Sarah-Quita Offringa

The 2011 Pegasus Airlines PWA World Cup Alacati Turkey – Day five: A nervous day in Alacati as Dunkerbeck inches closer to the world title and Sarah-Quita Offringa sticks two more bullets in the bag.

The wind continued to blow for the penultimate day of racing in Alacati, allowing the slalom fleet to take to the water on their 7.8m sails from the word go. A Consistent breeze of around eighteen knots powered the world’s fastest slalom sailors through two and a half more dramatic eliminations.

Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic) dominated in the women’s fleet with two more bullets, taking her back into second place. Peter Volwater (Fanatic / MauiSails) took advantage in men’s elimination eight and Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde) claimed his second win in elimination ten.

Men’s Fleet

Despite having a tough day on the water, Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / DunkerbeckEyewear) retains his position as the event leader in Alacati. Dunkerbeck sailed his way into the winners’ finals today, but on both occasions he was caught amongst the pile-ups at the marks. He managed to recover a fourth place finish in elimination eight but he was only able to make sixth in elimination nine, opening up the door for Maynard to creep up behind him on the results table. Dunkerbeck will have to be on form tomorrow to retain his position in first place.

Maynard had a mixed day on the water as he was disqualified in the quarter finals of elimination eight due to a premature start. However he made his comeback in elimination nine with an incredible race where he finished second place in the final.

Volwater was the man in charge throughout elimination eight, he sailed an almost perfect set of races and always made it to the mark first. The winners’ final saw his main rival Dunkerbeck go down at mark one, Albeau had a significant lead on the fleet all the way to the final gybe when disaster struck and he too went down. Volwater was able to close the gap and overtake Albeau along with four other members of the fleet and steal his first bullet of the season. Having won the first heat followed by a second place in elimination nine, the tough semi-final line-up featuring all the big names caught Volwater out and forced him into the losers’ final.

Volwater:
“I have had a great day, I have finally sorted out my starts, I was struggling a little earlier in the week but now I have worked out the right routine and it seems to be working. In the semi-final of elimination nine I really wanted to change my equipment but I didn’t have time, so I was caught out at the first mark, but I came back and won the losers final. I am super-stoked about winning the race before, I was happy in second but then Albeau fell and I was able to take the opportunity and as long as I stayed on my board I was fine.”

Having suffered a heavy blow in elimination eight, Albeau returned with a vengeance in elimination nine. The French world champion stormed through the opening heats and the dreaded semi-final featuring Dunkerbeck, Maynard, Micah Buzianis (JP / NeilPryde), Volwater, Alberto Menegatti (Starboard / Gaastra), Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde) and Andrea Cucchi (Patrik / Point-7).  Albeau nailed his start putting him ahead of the fleet and free from any crashes taking place behind him, he managed to build up a significant lead on the rest of the pack and he charged his way over the finish line to claim his second win in Alacati, moving him into fourth place and a step closer to the podium.

Other standout sailors from today’s racing included Jesper Orth (RRD) who continued with his superb starts. The light-wind master, Alberto Menegatti (Starboard / Gaastra) who blitzed his way into the winners’ final alongside flying Dutchman Peter Bijl (JP / NeilPryde).

Elimination 10

With the wind still blowing the race crew were eager to press ahead with the opening half of men’s elimination ten. The first round of heat was completed in quick succession. However a number of key players failed to shine through.

After a fantastic day of starts and a sixth place in the elimination nine losers’ final, Kurosh Kiani (Angulo / Simmer) was unable to match the pace of his opponents, seeing his early exit from the elimination.

Unfortunately for Arnon Dagan (Tabou / Gaastra) he suffered at the extremely busy first mark in his heat, he was caught amongst a pile up, rendering him unable to complete the race.

Having had a run of bad luck on the water here in Alacati, Ross Williams (Tabou / Gaastra) was caught out once again in his heat, seeing him unable to qualify. Williams was pressured into making mistakes both on the start-line and the final mark where he went down on both occasions.

Credit has to go to Greece’s Jean Mark Fantis (JP / NeilPryde) for winning his first heat; Fantis dominated from the start-line and from then on there was no catching him. Fantis cruised over the finish-line ahead of the fleet and into the next around.

Women’s Fleet

Offringa was back on form for the fifth day of racing, after a few dropped gybes in the high winds yesterday Offringa was meticulous with her corners today. The Aruban freestyle and slalom maestro timed her starts to perfection to lead the fleet in both finals, ensuring that she claimed two first places.

