (Mistral / Challenger Sails). However, the 14-year-old missed out with Santana having the highest wave score. As the top seed in the 14-15 year olds category Gil asserted his dominance landing clean backloops and forwards as well as rotating through backside 3s to claim a decisive victory ahead of Takuma Sugi (Tabou / GA Sails), Mike Friedl (Goya Windsurfing) and Adam Warchol (Goya Windsurfing). Under 13s Yesterday Liam Dunkerbeck (Severne) won the opening battle in the Under 13s division, but today Jahdan Tyger (Severne) hit back to take the lead after claiming back-to-back victories. Dunkerbeck shone in the waves - scoring one 10 point wave - but with only one wave to count Tyger took control with his aerial prowess doing the damage.  The day was rounded up shortly after 3pm with the awards presentation and now the attention turns towards tomorrow, which looks similar as today, so whether any further action takes place will remain to be seen. The skippers’ meeting will once again be held at 10am tomorrow morning with the action commencing from 10:30am (GMT+1) onwards. To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Pozo — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page. Result Women's Single Elimination Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival: 1st Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 2nd Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 3rd Lina Erpenstein (Patrik / Severne) 4th Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) Result Men's Single Elimination Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival 1st Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 2nd Victor Fernández Official (Fanatic / NorthSails / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) 3rd Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) 4th Ricardo Campello (Point-7) 5th Adam Lewis (Fanatic / NorthSails / SWOX) 5th Omar Sánchez (Carbon Art / KA Sail) 5th Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne/ SWOX / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) 5th Dany Bruch (Starboard / Flight Sails / AL360 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) Result 15-18 Year Old Girls 1st Nicole Bandini (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) 2nd Alexa Escherich (JP / NeilPryde) 3rd Maike Lang (NorthSails) 4th Regina Villegas  Result Under 14s Girls 1st Mar de Arce (Point-7) 2nd Julia Pasquale (Goya) 3rd Maria Morales (Goya) Result 16-18 Year Old Boys 1st Noah Vocker (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins) 2nd Valentino Pasquale (Fanatic / NorthSails) 3rd Jake Schettewi (JP / Hot Sails Maui) 4th Henri Kolberg (Starboard / Hot Sails Maui) 5th Tim van dam Sanchidrian (Starboard / Flight Sails) Result 14-16 Year Old Boys 1st Marino Gil (Goya Windsurfing) 2nd Takuma Sugi (Tabou / GA Sails) 3rd Mike Friedl (Goya Windsurfing) 4th Adam Warchol (Goya Windsurfing) 5th Oliver Rodgriguez (Goya Windsurfing) Result Under 13s Boys 1st Jahdan Tyger (Severne) 2nd Liam Dunkerbeck (Severne) 3rd Pepe Krause 4th Miguel Casanova Perez

Despite the lesser forecast for the third day of the Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival, Pozo still produced an entire afternoon of competable conditions with the wind machine continuing to blow with winds in excess of 30 knots. Today saw the men’s and women’s double eliminations begin as sailors knocked out in the early rounds of the single elimination were given their chance to mount a fightback to improve their ranking. Women’s The opening two rounds of the women’s double elimination were completed today, but after a bright start Nicole Bandini (Fanatic / NorthSails) saw her hopes ended by Sarah Hilder (Simmer / Simmer Sails), while Serena Zoia (99NoveNove / LoftSails) suffered the same fate after winning her first round tie as she was defeated by Justyna Sniady (Simmer / Simmer Sails / Mystic). In the bottom half of the draw Greta Benvenuti (Patrik / Point-7 / AL360) and Nayra Alonso (Fanatic / NorthSails) both won their opening two heats and will now face each other in Round 3.  Men’s The exceptionally high level was apparent even from the opening round of the double with double forwards and one-handed, one-footed backloops already being landed, which led to several pulsating battles. Man on the Move Coming into the event there was no doubting Moritz Mauch’s (Severne / Severne) wave riding ability, but there were some concerns about his jumping, however, the German clearly hasn’t been taking any notice of other people's concerns as he won 4 consecutive heats to move into the top 10. Mauch consistently scored some of the highest wave scores of the day with slick turns and a strong aerial game and that proved crucial - particularly in his final heat of the day against Aleix Sanllehy (Tabou / GA Sails) when the 21-year-old performed a buzzer beater by producing a 7.88 point final wave to defeat the Catalonian by just 0.33 of a point. Prior to facing Sanllehy, Mauch had sent Martin ten Hoeve (Simmer / Simmer Sails), Pablo Ramirez (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) and Dieter van der Eyken (Starboard / Severne) all packing and it will now be interesting to see if he can also claim the scalp of Adam Lewis (Fanatic / NorthSails / SWOX). Jules Denel (JP / NeilPryde) was the other main mover on day 3 as the Frenchman fought his way back from a shock first round exit in the single elimination to fight back into joint 13th place. Denel was faced with a very tricky first round draw against the young and talented Loick Lesauvage (Goya Windsurfing / Shamal Windsurfing), but he produced a solid professional display to escape a potential banana skin. The 27-year-old then ended the hopes of Florian Jung (Starboard / Gun Sails / SWOX) before also dispatching of the highly rated Alessio Stillrich (Fanatic / NorthSails) to set up a tie against teammate Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / SWOX).  Heat 42b - Swift vs Denel - saw an incredibly close battle, so close in fact that they were almost inseparable come the end of the heat. Unfortunately though, Denel was on the wrong end of the decision as he missed out by just 0.14 a point, while Swift defends his joint 9th place from the single and will have the chance to fight for 7th place and beyond against last year’s world No.5 Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses). Elsewhere, vice-world champion Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD Sails) survived a major scare against local boy Josep Pons (Simmer / Simmer Sails), who had already defeated Eric Sanllehy (Goya Windsurfing) and Antoine Martin (JP / NeilPryde). Pons started the heat in spectacular fashion by landing an almost perfect double forward and heading into the final 4-5 minutes of the heat he only required a 5 point jump or better to cause an upset, but unfortunately a ramp never presented itself and he will be left to rue attempting a second double rather than going for another jump midway through the heat - while Mussolini survives to fight another day. Move of the Day  While Josep Pons may have been disappointed to have been eliminated in Heat 42a he still produced the move of the day as he landed a perfect 10 point double forward against Antoine Martin. In the second round Marc Paré (Simmer / Simmer Sails) produced one of the upsets of the day as he claimed the scalp of Klaas Voget (Fanatic / NorthSails), while Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing) dispatched of Leon Jamaer (JP / NeilPryde) and the Brazilian will now be hoping for further conditions to allow the double elimination to be completed, so that he has a chance to climb further up the rankings.  Youth’s Under 13s To end the day, the youngest age group of the Youth’s hit the water for their first final of the week and Liam Dunkerbeck (Severne) claimed the first victory of the week with some solid wave riding, while also throwing himself into pushloops, backloops and forwards to Deny Brazil’s Jahdan Tyger (Severne). The forecast suggests lighter winds and smaller waves again for tomorrow, but hopefully there will still be suitable conditions for at least a few hours again with the tide on the push.  The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10am with the action commencing from 10:30am (GMT+1) onwards again.  To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Pozo — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page. Result Women's Single Elimination Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival 1st Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 2nd Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 3rd Lina Erpenstein (Patrik / Severne) 4th Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)   Result Men's Single Elimination Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival 1st Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 2nd Victor Fernández Official (Fanatic / NorthSails / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) 3rd Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) 4th Ricardo Campello (Point-7) 5th Adam Lewis (Fanatic / NorthSails / SWOX) 5th Omar Sánchez (Carbon Art / KA Sail) 5th Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne/ SWOX / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) 5th Dany Bruch (Starboard / Flight Sails / AL360 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses)

