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.
Never in the history of ocean racing has a course attracted so many Open 60ft trimarans, nor so many potential winners. The entire multihull armada and with it the skippers of the moment are all lined up along one side of the docks in Le Havre, a truly impressive sight in itself.
Jamais dans l’histoire de la voile océanique, une course n’a réuni autant de trimarans ni de vainqueurs potentiels. Les meilleurs marins du moment et toute l’armada des multicoques 60 pieds Open est ici présente et cette transatlantique nouvelle formule cache un nombre de paramètres inconnus tellement importants qu’il est difficile de (…)
The nineteen strong international fleet of 12 Open 60ft and 7 Open 50ft monohulls lined up for the start of the 5th edition of the double-handed Transat Jacques Vabre finally set off from Le Havre, France on their 4,340m race to Bahia, Brazil at 1250hrs (French time) today under a crisp blue November sky.
Les dix-neuf monocoques inscrits dans cette cinquième Transat Jacques Vabre ont bien pris le large ce samedi 3 novembre. Destination Bahia (Brésil) : 4 300 milles (près de 8 000 km) de course a avalé au menu avec pour terrains de jeu La Manche puis le vaste Atlantique, soit entre 17 et 21 jours estimés de course.
Le Néerlandais Roy Heiner quitte aujourd’hui l’équipe de ASSA ABLOY. La direction du syndicat suédois participant à la Volvo Ocean Race estime qu’il valait mieux, pour une meilleure performance de l’équipe, que Roy Heiner renonce à son rôle de skipper. C’est le Britannique Neal McDonald qui va le remplacer pour la deuxième étape.
As of today, Saturday, November 3rd, British sailor Neal McDonald (38) from Hamble, UK, will be Skipper of ASSA ABLOY, replacing Roy Heiner (NED). McDonald will join Mark Rudiger (USA) as Co-Skipper at least for Leg 2 (from Cape Town to Sydney). McDonald is recognized as one of the world’s best sailors with an impressive record in ocean (…)
Le départ de la transat Jacques Vabre a été donné à l’heure prévue devant le port du Havre. Sous un ciel bleu et un petit vent frais, les dix-neuf monocoques se sont élancés vers Salvador de Bahia au Brésil à 12h50, heure française.
Coup de zoom sur l’exceptionnelle flotte des monocoques qui prendra le départ de cette cinquième édition de la Transat Jacques Vabre, ce samedi 3 novembre, de la ville du Havre. Douze monocoques de 60 pieds open ont répondu présents épaulés de sept unités de 50 pieds : la lutte s’annonce des plus prometteuses et il est des plus difficiles de (…)
The Transat Jacques Vabre has more than one victor, as there is more than one class, and so it’s time to zoom in on the monohull fleet, which will start from Le Havre at 1250hrs French time, destination Bahia, Brazil. Twelve Open 60’s will be joined by 7 Open 50’s : this 5th edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre will be one of the most (…)