Offringa
“I was a little scared the wind was going to be as strong as yesterday, but it ended up being a really good day. I was using my medium board, as it’s a little easier to control. I had some really solid starts today, and once you’re at the front it so much easier to race as you don’t have to worry about passing people. I had a catapult in the elimination nine qualifying round but I managed to finish in fourth. I think I had the best start of my life in the winners’ final and that allowed me to go ahead and win the race.”

The current event leader, Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne) performed a two great races in the qualifying rounds, however two dropped gybes in the winners’ final saw her finish slightly lower down the fleet than usual in 4^th and 8^th, however Jaggi still maintains a significant lead on the rest of the fleet with overall consistent scores.

Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic), Greta Benvenuti (Patrik / Point-7 /AL360) and Fanny Aubet (JP /NeilPryde) were the standout women of the day. The three sailors were fighting for the top spots throughout the day and hitting the starts with perfect timing.

With one more exciting day of racing to go, everything is to play for, the tension is mounting and the results are sure to go down to the wire. Dunkerbeck, Maynard, Van Der Steen, and Albeau are all in with a chance of taking the 2011 Pegasus Airlines PWA World Cup for themselves. With the results so tight none of the top five can afford to make any more mistakes, otherwise their results could plummet. Out of the top five Maynard has the most breathing space with a consistent set of results and no major mistakes. If Dunkerbeck wins the competition tomorrow he will walk away with the 2011 world slalom champion title, overthrowing the five-year stronghold of Albeau. If Dunkerbeck finishes lower down the ranks tomorrow, then the world champion title will be left open, with everything coming down to the final event of the year in Sylt.

Make sure you tune into the live ticker for the final day of action. Will Dunkerbeck take the title? Will Albeau fight back? Will Maynard throw a spanner in the works? The final day of racing will kick off at 11am tomorrow morning with the skippers’ meeting, with the first possible start to racing at 11:30am.

Results:
Men’s results (after 9 eliminations)

1^st Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / DunkerbeckEyewear)

2^nd Finian Maynard (RRD)

3^rd Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Loft / Mystic)

4^th Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde)

5^th Micah Buzianis (JP / NeilPryde)

6^th Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North)

7^th Josh Angulo (Angulo / Gun / Dakine)

8^th Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde)

9^th Peter Volwater (Fanatic / MauiSails)

10^th Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / North)

Women’s results (after 9 eliminations)

1^st Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne)

2^nd Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic)

3^rd Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic)

4^th Lena Erdil (Patrik / Loft / AL360)

5^th Fanny Aubet (JP / NeilPryde)

6^th Marion Mortefon (AL360)

7^th Delphine Cousin (JP / NeilPryde)

8^th Lise Vidal (Exocet / North)

9^th Alice Arutkin (Starboard / North)

10^th Cagla Kubat (Starboard / North)

Scope the action

For more information on all the entrants, and to keep up to date with every piece of the action, click on www.pwaworldtour.com

Here you can use our:

- Live ticker service for heat-by-heat bulletins

- Check live elimination ladders

- View results

- Read daily news summaries

- Browse awesome action photo galleries

- Follow the event live, with top class commentary from pros and industry insiders.

Check out the awesome photos on the dedicated website at www.surfnsound.org

Or for more information, please contact the PWA office via info@pwaworldtour.com

Karin Jaggi

The 2011 Pegasus Airlines PWA World Cup Alacati Turkey – Day four: Thirty knots of wind hammered Alacati for the fourth day of racing leading to explosive starts, dangerous gybes, ferocious straights and a mixed bag of results.

The PWA’s elite slalom fleets were treated to a day of extreme winds for the fourth day of competition allowing the race crew to power through three dramatic eliminations. Gusts reaching up to thirty knots tested the sailors to the edge of their ability as they struggled to hold onto their equipment as they battled down the race course. Edge of your seat racing, full throttle crashes and aggressive action, the fourth day of racing had it all.

The race crew were on the water straight away for a 10am start to the racing, picking up the action from men’s elimination five at heat number eight.

Men’s Fleet

The man on top Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / DunkerbeckEyewear), had a mixed day on the water scoring a fifth place in elimination five due to a crash at an early mark. He claimed his fourth bullet in elimination six by sailing an incredible race, but unfortunately he was taken out in the semi-finals of elimination seven and he was unable to recover a qualifying position.

