Gerade mal 15 Tage war Tobi Ullrich ganz oben im Ranking des diesjährigen Speed Kini. Am vergangenen Sonntag, 15.11. zog ein ordentlicher Sturm über Bayern hinweg. Andy Laufer (GER 93) riggte sein 7.2er Point-7 AC-ONE, montierte es auf sein Patrik SL 100 und prügelte die Kombi über den Ammersee. Unglaubliche Zeiten standen danach auf seinem GPS – 34,23 Knoten über die 500m Distanz und 37,89 Topspeed! Durchschnittsgeschwindigkeit 36,06 und damit weg von den Verfolgern auf Platz eins. Zumindest so lange, bis die Werte von PWA-Racer Marco Lang (AUT 66) ausgewertet wurden. Marco, derzeit auf Rang 14 der PWA im Slalom zu finden, ließ es am Chiemsee mit einem North Warp 6.3 und Fanatic Falcon 99 ordentlich krachen. Er fährt auf Anhieb mit 34,04 Knoten über 500m, einen Topspeed von 37,07 Knoten im Durchschnitt 35,555 Knoten und damit direkt hinter Andy Laufer auf Platz 2. Richtig Pech hatte an diesem Sonntag Tobi Ullrich am Starnberger See – erst brach ihm der Mast in seinem 7.2er Point 7 und dabei verletzte er sich auch noch am Handgelenk. Dann hat er aufs 6,3er umgeriggt, an dem ihm kurz darauf der Vorliekstampen gerissen ist. Zweimal durfte er am Sonntag rund eine halbe Stunde schwimmen. Schnell surfen war an diesem Tag bei ihm verletzungsbedingt leider nicht mehr drin. Schnell war auch Christian Hirschberg auf dem Altmühlsee unterwegs, er verbesserte seine bisherigen Zeiten auf  30,59 über 500m, Topspeed 33,88, Durchschnitt 32,235 Knoten, gefahren mit einem NP RS Racing EVO4 6.4 und Starboard iSonic 87 und liegt nun auf Rang 6. Und auch bei den Junioren gibt es einen neuen Spitzenreiter - Jonas Späth ließ am Ammersee seinen JP Supersport 109 fliegen. Mit 24,37 Knoten über 500m, 28,5 Knoten Topspeed,  damit Durchschnitt 26,435 Knoten setzt er sich an die Spitze der Junioren und liegt auf Rang 43 im Gesamtranking.   Bilder: cm/addicted-sports (A. Laufer, M. Lang / Archivbilder vom DWC Walchensee2015 ) / Basti Photography (Tobi Ulrich GER 112)

Ho'okipa lieferte wieder an Tag 12 des NoveNove Maui Aloha Classic und es waren genau die richtigen Bedingungen für das Finale am „Super Sunday“! Nur die jeweils ersten vier bei den Damen und auch den Herren gingen nach der gestrigen Vorentscheidung im Finale noch aufs Wasser. Heute ging es um nicht weniger als den! wohl renommiertesten Titel des diesjährigen Gewinners des Maui Aloha Classic. Der Wind war zu Beginn noch etwas leicht und löchrig, allerdings wurde er relativ schnell sehr stark. Mit starkem Wind und logohohen Wellen gab es jede Menge spannende Action um den diesjährigen sehr guten und äußerst spannenden Event abzuschließen. Double Elimination Women’s Fiona Wylde (Starboard / Goya Windsurfing) was on fire yesterday as she stormed her way back through the double by winning 5 heats in a row and the 18 year old picked up where she left off from today as she saw off the challenge of Sarah Hauser (Tabou / Simmer) — who finishes fourth — before going on to defeat Ingrid Larouche (Fanatic / North) — who sailed through the pain barrier again to complete the podium. Wylde showed excellent wave selection again together with superb timing with her turns as she consistently hit the lip to set up a final against Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins). Final The final saw a repeat of last year’s showdown as Iballa Moreno and Fiona Wylde lined up against each other again. By this point Wylde was on a seemingly unstoppable roll having won her last 7 heats and the local girl made a strong start to the final as she produced a super late hit under the lip, releasing the fins to earn 7.62 points — immediately applying the pressure to Iballa. Over the remainder of the heat the two women continued to exchange blows with the