A spectacular event came to an end today with the prize giving held directly on the beach in front of the Pro Center Chris Schill. Finian Maynard (BVI) and Valerie Ghibaudo (FRA, Loft Sails) are the world champions for 2009.

After 7 rounds of speedsailing action, giving two discards for the fleet from all over the world, Karpathos proved yet again to be the perfect venue for high wind windsurfing.

The event opened with an early skippers meeting to make the most of the day with the best forecast of the whole week, and the race committee sent the fleet out to the first race at 9:00. Finian Maynard proved from the first moment that he is back and got his first bullet of the event.

The second round, again consisting of a silver and gold fleet leg commenced in the afternoon, and still the sailors were not released. The race committee went for a full fleet start late in the afternoon and sent out all 50 riders from 16 nations on the water. The second bullet for Maynard, and a spectacular scenery for the spectators on the beach.

The biggest surprise on this strong wind day was Dirk Jan Knol (NED, Loft Sails), winning the second round of the day with the events top speed of 41.17 knots.

The next day saw standard Karpathos conditions, with good thermal winds and another two rounds dominated by Finian who clearly took the lead.

Day three brought another windy day on the beaches of Karpathos and another full round and the first hal of round seven, before the wind died down and the riders were released. On day four the seventh round was completed with the gold fleet race, the fifth victory for Finian and a perfect score of 3.5 points after two discards. The lighter winds only allowed for the 8th silver round but his round could not be completed on the final day of competiton, as the wind never got strong enough.

In second place overall came last years world champion Antoine Albeau (FRA), with one victory and two second places ahead of Anders Bringdal (SWE, who also scored constant top five places. Bjorn Dunkerbeck (SUI, Starboard, Severne) in fourth then and rookie HansKreisel (NED) in fifth position.

In the womens fleet it was a “one women show” for Valerie Ghibaudo, with 8 (!) consecutive victories throughout the week. Clearly in second also Marion Raisi (FRA) with 8 second places. The battle for place three was close then between Marie-Paule Geldhof (BEL) and Birgit Hoefer (GER), with the better end for the Belgium newcomer. 

For a full list of results check out www.speedworldcup.com