Day 6



World Cup Stars in Football Battle



Once again the wind failed to materialise in Sylt today.  This gave the organisers an opportunity to organise an impromptu football tournament between the sailors.  Josh Angulo (RRD, Ezzy) showed that his ball skills were as good as his wave sailing skills and proved that Americans can play soccer after all.  The crowds that converged to watch the game were testament to the popularity of the competitors here in Germany.



Sylt has always been one of the most popular destinations on the PWA World Tour, over the years it has attracted crowds of anywhere between 20,000 to 50,000 spectators come rain or shine.  Germany still ranks has the biggest market in the world for sales of windsurfing equipment and sailors like Robby Naish (Naish) and Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Proof, Pryde) are household names, just as much has Boris Becker and Michael Schumacher.



The girls had a late entry to the event with the arrival of Iballa Ruano Moreno (Mistral, North), Iballa had travel difficulties due to the tragic events in the USA.  It looks like she might have brought the wind with her as the forecast for the weekend gets better day by day.



The facilities available to the competitors here in Sylt are second to none.  Windsurfers are treated like royalty in Germany and every day the sailors are treated to free breakfast, lunch and evening meals as well as free Jever beer (if wanted!).  



For some of the competitors at Sylt, it is there first PWA contest, and life for them is a long way from the jet set lifestyle that the top ranked sailors live.  Ian Black (Naish) from the UK arrived to Sylt on a very limited budget.



³ I shopped around for flights and managed to get one for $100, I scraped my gear on the plane for free by sweet talking the check in girl!.  I just hope that the wind picks up so I can maybe win some much needed prize money.²



This is what makes the PWA World Tour such a unique competition circuit, it allows new young sailors the opportunity to compete at the highest level against all the worlds best sailors.



So once again the wait for wind continues, the sailors are talking about a sacrificial night out partying, drinking water of course!..