lead swinging back and forth between them. With two minutes remaining Wylde held the lead with Iballa needing a 7.62 point wave or better to avoid a Super Final. In those final two minutes both women gained one more scoring opportunity as a set rolled into Ho’okipa at the perfect time to provide a tense finale. Wylde delivered two more perfectly timed turns before finishing off with a float over the lip, but Iballa went one better as she produced her most aggressive wave of the heat by combining three powerful hacks to earn 8 points and take the 2015 NoveNove Maui Aloha Classic title, which completes a famous hat-trick of event victories having won here in 2006, 2014 and now 2015. Iballa Moreno had this to say after defending both her world title and Aloha Classic Crown: “In the water you don’t really know have any idea about the points, but apparently it was really close until the last wave I caught, which gave me 8 points, which made the difference in the end. I’m pretty happy that everything went well and I won the event. I mean it’s another dream come true. Yesterday was a really emotional day with a lot of things going on in my mind, but today I realised my main goal of coming to Hawaii, which was to win the Aloha Classic and I’m delighted about this more than anything else.”  Men’s Levi Siver (Quatro / Goya Windsurfing / MFC) looked to be in the same irresistible form as yesterday as he quickly racked up a 9.25 point wave, after landing a perfect frontside 3 against Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) in the battle for third and fourth. The 2013 Aloha Classic Champion then added another sick air frontside 3 to leave Traversa firmly under the cosh and requiring a 9.14 point wave. TT tried to pull out all of his tricks in response, but this time around he couldn’t prevent Siver from marching on. Next up for Siver, who had won 5 consecutive heats by this point, was 3-time world champion Kauli Seadi (99NoveNove / Hot Sails Maui / MFC) and the American made the more explosive start to the heat as he stomped another frontside 3, however on this occasion he couldn’t back it up as he fell on his next turn. Siver added a couple of trademark hacks together with a one-handed aerial, but having seemed like the 360 was on lockdown in the heats prior to this he couldn’t quite recapture that moment of magic he required. This left the door open for Seadi to attack and attack is exactly what he did. The Brazilian unleashed a super radical goiter and backed it up with a round house cutback in the pocket to earn 9.25 points, whilst ending Siver’s comeback through the double, leaving Siver to settle for an excellent third place overall.  This left a fight for the title between reigning Aloha Classic Champion — Morgan Noireaux (JP / Hot Sails Maui) and Kauli Seadi — but in order for Seadi to win entire contest he would need to defeat Noireaux twice. In the final the Brazilian linked together several trademark fluid waves and was able to force the ultimate showdown with a Super Final. Super Final In the Super Final, Seadi and Noireaux, took slightly different approaches with Seadi opting to keep busy by working numerous slightly smaller waves on the inside, whilst Noireaux was happy to play the waiting game and patiently wait for the sets without panicking. This saw Seadi race into an early lead, but Noireaux’s patience eventually paid off as he came from behind to completely reverse the tables — with a combination of radical super vert aerials and powerful cutbacks under the lip paying dividends as he was awarded 8.88 points and 7 point wave scores in quick succession. The Hawaiian’s, Brazilian opponent went for broke, but it wasn’t to be for Seadi as Noireaux became