Bjorn Dunkerbeck:
“Everything went well today apart from being taken out in the semi-finals. I was entering my gybe in second place with loads of speed, but then I was wiped out so I couldn’t make the final. I am still in the lead with two days to go so there’s plenty more races to come.”

Finian Maynard (RRD) kicked off the day’s proceedings on top form and he claimed first places in his first two races, showing the crowds what he was really made of in the stronger winds. Maynard continued all the way to the winners’ final. However he was caught out by his own determination to succeed and he went over early. Maynard continued with his stellar performance throughout the day scoring fifth and sixth places in the following winners’ finals, allowing him to keep his hands on second place.

Another sailor obviously enjoying the high winds was Micah Buzianis (JP / NeilPryde). Buzianis was pushing the start-line hard all day and it paid off as he scored second place finishes in two winners’ finals and a second place in the losers’ final knocking his score up a notch, into third place past Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Loft / Mystic).

Elimination five witnessed the many times world champion Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde), claim his first race win in Alacati. Albeau went on to score fourth in elimination six but an enormous catapult in the elimination seven semi-finals forced him into the losers’ final, he went on to dominate leading the fleet the whole way around the course. After a successful day Albeau made his way from ninth into fifth place.

Antoine Albeau
 “Today was good fun it was really windy, I was sailing on my 7.0m and my small board. The course was flat and the first reach was really fast. I won a race, finished in fourth and I catapulted in the next race because I was pushing it a little too hard, but it’s part of the game. I hope tomorrow is the same so that I can keep going and make the podium.”

Josh Angulo (Angulo / Gun / Dakine), Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North) and Peter Volwater (Fanatic / MauiSails) all took the stronger winds in their stride and they each made it into the finals in all the eliminations with Volwater claiming a second place and Angulo stealing third.

The third race win of the day came from Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / North). Without Albeau and Dunkerbeck present Cyril was free to take control of the race. Right from the first mark Cyril was in the lead and he made sure that he didn’t make any mistakes around the course to secure his first win in Turkey bumping him up into thirteenth place.

Having had a great start to the competition in the lighter winds, Steve Allen (Starboard / Severne), Alberto Menegatti (Starboard / Gaastra) and Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Fanatic / North) struggled to make it through their heats in the stronger winds, and each sailor dropped a few critical places as a result.

Women’s Fleet

An outstanding day on the racecourse for Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne) saw her claim her third and fourth bullets and a second place finish in elimination six, putting her well ahead of the rest of the fleet. The elimination five winners’ final saw Jaggi take advantage of Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic) and Delphine Cousin (JP / NeilPryde) at the third mark to gain a significant advantage. She lost control in elimination six but managed to recover quickly and make her way into second place, and in elimination seven she had a tough battle with Fanny Aubet (JP / NeilPryde) but she managed to steal the win at the finish-line.

Karin Jaggi: 
“I had a great day, I won two of the races and I also came second so it couldn’t get much better. It has been a really windy day, especially for Alacati. I don’t think many people expected that. I didn’t have my smallest sail, I was on my 5.5m but that felt great, it’s hard to sail but everyone was falling so it was ok.”

Alice Arutkin (Starboard / North) dominated women’s elimination six, she nailed her gybe at the second mark and sailed past Offringa and Jaggi who had gone down. Arutkin managed to build up a big lead allowing her to happily cruise over the finish line and win her first race in Alacati. Arutkin finished in tenth place in the winners’ final of elimination five and seven but it was enough to take her into seventh place on the overall scores.

The current tour leader Offringa, sailed some amazing heats to earn her a position in the winners’ finals. Offringa was the standout starter of the day and always led the charge to the first mark, but she went down on a few critical gybes allowing the rest of the fleet to overtake. She looked to be seriously over-powered sailing on her 6.2m sail when the rest of the fleet were on around 5.2m; however she still scored ninth, third and fifth position.

Consistent sailing from Lena Erdil (Patrik / Loft / AL360) in all conditions allowed her to keep her third place on the overall scores. Erdil charged for the top positions throughout the day and displayed superb gybes and blistering speed on the straights.

Aubet claimed exceptional positions in every elimination to see her rocket into fifth place. With a fourth, a fifth a second place finish to her name Aubet really shone through in the stronger winds, if she can maintain the same scores she will certainly be able to make her was onto the podium.

After an exhilarating three races the sailor were released for the day. The wind is forecast to be blowing for the fifth day so fingers crossed. The skippers’ meeting will kick off at 10:30am with the first possible start to racing at 11am.

