The 2004 PWA, Catalunya, Costa Brava, Super X, World Cup
June 8-13th 2004
The heat is on here at the PWA, Catalunya, Costa Brava, Super X World Cup.
Scorching sunshine and light breezes were the name of the game on the
first day of official competition. After a tense waiting game this morning
with the winds hovering around five knots, the shimmering Mediterranean
eventually turned to white caps.the signal for the race crew to take to
the water, leaving the sailors waiting anxiously for the first possible
start. At 4.30pm the wind finally locked in around 15 knots and it looked
like we were in for a mouth watering feast of intense Super X action.
The very first race of the 2004 Costa Brava Super X saw major drama. Robby
Swift (JP, Neil Pryde), Julien Taboulet (JP, Neil Pryde) and Remko De
Weerd (Gaastra, Fanatic) were all called ‘over early’ on the start line,
causing race director Klaus Michael to raise the general recall flag and
re start the heat. With five remaining sailors left in the game and four
set to advance, the battle turned into a dog fight to avoid last place.
Despite marginal conditions, Greg Allaway (Mistral, North) of Australia
sailed a blinder and took the bullet, ahead of Mariano Estivill (F2,
Arrows), Jonas Ceballos (Gaastra, Fanatic) and Jose Pinana, leaving Benoit
Moussilmani of France the disappointed loser.
With most sailors using 6-7m sails and large boards, today’s course was
adapted to suit the light wind conditions with a boat start, longer legs
and small jump obstacles.
Matt Pritchard (Gaastra), currently number two in the Super X rankings,
was on fire in today’s second heat, storming into a clear lead ahead of
the chasing pack, but to Pritchard’s dismay, the heat was abandoned just
as he crossed the finish line nearly a leg ahead. The wind then refused to
play ball and failed to reach the level required for any further official
competition.
With the wind on the borderline for most sailors today, the likes of
Douglas Diaz (North, Fanatic) and Jose Estredo (North) of Venezuela, both
took advantage of their slighter frames, keeping the crowds entertained
with a string of stunning freestyle maneuvers while the racing was on hold.
The forecast for tomorrow is extremely promising with stronger thermal
breezes predicted during the afternoon which hopefully will be enough for
some higher wind and higher octane racing!
Be sure to tune in to pwaworldtour.com for all the latest updates.
Tomorrow looks like its going to be smoking!
June 8-13th 2004
The heat is on here at the PWA, Catalunya, Costa Brava, Super X World Cup.
Scorching sunshine and light breezes were the name of the game on the
first day of official competition. After a tense waiting game this morning
with the winds hovering around five knots, the shimmering Mediterranean
eventually turned to white caps.the signal for the race crew to take to
the water, leaving the sailors waiting anxiously for the first possible
start. At 4.30pm the wind finally locked in around 15 knots and it looked
like we were in for a mouth watering feast of intense Super X action.
The very first race of the 2004 Costa Brava Super X saw major drama. Robby
Swift (JP, Neil Pryde), Julien Taboulet (JP, Neil Pryde) and Remko De
Weerd (Gaastra, Fanatic) were all called ‘over early’ on the start line,
causing race director Klaus Michael to raise the general recall flag and
re start the heat. With five remaining sailors left in the game and four
set to advance, the battle turned into a dog fight to avoid last place.
Despite marginal conditions, Greg Allaway (Mistral, North) of Australia
sailed a blinder and took the bullet, ahead of Mariano Estivill (F2,
Arrows), Jonas Ceballos (Gaastra, Fanatic) and Jose Pinana, leaving Benoit
Moussilmani of France the disappointed loser.
With most sailors using 6-7m sails and large boards, today’s course was
adapted to suit the light wind conditions with a boat start, longer legs
and small jump obstacles.
Matt Pritchard (Gaastra), currently number two in the Super X rankings,
was on fire in today’s second heat, storming into a clear lead ahead of
the chasing pack, but to Pritchard’s dismay, the heat was abandoned just
as he crossed the finish line nearly a leg ahead. The wind then refused to
play ball and failed to reach the level required for any further official
competition.
With the wind on the borderline for most sailors today, the likes of
Douglas Diaz (North, Fanatic) and Jose Estredo (North) of Venezuela, both
took advantage of their slighter frames, keeping the crowds entertained
with a string of stunning freestyle maneuvers while the racing was on hold.
The forecast for tomorrow is extremely promising with stronger thermal
breezes predicted during the afternoon which hopefully will be enough for
some higher wind and higher octane racing!
Be sure to tune in to pwaworldtour.com for all the latest updates.
Tomorrow looks like its going to be smoking!