the first man to successfully defend PWA Aloha Classic titles with another mightily impressive display. Morgan Noireaux reacts to winning back-to-back Aloha Classics: “It feels amazing, to be honest I thought I’d got a 1st and a 2nd there for a little bit, so it’s nice to find out I’d won. In the first heat I thought I sailed pretty consistent and then in that second heat I made a few mistakes. I managed to catch a pretty nice set wave to bring it back though. I thought I’d lost when I came in so it’s obviously a relief to find out that I didn’t.” On being patient in the final Noireaux added: “Yeah, I saw Kauli going for the little insiders, but I didn’t think it was worth it because I had a solid set wave in the bag already, so then I was just trying to find another wave like that opening one. - I just didn’t wanna start going goiters and what not on the inside - I just wanted to get some decent turns. Overall though it didn’t feel like I waited that long, but I’m happy that the bit of patience I showed in waiting for the bigger sets ones paid off.” Closing Ceremony The official closing ceremony will be held on Tuesday 10th November with the doors opening from 6 pm. The closing ceremony will be held at the Maui Arts and Cultural Centre and there will be numerous award up for grabs in a raffle, which include — Chinook Carbon boom, NoveNove board, S2 Maui sail, a Jimmy Hepp yearly subscription and more!  Tickets are available to the public at MauiArts.org for $35 or $45 at the door.  Result of the 2015 NoveNove Maui Aloha Classic: Women’s 1st Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) 2nd Fiona Wylde (Starboard / Goya Windsurfing) 3rd Ingrid Larouche (Fanatic / North) 4th Sarah Hauser (Tabou / Simmer) 5th Vickey Abbot 6th Nayra Alonso (Fanatic / Severne) 7th Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) 8th Ann-Marie Reichman (Starboard / Hot Sails Maui) 9th Shawna Cropas (JP / NeilPryde) 9th Amanda Beenen (99NoveNove / Point-7) Result of the 2015 NoveNove Maui Aloha Classic: Men’s 1st Morgan Noireaux (JP / Hot Sails Maui) 2nd Kauli Seadi (99NoveNove / Hot Sails Maui / MFC) 3rd Levi Siver? (Quatro / Goya Windsurfing / MFC) 4th Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) 5th Camille Juban? (Quatro / Avanti / MFC) 6th Victor Fernández (Fanatic / North / MFC) 7th Ricardo Campello? (Patrik / Point-7 / MFC) 8th Kai Lenny? (Naish / MFC) 9th Kevin Pritchard? (Starboard / Ezzy / MFC) 9th Marcilio Browne? (Goya Windsurfing / MFC)  

Avanti Sails Team sailor Camille Juban finishes his 2015 season with a bang! Having returned, after a terrible accident in 2014, to competitive windsurfing in the early months of 2015. Camille showed from the very onset of the season his qualities had not diminished and he was back stronger and more determined than ever before. Winning the first event of the AWT tour in Cape Verde against Kauli Seadi in the final cemented the fact he was back. Impressive wave riding and off the lip action, solidifies Camille’s qualities. Later on the American Windsurf Tour Camille would go on the win the Peru event as well. Camille also entered the PWA in 2015 with its often challenging European onshore conditions. First event of the year was scheduled for Gran Canaria (25th) followed string up with the second leg in Tenerife (9th). After a short recess on the PWA tour the riders would once again gather in Denmark which presented very challenging conditions with less wind than seen previous years which saw Camille finish in 17th. The next event in France was a no wind experience but shortly after follow by the Aloha Classic in Maui. Camille fought strongly and claimed some of the highest wave scores in the single elimination to finish in 4th. With several days on hold before the double elimination could be run, Camille end up facing local icon Levi Siver who would eventually push Camille from his fourth to a fixed fifth position for the event, 11th overall on the PWA tour for 2015. Big congrats to Camille for his solid sailing throughout the year and for the results which he has achieved! Dennis Boisen, Dan Kaseler https://vimeo.com/123683103

