The wind refused to play ball here on the final day of the Costa Brava 2002 PWA qualifier but did fill in enough to allow an unofficial freestyle expression session this afternoon. In a thrilling final held right in front of the crowds Tati Frans (Gaastra, AHD) took first place followed by his brother Tonki (Gaastra, AHD) in second with Andrea Rosati (Neil Pryde, RRD) of Italy finishing in third.
Despite the lack of an official result, organizers and competitors are still heralding this years event as a major success. Sailors have been out on the water everyday and the hospitality and festival feel of the event has been received well by the crowds.
Gusty winds were the reason for race director Frank Roeget’s decision not to allow official competition to start this afternoon. With time running out he opted to run an un-official freestyle expression session and which was run as two semi finals followed by a ten man fifteen minute final. The occasional 15-knot gust was enough for sailors to pump up onto the plane and scram in towards the waters edge to bust out some incredible moves.
Todays winner, Tati Frans (Gaastra, AHD) amazed the crowds with a dynamic display of slick freestyle manoeuvres and won the final despite fierce opposition from the likes of his brother Tonki (Gaastra, AHD), Andrea Rosati (Neil Pryde, RRD), Josh Stone (JP, Neil Pryde) Vidar Jensen (North) and Bruno Andre (Gaastra, AHD). Amongst the moves, which earned him victory here today Tati pulled of a smooth willy skipper back wind gibe, a scintillating one handed spock 540 and lots of push tacks and tricky transitions. Tati just managed to squeeze ahead of his brother Tonki who was also nailing a wide variety of moves. Andrea Rosati Rosati of Italy who took third place here today was out to impress the judges and pulled off some sick Swazzies, smooth grubby’s and sensational spock 540’s.
The PWA world tour will now move onto Lake Garda in Italy for a freestyle special where 58,000 Euro., will be up for grabs.
Sotavento once again delivered the goods for the 37th edition of the Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam, as we were treated to some of the best racing on the World Tour over the opening five days in Slalom X, while the Freestyle fleets continued to raise the bar on what is possible on flatwater over two intense days of competition.
The 2025 iQFOiL World Championship wrapped up in Aarhus with a spectacular Medal Series showdown that saw Emma Wilson (GBR 7) and Andy Brown (GBR 360) rise to the top and secure World Championship titles. In the Women’s fleet, Tamar Steinberg (ISR 216) claimed silver, with Theresa Steinlein (GER 799) completing the podium with bronze. On the (…)
The #1 iQFOiL International Games in Lanzarote came to an exciting conclusion with the Medal Series crowning Johan Søe (DEN 37) and Emma Wilson (GBR 7) as the first champions of the 2025 season. Hosted by Marina Rubicón, the event brought together 100 of the world’s best iQFOiL athletes from 26 nations, kicking off the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic (…)
The iQFOiL Youth & Junior World Championship concluded in Sa Ràpita, Mallorca, crowing its new talented champions among 375 young sailors from 35 nations. These athletes displayed skill and resilience both on and off the water, when the weather conditions put forced stops on their way, earning their places on the 2024 iQFOiL Youth & (…)
The 2024 iQFOiL European Championship in Cagliari, Sardinia, came to a spectacular close today as Daniela Peleg (ISR) and Pawel Tarnowski (POL) were crowned the new European Champions after a week of intense competition. The championship, hosted by Windsurfing Club Cagliari, saw 120 athletes from 28 nations push their limits in varying (…)
Tom Reuveny picked up a gold medal for Israel in the Men’s Windsurfing with a phenomenal performance in the Final.
Reuveny had not won a race in the Opening Series, but saved his best for last by crossing the line ahead of the pack.
"Ascension rounded at 0010 GMT the 16th – We’re off !" said Ellen’s brief email sent to the Transat Jacques Vabre Race HQ over night from leading multihull Kingfisher-Foncia. One hour 17 minutes later, at 0127 GMT, the next ‘fax of deliverance’ came through. "Groupama here, we are passing the Easterly point of the Ascension Islands. Franck."
« Ascension rounded at 00.10 (TU) the 16th – We’re off ! » : voilà le bref mail envoyé par Ellen MacArthur cette nuit au PC Course de la Transat Jacques Vabre. Une heure dix-sept plus tard, soit à 1H27 TU, c’est au tour de Groupama d’envoyer son « fax-délivrance » : « Ici Groupama, on passe la pointe Est de l’Ascension. A +, Franck ».
L’équipage américain d’Oracle Racing, le défi du milliardaire Larry Ellison avec le Néo Zélandais Chris Dickson à la barre, va troquer ses cirés pour des combinaisons de plongée.
The outstanding achievements of sailors Ellen MacArthur (GBR) and Robert Scheidt (BRA) were recognised by the world of sailing with the announcement at the prestigious Awards Presentation held tonight, 13 November 2001, Lisbon, Portugal, that they are the respective female and male "ISAF Rolex
World Sailors of the Year 2001".
Depuis le début de son tour du monde contre vents et courants, Jean Luc Van Den Heede s’exprimait toujours avec bonne humeur et sérénité. Aujourd’hui, le ton a changé et c’est d’une voix abattue, que, la mort dans l’âme, VDH annonçait son abandon.
Alors qu’il avait plus de quatre jours d’avance sur le record de Philippe Monnet, Jean Luc Van Den Heede est contraint d’interrompre sa course. En effet, après avoir franchi le Cap Horn, hier soir à 19 heures 41 précisément, le skipper amiénois continuait sa route dans le Pacifique dans des conditions de mer particulièrement « musclées ». Ce (…)
A 14 heures 51 aujourd’hui, Jean Luc Van den Heede entrait dans son 34e jour de mer et s’apprêtait à franchir le Cap Horn. C’est vers 18 heures qu’ADRIEN passait le rocher mythique dans des conditions météorologiques optimales. Son adversaire virtuel, Philippe Monnet, avait franchi le Horn le 16 février 2000, soit après 38 jours, 9 heures et 15 (…)
A l’issue de trois journées très disputées, c’est finalement l’équipage Costarmoricain de Groupe Générali Assurances qui a remporté le National Figaro Bénéteau. Il s’impose devant les Finistériens d’Espoir Crédit Agricole et le double tenant du titre, Pokémon. Une seule manche aura finalement été disputée aujourd’hui en rade de Brest , (…)
The wind Gods were smiling today for the start of the 6,550 nautical mile leg two of the Volvo Ocean Race to Sydney, providing spectacular sailing conditions in Table Bay, under the watchful gaze of Table Mountain. A freshening westerly 24-knot breeze blew out of a clear and cloudless blue sky, declaring a true beat to windward towards the (…)
Une semaine après le départ des monocoques de la 5e Transat Jacques Vabre, 6 jours après le départ des multicoques, il apparaît clairement que la course se joue beaucoup avant le départ… Plusieurs concurrents joints ce samedi pendant la vacation l’ont évoqué, pour expliquer leurs bonnes ou mauvaises performances, voire leur abandon (BANQUE COVEFI).