Results: 
Men’s results (after 7 eliminations)

1^st Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / DunkerbeckEyewear)

2^nd Finian Maynard (RRD)

3^rd Micah Buzianis (JP / NeilPryde)

4^th Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Loft / Mystic)

5^th Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde)

6^th Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North)

7^th Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde)

8^th Josh Angulo (Angulo / Gun / Dakine)

9^th Antoine Questel (Loft)

10^th Steve Allen (Starboard / Severne)

Women’s results (after 7 eliminations)

1^st Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne)

2^nd Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic)

3^rd Lena Erdil (Patrik / Loft / AL360)

4^th Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic)

5^th Fanny Aubet (JP / NeilPryde)

6^th Lise Vidal (Exocet / North)

7^th Alice Arutkin (Starboard / North)

8^th Delphine Cousin (JP / NeilPryde)

9^th Marion Mortefon (AL360)

10^th Marianne Kaplas (Starboard / Severne)

Finian Maynard nails a start

The 2011 Pegasus Airlines PWA World Cup Alacati Turkey – Day three: Alacati continues to serve up outstanding slalom conditions allowing Finian Maynard and Delphine Cousin to claim their first victories on the testing waters.

Another day in paradise for the world’s fastest sailors, crystal clear water, glorious sunshine and winds blowing fifteen knots over the four mark downwind course provided the perfect conditions to complete elimination four and the opening round of the men’s fifth elimination.

After a relaxed morning spent tuning their equipment the sailors took to the water at two o’clock for the fourth action packed elimination.

Men’s Elimination 4

From the world go elimination four was full of surprises, premature starts from five sailors in the first round saw their early exit from the race, including big name Josh Angulo (Angulo / Gun / Dakine).

The first round also witnessed the current event leader, Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / DunkerbeckEyewear) lose out on a qualifying position. Ross Williams (Tabou / Gaastra) sailed an exceptional heat to fend off the master. Dunkerbeck tried all of his tricks to take fourth place, but Williams was quick to defend his position and faster down the final leg.

Dunkerbeck explains all: 
“I have had a great start to the competition and I have been sailing really fast on my largest board and 9.2m & 9.7m sails. This morning the wind picked up just as the heat started and my equipment was too large for the conditions. The other guys had swapped down to their medium boards and I couldn’t catch them, so it shows that you have to be really on it in Alacati as anything can happen. I have won three races and a today I had pretty bad race, but I am confident for the week. The wind is forecast to pick up tomorrow so we will see what happens.”

After a successful day yesterday Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / North) suffered in the quarter-finals as he failed to complete his race due to an equipment failure resulting in his overall score being knocked down into tenth place.

Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Fanatic / North) was performing exceptionally well in all of his heats, claiming two first places, however his luck ran out in the semi-finals when he pushed the start too hard and went over early.

The many times world champion Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde), made it to his first winners’ final in Alacati where he claimed a fourth place finish, raising him into ninth place.

We caught up with Albeau after the days racing to find out about his week: 
“The conditions here are completely different to the other events as the wind is very light here, even in Korea we had more wind. I had some bad luck in the first three eliminations, I am sailing fast and I made the final today, it will be hard to fight for first place now, but it will depend on how many races we complete.”

Winners’ final

Finian Maynard (RRD) was the man on fire in Alacati today, Maynard sailed the perfect elimination, scoring first places all the way through the race and finishing the heat with an incredible display of speed.

Maynard timed his start to perfection hitting the line at full speed right on the buzzer, however big guns Micah Buzianis (JP / NeilPryde), Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Loft / Mystic) and Albeau were charging hard behind him. Two slick gybes from Maynard saw him gain a significant lead putting him well ahead of the rest of the pack. The real battle came from Buzianis and Van Der Steen as they were fighting for second place.

We caught up with Maynard to find out how he was feeling after an excellent start to the week. 
“I love Alacati, and I really enjoy the flat water. I feel like I’m on really great form after a tough start to the year, my boards feel fantastic and I am just trying to have a lot of fun on the water. I am looking forward to the next few days of racing.”

Women’s elimination 4

The women’s elimination kicked off with an over early from Fanny Aubet (JP / NeilPryde), and she was quickly placed in the losers final. Once the race was underway, Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic) stole the show; she nailed the start and took the early advantage. Alice Arutkin (Starboard / North) and Marion Mortefon (AL360) tried to catch her but Arrighetti sailed the perfect race.