Der Oktober verlief relativ ruhig, die von vielen erhofften Föhntage am Kochelsee fielen komplett aus, starke Westwinde für Ammer- und Starnberger See gab es auch keine. Nur der Walchensee lieferte an einigen Tagen sehr gute Bedingungen. Nebelsession hieß wie auch im vergangenen Jahr das Zauberwort. Los ging es am 12. Oktober – einem Montag (natürlich) – mit sehr gutem Wind und Böen bis an die 25 Knoten. Eigentlich ideal, allerdings zog derart dichter Nebel über den See, dass es viel zu gefährlich war richtig Gas zu geben. Sichtweiten von 20 bis 30 Metern ließen einfach keine Speedruns zu, ohne andere oder sich selbst zu gefährden. Richtig windig war es dann in der letzten Oktoberwoche. Gleich der Montag, 26.10. war super, sehr guter Wind (Grundwind bis 18, Böen bis 23 Knoten), das ganze ohne Nebel im Voralpenland und leicht föhnig war es noch dazu. Am Dienstag, 27.10. ging es weiter, diesmal auch mit Nebel „unten“ am Kochelsee. Angefangen hat es gar nicht so gut, einige gingen offenbar etwas zu früh vom Wasser, denn ab 13:15 Uhr zog der Wind erst richtig an und blies erneut mit bis zu 23 Knoten. Sebastian Schöffel war zur richtigen Zeit mit seinem Fanatic Falcon und 7.8er Sailloft Ultimate auf dem Wasser und verbesserte seine bisherige Zeit jetzt auf 30,52 über 500m/ 32,04 Topspeed, im Durchschnitt 31,28 kts und liegt damit auf Rang 12. Freitag, der 30. Oktober war der „Big Day“ am Walchensee. Perfekte (Nebel-) Wetterlage, sehr starker, etwas böiger Wind und gute Sicht auf dem See. Kurz vor 12:00 Uhr ging es los und für rund zwei Stunden herrschten bei knapp 20 Knoten Grundwind mit Böen an die 25 Knoten ideale Speedbedingungen. Matthias Groß fährt mit 25,43 über 500m / 27,45 Topspeed im Durchschnitt 26,44 kts mit seinem Point-7 AC-K 7.8 und F2 Stoke 107 auf Platz 40. Mit einem 7.2er Point 7 AC-1 beschleunigt Markus Lidl seinen NoveNove WCSL 115 auf einen Topspeed von 31,45 kts, fährt über 500m 29,39 kts und liegt nun mit einem Durchschnitt von 30,42 Knoten auf Platz 15. Mit seiner bisherigen Platzierung war er nicht zufrieden – Tobi Ullrich, Vorjahreszweiter und auch in diesem Jahr bislang auf diesem Platz zu finden, griff an. Mit seinem 7.9er Point-7 AC-ONE, NoveNove WCSL 115 und einer 36er Winheller LWS8 hatte er wohl das ideale Speedsetup – am Schluss standen 33,23 Kts über 500 m und ein unglaublicher Topspeed von 36,45 kts auf seinem GPS. Tobi ist mit einem Durchschnittsspeed von      34,84 Knoten neuer Spitzenreiter des 2015er Speedkini. Den letzten schönen Oktobertag nutzte Ralf Kott am Walchensee um auf Rang 36 vorzufahren. Er fuhr bei deutlich weniger Wind (Grundwind knapp über 10, Böen max. 15 Knoten), mit einem 9,4er Point 7 ACK und RRD X-Fire 122 sehr gute 25,2 kts über 500m, Topspeed 28,41 kts, Durchschnitt 26,805 kts. Drei Wochen läuft der diesjährige Speed Kini noch, nur noch wenig Gelegenheit um seine Zeiten zu verbessern oder um überhaupt mitzumachen. Letzter Tag für die Einsendung von Dateien, die in die Wertung kommen sollen, ist der 30. November 2015. Danach werden keine gefahrenen Zeiten mehr angenommen, auch wenn diese noch während der regulären Wettkampfzeit erzielt wurden! Den Termin für die Siegerehrung 2015 sollte man sich jedenfalls schon mal frei halten. Die Siegerehrung findet am 12.12.2015 um 18 Uhr im Pier 48 in Herrsching statt.

