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.
Two years after his first attempt, Yannick Bestaven has made an exploit by winning the Transat 650 Charente Maritime Bahia by finishing first in both legs.
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Deux ans après sa première expérience, Yannick Bestaven a réussi l’exploit inégalé de remporte la Transat 650 Charente Maritime Bahia en s’imposant sur les deux étapes.
Le lundi 5 novembre, au chantier Multiplast de Vannes, débutera la construction d’un nouveau Class America français. Après un an et demi de travail réalisé par un Design Team regroupant douze experts du meilleur niveau mondial, le Défi pour l’America’s Cup 2003 se félicite de remplir à l’heure le planning fixé.
Olivier Desport a franchi la ligne à 13h13 TU (14h13 heure française) en tête des Séries. Coup double pour cet amateur très éclairé qui gagne, comme Bestaven chez les Protos, l’étape et la course. (Olivier n’a cependant pas remporté la première étape en Série qui a été gagnée par Michel Mirabel sur Discount Marine).
Nouvelle surprise au classement cumulé des deux étapes. S’il est déjà étonnant qu’un solitaire s’impose en remportant les deux manches de la Transat 650, un non Français vient de réaliser une excellente performance en s’adjugeant la deuxième place du podium.
“Dans le temps, au Québec, on avait la possibilité de donner à ses enfant un nom de famille différent. Ma mère, Dominique Manny, née en France, et mon père Carl Mailhot, on donc choisi de me donner le nom d’une rivière du grand Nord du Québec. Ils étaient partis là bas en 1968 pour faire une excursion en canot...”