After a tough day on the water yesterday, Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic) was back on form and flying down the straights as she claimed first place in the second heat. Lise Vidal (Exocet / North), Delphine Cousin (JP / NeilPryde), Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne) and Marianne Kaplas (Starboard / Severne) brought in the remaining qualifying positions.

Aubet made up for her premature start in the losers final. She dominated on the start-line and held the lead the whole way around the course, fending off the likes of Dilara Uralp and Greta Benvenuti (Patrik / Point-7 / AL360).

Winners’ final

Jaggi flew over the start-line to take the lead in the women’s winners’ final; however by the first mark Cousin was leading the fleet. The pair held the top positions followed by Arrighetti and Offringa for the following two gybes. Jaggi made her move at the third mark and cut inside of Cousin, but Cousin was quick to get back to full speed. The pair dueled the whole way down the final leg but Cousin hit the finish line first claiming her first race in Alacati.

The PWA caught up with current event leader Jaggi to find out about her week: 
“I had a successful day yesterday as I won two races which I am really pleased with, and today I finished in second with my main competitors behind me so I am really happy. We have had light wind for the last two days so everything could change tomorrow if the strong wind arrives.”

Men’s elimination 5

As the afternoon progressed the wind began to drop off, however the race crew were eager to press ahead. They advised the sailors to go out on their largest equipment for the first round of men’s elimination five.

The opening heats saw superb racing from Arnon Dagan (Tabou / Gaastra), Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde), Costa Hoevel, Alberto Menegatti (Starboard / Gaastra), Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North), Albeau and Dunkerbeck as each sailor dominated in their heats and claimed an easy pass into the next round.

Unfortunately for Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North) he snapped a mast at the first gybe mark, rendering him unable to complete the race. The bad luck also rubbed off on Cyril Moussilmani as he failed to qualify for the next around as well consistent sailors Kurosh Kiani (Angulo / Simmer), Peter Volwater (Fanatic / MauiSails) and Chris Pressler (Starboard / Severne).

Heat eight was started and Maynard led the charge, however a wind hole at the second mark ensured the race was abandoned. With the conditions deteriorating the sailors were released for the day at 6pm. There is an extremely promising forecast lined up for the fourth day of competition so skippers meeting will kick off at 9:30 with the first possible start to racing at 10am.

Result
Men’s results (after 4 eliminations)

1^st Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / DunkerbeckEyewear)

2^nd Finian Maynard (RRD)

3^rd Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Loft / Mystic)

4^th Micah Buzianis (JP / NeilPryde)

5^th Steve Allen (Starboard / Severne)

6^th Antoine Questel (Loft)

7^th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Fanatic / North)

8^th Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North)

9^th Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde)

10^th Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / North)

Women’s results (after 4 eliminations)

1^st Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne)

2^nd Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic)

3^rd Lena Erdil (Patrik / Loft / AL360)

4^th Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic)

5^th Delphine Cousin (JP / NeilPryde)

6^th Lise Vidal (Exocet / North)

7^th Cagla Kubat (Starboard / North)

8^th Alice Arutkin (Starboard / North)

9^th Marion Mortefon (AL360)

10^th Marianne Kaplas (Starboard / Severne)

Scope the action

For more information on all the entrants, and to keep up to date with every piece of the action, click on www.pwaworldtour.com

Here you can use our:

- Live ticker service for heat-by-heat bulletins

- Check live elimination ladders

- View results

- Read daily news summaries

- Browse awesome action photo galleries

- Follow the event live, with top class commentary from pros and industry insiders.

Check out the awesome photos on the dedicated website at www.surfnsound.org

Or for more information, please contact the PWA office via info@pwaworldtour.com

RRD are now heavily involved in PWA Slalom with their top racer, Finian Maynard, placing second on the World Tour last year on his black-and-white X-Fire bullets. The feedback on these shapes has been excellent and in response to this RRD have bought them out in a wood and glass technology that will allow you to race, cruise or burn off your mates and enjoy a performance feeling yet with a more durable construction technology.

Each board has a different size and outline to perform in their given conditions. From short and wide on the 135 to progressively narrower and longer on the 120, 112 and 105, with respective widths of 85, 75, 69.5 and 65cm. The boards feature proportionally related scoop-rockerlines in order to create a perfectly balanced racing machine with no compromise on their speed potential. They are also very controllable and even relatively easy to gybe. Get ready for some serious action, make lighter winds exhilarating, fire up your racing or just enjoy going very fast. More details on www.robertoriccidesigns.com and check out www.seaspritesports.com for your list of retailers.

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