The conditions continued to fire on Day 2 of the Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival with winds in excess of 40 knots greeting the competitors and after a short wait, the waves quickly improved with the tide on the push to allow the single eliminations to be resumed.  With better stunt ramps on offer than yesterday, the level soon went through the roof as the best sailors in the world pushed themselves to their limits in search of glory. After several monumental battles and some exquisite sailing, it was Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) and Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) who crowned the Queen and King of the Single Eliminations. Women’s The Moreno twins continued their dominance - for the time being at least - as both Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) and Daida Moreno safely navigated their way into the winners’ final. Daida came into the event as the favourite and she quickly set the tone for the final by landing a massive stalled forward, but Iballa quickly levelled things up with a well-executed pushloop and it wasn’t until towards the end of the heat that Daida fully asserted as she landed a one-handed backloop before linking together her best wave of the heat to earn 7.5 points and claim a decisive victory.  In the battle for 3rd and 4th, Lina Erpenstein (Patrik / Severne) lined up against last year’s world No.3 Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins). The young German had already secured her best ever result by breaking into the 4 for the first time, but she wasn’t done there as she caused an upset by claiming a hard fought victory over Offringa. Come the end of the heat there was just over quarter-of-a-point between the two sailors, but crucially Erpenstein made the better of the waves to earn two solid scores of 6.38 and 6.75 points which deservedly saw the 20-year-old claim the final place on the podium.  Before reaching the opportunity to battle for the podium Erpenstein was involved in the closest heat of the day against Justyna Sniady (Simmer / Simmer Sails / Mystic), which saw the Pole land a textbook forward and a perfectly executed backloop, but it was once again Erpenstein’s aggressive wave riding which made the difference as she progressed by just 0.01 of a point. Sniady will now hope for a chance in the double elimination to exact revenge in a tie where margins were almost too close to call. Men’s  Coming into the event there were some questions marks over Philip Köster’s fitness with the former 3-time world champion making his first appearance since rupturing his cruciate knee ligament in September last year. However, after the 23-year-olds performance today it’s safe to say that there was no need to be concerned about whether he could return to his best or not as he produced a sublime performance to defeat Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / NorthSails / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) in an extremely close, top quality winners’ final. In fact, Köster’s jumping was so good against Fernandez that he earned a perfect 20 points out of 20 after landing an amazing stalled double forward and a pushloop forward. Fernandez put up a stern fight as he landed an excellent double of his own, but even after earning the only perfect 10 wave ride of the day the reigning world champion couldn’t quite deny Köster the victory. 2014 PWA Wave World Champion - Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) - got the better of Ricardo Campello (Point-7) in the battle for last place on the podium with the Frenchman making the better of the waves, but also out jumping his opponent.  Earlier in the day Campello had been in inspired form and for a long time it looked as though he may be the main man that everyone else had to beat as he firstly defeated Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing) in a mouth-watering third round tie, before posting the second highest scoring heat of the day - highest at the time - against Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) in the quarterfinals - 35.13 points - as the Brazilian/Venezuelan) also recorded perfect jumps scores after earning 10 points for each of his double forward and pushloop forward. Unfortunately for Campello, he couldn’t find the scores required to defeat Fernandez - even after both semifinals were resailed due to a timing error in the first attempt - and he settles for 4th place in the single elimination. Yesterday saw the top seeds survived unscathed but that all changed today as the vice-world champion - Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD Sails) - fell in the opening heat of the day against an on song Adam Lewis (Fanatic / NorthSails / SWOX) - who produced an excellent jumping and wave riding display and the Brit now occupies joint 5th after the single elimination.  Omar Sanchez (Carbon Art / KA Sail) then produced the second upset of the day in the very next heat as he turned the tables on Britain’s Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / SWOX), who is usually so dangerous here. Sanchez had looked good yesterday and he carried that form into day two to also sit in joint 5th alongside Lewis, Stone and Dany Bruch (Starboard / Flight Sails / AL360 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) - who earlier beat Aleix Sanllehy (Tabou / GA Sails) in one of the closest heats of the day.  The forecast for tomorrow predicts lighter winds and smaller waves so we will have to wait and see whether it is possible to resume the double eliminations. If the pro fleets remain on hold then it is likely that we will see the Youth Divisions take centre stage. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10am tomorrow morning again with the action commencing from 10:30am (GMT+1) onwards.  To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Pozo — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page. Result Women's Single Elimination Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival 1st Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 2nd Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 3rd Lina Erpenstein (Patrik / Severne) 4th Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) 5th Birgit Rieger 5th Caterina Stenta (RRD / RRD Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) 5th Justyna Sniady (Simmer / Simmer Sails / Mystic) 5th Sarah Hilder (Simmer / Simmer Sails) Result Men's Single Elimination Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival 1st Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 2nd Victor Fernández Official (Fanatic / NorthSails / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) 3rd Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) 4th Ricardo Campello (Point-7) 5th Adam Lewis (Fanatic / NorthSails / SWOX) 5th Omar Sánchez (Carbon Art / KA Sail) 5th Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne/ SWOX / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) 5th Dany Bruch (Starboard / Flight Sails / AL360 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) 9th Antoine Martin Windsurf (JP / NeilPryde) 9th Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD Sails) 9th Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / SWOX) 9th Alessio Stillrich (Fanatic / NorthSails) 9th Leon Jamaer (JP / NeilPryde) 9th Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing) 9th Aleix Sanllehy (Tabou / GA Sails) 9th Dieter Van der Eyken (Starboard / Severne)

As predicted the 2017 Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival hit the ground running and almost a full day of competition was possible on the opening day. Howling winds greeted the competitors and by the end of the day even the guys were fully overpowered on 3.7s such was the ferocity of the wind. Despite the waves remaining relatively small the best sailors in the world still managed to pull off some remarkable tricks as the level on the world tour continues to go through the roof.  Women’s Only the top 8 girls remain standing after the opening day of the 2017 Gran Canaria Wind & Waves Festival with the first round being completed in tricky conditions with strong winds and intermittent waves prevailing. In the first heat of the day last year’s world No.3 - Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) - stole the show as the 26-year-old showed her sailing has gone to another level again. On her way to victory against Marine Hunter (KA Sails), Offringa pulled off a stylish pushloop why’ll fluidly linking together some solid vert turns. On the a-side Birgit Rieger dispatched of Italian Nicole Bandini (Fanatic / NorthSails). Heat 2 saw reigning world champion Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) in action for the first time and she made a winning start as she ended the hopes of Maria Andrés (Fanatic / NorthSails) with a textbook tabletop forward and a solid first wave doing the majority of the damage. Meanwhile, Caterina Stenta (RRD / RRD Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) produced a buzzer beater as her last minute forward saw her pip fellow Italian Serena Zoia (99NoveNove / LoftSails) to a place in the quarterfinals by just quarter of a point. The penultimate women’s heat of the day saw Justyna Sniady (Simmer / Simmer Sails / Mystic) produce a polished display to progress over Greta Benvenuti (Patrik / Point-7 / AL360). There were fears that the Pole may not be able to sail due to injuring her foot last week, but she put those worries to bed by quickly landing a forward loop and clean backie. On the b-side of Heat 3, Lina Erpenstein (Patrik / Severne) claimed a clinical victory against the youthful talent of Alexa Escherich (JP / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins). Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) earned the highest scores of the day as she laid down the gauntlet to show everyone else why she is the favourite for the event title. The multiple time world champions best moment saw her land an outstanding one-handed backloop to earn 8.75 points - ending the heat on a total of 21.25 points. Daida will now face Sarah Hilder (Simmer / Simmer Sails) in the next round after the Brit defeated Arrianne Aukes (Fanatic / NorthSails) - with her wave riding proving to be the difference between the two of them.  Men’s In the opening round the majority of the sailors who you would expect to progress did, but there was one major upset as Jules Denel (JP / NeilPryde) suffered a first-round exit at the hands of local José Romero Santana (Mistral / Challenger Sails). The Frenchman didn’t sail a bad heat but ran into an inspired opponent who landed an 8 point double forward as well as linking together two waves in the excellent range.  