Die 2015 PWA Wave World Championship wurde am elften Tag des NoveNove Maui Aloha Classic entschieden  und nach einer spannenden Saison sind es Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) und Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins), die die Weltmeistertitel der  Wavesurfer für sich entschieden. Der elfte Tag brachte eine bunte Mischung an Bedingungen, durch häufige Regenschauer ging der Wind immer wieder rauf und runter, zum Glück für die Teilnehmer und Zuschauer verschwanden die Wolken mehr und mehr und Ho'okipa lieferte die Bedingungen für die es bekannt ist. Es war angerichtet für einen sehr guten Wettkampftag. Nach dem gestrigen, ebenfalls spannenden Tag blieben für heute nur die vier besten Surfer bei der Double Elimination - Levi Siver (Quatro / Goya Windsurf / MFC), Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails), Kauli Seadi (99NoveNove / Hot Sails Maui / MFC) und Morgan Noireaux (JP / Hot Sails Maui). Das gleiche auch in der Damenabteilung, es starteten heute nur noch  - Fiona Wylde (Starboard / Goya Windsurfing), Sarah Hauser (Tabou / Simmer), Ingrid Larouche (Fanatic / North) und  die frisch gekrönte Weltmeisterin Iballa Moreno. Women’s Double Elimination After a slightly disappointing showing in the single elimination, Fiona Wylde, started to re-find the form she showed during last year’s Aloha Classic, which saw the 18 year old finish second. Wylde was the biggest mover of the day as she won five heats on the bounce. Wylde has now progressed into a minimum of fourth place after beating both Nayra Alonso (Fanatic / Severne) and Vickey Abbot in her final two heats of the day. Wylde impressed by selecting the biggest set waves, whilst showing a no fear approach as she constantly attacked the lip. Wylde will now face Sarah Hauser tomorrow in the battle for third and fourth. Unfortunately things didn’t go to plan for Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) today. Daida needed to win five consecutive heats in order to recapture the world title, but fell at the first hurdle in Heat 27 as Fiona Wylde and Anne-Marie Reichman (Starboard / Hot Sails Maui) advanced. However, whilst things may not have gone as she wanted today, Daida still walks away from this season in second place having shown her world class talent in the opening two events of the year and she will no doubt be back stronger than ever for 2016. With Daida eliminated from the double elimination Iballa Moreno was officially crowned the 2015 PWA Wave World Champion and she will now look to finish off the season in style by defending her single elimination crown. Iballa has now won back-to-back world titles and is currently on course to complete a famous hat-trick of Aloha Classic victories, so make sure you stay tuned to see if she can do just that.  Men’s  Double Elimination Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / North / MFC) started the day with all eyes on him as the only man who could deny Philip Köster a third world title. The Spaniard faced an extremely tall order as he would have to win eight heats in a row to accomplish that, but you wouldn’t have known the amount of pressure on him given how he came flying out of the starting blocks.  Fernandez started to gather momentum in the double and for a little while Köster will have been starting to sweat due to how his sole rival was sailing. Fernandez advanced from his opening three heats with a combination of raking turns combined with radical goiters and frontside 360s., but the pick of the bunch came in Heat 44 when his back was against the wall. With only a few minutes remaining in the heat the 2010 world champion needed a 6.19 point wave or better to progress and he delivered a near perfect wave when firmly under the cosh - Fernandez stomped an amazing frontside 3 right in the critical section together with a couple of powerful turns to earn 9.43 points, The 31 year old kept the title race alive with his monumental effort, whilst ending the hopes of Ricardo Campello (Patrik / Point-7 / MFC) and Kai Lenny (Naish / MFC). However, despite Fernandez’s heroic efforts it wasn’t quite enough to deny Köster world title No.3 as he was taken down by Levi Siver in the very next heat by just 0.14 of a point. Fernandez landed an incredible forward off the lip, which was landed out into the flats, but it still wasn’t quite enough as Siver advanced. With Köster’s agonising wait finally brought to an end we managed to catch up with