Antoine Martin (JP / NeilPryde) produced one of the performances of the day in Heat 9 as he took down Moritz Mauch (Severne / Severne) in a close fought heat in which both sailors excelled on the wave. Martin actually earned the first perfect 10 of the competition after he landed a superb Klei and the 23-year-old will now face fellow Frenchman - Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) - in Round 3 after TT progressed at the expense of Pablo Ramirez (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg). Meanwhile, Adam Lewis (Fanatic / NorthSails) and Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD Sails) safely navigated their way in the next round with victories over Kenneth Danielsen (Flikka / Simmer) and Julian Salmonn (Severne / Severne) respectively.  Omar Sanchez (Carbon Art / KA Sail) produced a fine, late comeback to cause an upset against Klaas Voget (Fanatic / NorthSails) and the local will now face Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / SWOX / Mystic) in Heat 18a after the Brit produced an accomplished display to advance ahead of Marc Paré (Simmer / Simmer Sails), who will now have to wait for the double elimination to try and make a comeback.  Before the event, many people believed that Alessio Stillrich (Fanatic / NorthSails) would pose a real danger and have a genuine shot at putting together a deep run in the contest and based on his opening performance today there is every chance that he will be battling it out in the latter stages. The 22-year-old looked in impressive form as he pulled off a trademark planing tweaked pushloop as well as landing a planing backloop and a well executed double forward. Stillrich will have to be at the top of his game though as next up for him will be the ominous figure of Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins), who looked like he’d never been away as he clinically dispatched of Gustav Haggstrom (RRD / RRD Sails) with a perfect double and a combination of tricks and turns on the wave earning him the highest score of the day - 24.12 points - not a bad way to mark your return from injury! Leon Jamaer (JP / NeilPryde) safely navigated his way into Round 3 with a routine victory over Flo Jung (Starboard / Gun Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) and the German will now face Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses). For a while, the Australian was in a spot of bother against 17-year-old Loick Lesauvage (Goya Windsurfing / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses), who sailed well again, but by the end of the heat Stone reeled in his opponent to deservedly earn his place in the next round.  Heat 14 witnessed Ricardo Campello (Point-7) and Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing) in action for the first time and they both produced standout displays to progress. Browne produced one of the best double forwards of the day to earn perfect 10s, while Campello wasn’t far behind as he landed a 9.62 point double of his own while attempting the only pushloop forward of the contest so far. Victory for Campello and Browne means they will now face each other in a mouthwatering Round 3 duel.  Aleix Sanllehy (Tabou / GA Sails) looked to be in excellent form as he won both of his opening two heats and he will now face Dany Bruch (Starboard / Flight Sail / AL360 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) in Heat 20a - while Dieter van der Eyken produced a superb display to send local specialist Josep Pons (Simmer / Simmer) packing his bags, but he may have to raise his game even higher if he wants to keep his hopes alive as up next he’ll be facing reigning world champion - Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / NorthSails / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) - who produced a solid performance to defeat Eric Sanllehy (Goya Windsurfing) and you can expect to see him improve from here on. At the end of day one the top seeds are still standing and they’ll be readying themselves for another of action tomorrow with potentially even stronger winds than today and hopefully bigger waves, but that is not guaranteed as although the wave size is predicted to be bigger the period is short so we will have to wait and see what the conditions bring. The sailors will meet again tomorrow morning at 10am with the action commencing from 10:30am (GMT+1) - if conditions allow. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to follow all of the radical action as it happens via the PWA live stream. To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Pozo — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

In fünf Wochen beginnt auf Fehmarn das Wassersport-Highlight des Sommers: Vom 18. bis 27. August ist die Ostseeinsel Gastgeber des Mercedes-Benz Kitesurf World Cup. Die zwölfte Auflage des größten Kitesurf-Events der Welt wird so bunt und vielseitig wie noch nie und präsentiert diese junge sowie mittlerweile weltweit etablierte Trendsportart in einer Vielzahl seiner Facetten. Die Zuschauer können sich vor allem auf eine der trendigsten Kitesurf-Disziplinen, das Strapless Freestyle, freuen. Die besten Kitesurfer der Welt zeigen dabei hohe Sprünge, spektakuläre Tricks, Artistik und Geschicklichkeit. Die Wettbewerbe des Strapless Freestyle haben World-Cup-Status der Global Kitesports Association. Im Rahmenprogramm des Events finden außerdem mit der Speed-Disziplin Foil und Kite-Park zwei Wettbewerbe ohne World-Cup-Status statt. Zudem gibt es einen Geschwindigkeits-Rekordversuch. Das Gesamtpreisgeld des Mercedes-Benz Kitesurf World Cup beträgt 50.000 Euro. „Wir sind sehr stolz, gleich vier Wettbewerbe auf Fehmarn zu präsentieren. Beim Strapless Freestyle und Kite-Park sehen die Zuschauer die trendigsten Entwicklungen im Kitesurf-Sport“, sagt Matthias Neumann, Geschäftsführer der ausrichtenden Agentur ACT AGENCY aus Hamburg. Artistisch geht es vor allem in der Hauptdisziplin Strapless Freestyle zu, die World-Cup-Status hat und die bei der diesjährigen Veranstaltung Premiere im Rahmen eines Kitesurf World Cup in Deutschland feiert. Bei dieser Variante der Königsdisziplin stehen die Athleten auf dem Board, ohne durch Fußschlaufen oder Bindungen mit ihm verbunden zu sein und zeigen so ihre spektakulären Tricks und Manöver. Dabei nehmen sie bei bestimmten Sprüngen das Board in die Hand, führen damit ihre Kunststücke über dem Wasser aus, um anschließend wieder auf dem Brett stehend zu landen. Auf Fehmarn kämpfen über den gesamten Eventzeitraum die besten Wave- und Strapless-Freestyler der Welt um ein Gesamtpreisgeld in Höhe von 30.000 Euro sowie wichtige Ranglistenpunkte für den Weltmeistertitel im Rahmen der GKA Kite-Surf World Tour 2017. Aus deutscher Sicht besonders spannend werden die Wettfahren im Foil, der Formel 1 des Kitesports. Florian Gruber gewann im vergangenen Jahr die Premiere dieser jungen und packenden Racing-Disziplin auf Fehmarn. Der Garmischer Speed-Spezialist will auch in diesem Jahr gegen eine starke internationale Konkurrenz überzeugen. Die hohen Geschwindigkeiten werden beim Foil-Kitesurfen dadurch erreicht, dass eine flügelartige Verlängerung unter dem Board das Brett schon bei geringem Tempo aus dem Wasser hebt. Die Rider „fliegen“ dann ausschließlich auf diesem Flügel und erreichen wegen des geringen Wasserwiderstandes Geschwindigkeiten von bis zu 70 km/h. Dieser internationale Foil-Wettbewerb ist der einzige in Deutschland stattfindende Event und offizieller Tourstopp der Hydrofoil Pro Tour, ohne World-Cup-Status. Die Foil-Rennen werden in der ersten Hälfte des Events von Samstag bis Mittwoch (19. bis 23. August) am Südstrand stattfinden und können schon bei leichtem Wind gestartet werden. Viel Action und spektakuläre Moves auf der Ostsee erwartet die Besucher in der zweiten neuen Disziplin, dem Kite-Park. Dabei wird vor Fehmarn in Strandnähe, ähnlich wie beim Wakeboarden, ein Parcours mit Kickern und Obstacles ausgelegt. Neben Style und Ausführung ist insbesondere der Schwierigkeitsgrad der auf den Obstacles gezeigten Tricks entscheidend für eine gute Bewertung und hohe Punktezahl durch die internationalen Judges. So können die Fans die spannenden und harten Duelle, die in der zweiten Hälfte des Events von Donnerstag bis Sonntag, (24. bis 27. August) ausgetragen werden, hautnah miterleben. Für den gleichen Zeitraum ist beim Mercedes-Benz Kitesurf World Cup Fehmarn ein Rekordversuch geplant. Unter dem Titel „Foil around Fehmarn“ werden bis zu zehn Kitesurf-Foil-Athleten alles geben, um die Ostseeinsel in einer neuen Bestzeit zu umrunden. Schnellster Boardsportler ist zurzeit der 16-malige Deutsche Windsurfmeister Bernd Flessner, der im Jahr 2009 auf seinem Windsurfboard die Insel in 2:48 Stunden umrundete. Die Kitesurf-Foiler wollen versuchen, dem Windsurf-Altmeister diesen Rekord abzujagen. Der Rekordversuch wird als Standby-Wettbewerb ausgetragen und im Zeitraum vom 24. bis 27. August bei passenden Wind & Wetterbedingungen gestartet. Beim großen Kitesurf & SUP Testival im Rahmen des Mercedes-Benz Kitesurf World Cup haben auch die Besucher die Möglichkeit, auf´s Board zu steigen. Auf dem Campingplatz Strukkamphuk, direkt an der großen Orther Reede gelegen, besteht die Möglichkeit, das neueste Equipment an einem Flachwasserspot ausführlich auszuprobieren und unter die Lupe zu nehmen. Titelsponsor Mercedes-Benz wird einen kostenlosen Shuttle zwischen dem Eventgelände und dem Kitesurf Testival am Campingplatz Strukkamphuk anbieten. Auch am Südstrand stehen Produktneuheiten zum Test bereit: Auf SUP-Boards aller namhaften Hersteller kann das Surffeeling geprobt werden, außerdem präsentieren Hersteller das neueste Kitesurf-Material. Durchhaltevermögen müssen auch die Fans beweisen. Sie sind nach den Kitesurfern am Zug, denn jeden Abend wird bei N-JOY the Party mit zahlreichen Liveacts und angesagten DJs bis in die Morgenstunden Beachparty am Südstrand von Fehmarn gefeiert.