the newly crowned world champion and the 21 year old had this to say upon capturing world title number 3: “It’s feels great to win another world title, to be honest I still can’t quite believe it at the moment. After a long year of competing it feels really good, we were unlucky with the last couple of European events and there was a lot of waiting, which isn’t the easiest when all you want to do is compete. I’m super stoked and it feels special to win the title here in Hawaii.” When asked about whether he was starting to get nervous when Victor Fernandez started to gather a bit of momentum Köster added: “Of course I was watching and I was starting to get a bit nervous. He was sailing super good, he had some great waves including his 360 which I think he received a 9.4 for. But in the end Levi [Siver] was sailing incredibly and there’s no one that knows this place better than him.” “From here I’ve going to the Great Lake Michigan for a new Red Bull Project, so keep your eyes out for that, then I’ll fly home to Gran Canaria for one day before heading to Australia to train.” Away from the title race Levi Siver produced the standout performance of the day as he started to show the same devastating form as when he won the Aloha Classic in 2013. After progressing from his opening two heats, and ending Fernandez’s comeback — together with the title race — Siver produced an almost perfect performance against Camille Juban as the American earned 19 points out of a possible 20. On one of his final waves Siver received perfect 10s from the judges as he boosted a crunching aerial off the lip with a gouging full round house cutback before throwing a sick frontside 360 to leave Juban helpless. Siver now moves into the top four and his next opponent will be Thomas Traversa with the winner of that heat going on to face Kauli Seadi.  Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing / MFC) was the only man with the potential to steal the final place on the overall podium for 2015, but the former world champion fell in Heat 42. The Brazilian showed flashes of pure brilliance with several hell turns, but Ho’okipa continually shut him down today and as a result Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne) will complete this year’s prestigious podium. Stone is only in his second full season back on the World Tour — after recovering from injury and completing his studies — and has quickly established himself as one of the major players and the 25 year old deservedly walks away from 2015 with his best result so far. Kevin Pritchard (Starboard / Ezzy / MFC) was extremely unlucky in Heat 43 to come up against Levi Siver and Ricardo Campello. KP would’ve advanced from most heats with his performance, which saw him boost the biggest aerials of the day, but unfortunately came up against two sailors in inspired form. In the end Ricardo Campello was able to fight back to 7th place in the double elimination, but for a time it looked as though he may go much further. The Venezuelan/Brazilian was in scintillating form to begin the day as he combined powerful hacks with amazing air takas, while almost landing an insane backloop off the lip. However, his comeback was brought to an end earlier than many may have anticipated in Heat 44.  Tomorrow should see the thrilling finale to the NoveNove Maui Aloha Classic with strong trade winds expected again together with a similar sized swell as today, but with a short wave period. The sailors will meet again at 10:30am tomorrow morning with the action commencing from 11am onwards. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to see the fascinating conclusion live via the PWA live stream. After the completion of the double eliminations tomorrow there will be a Champions for Charity contest, which you can vote for the winner online, followed by a 30 minute all girls expression session.

Starboard freut sich für die kommende Saison Gunnar Asmussen als Neuzugang im Starboard Team begrüßen zu dürfen! Gunnar wurde 2013 IFCA Slalom Weltmeister und landete 2015 im DWC Overall auf Platz 2. Neben vielen internationalen,- sowie den wichtigsten nationalen Events steht für Gunnar, der besonders gerne „Long Distance“ fährt, auch der DEFI WIND im französischen Gruissan auf dem Programm für das kommende Jahr. Gunnar Asmussen: „Nächstes Jahr stehen einige PWA Events auf meinem Zettel. Außerdem werde ich beim DEFI WIND an den Start gehen und reise natürlich zu den wichtigsten nationalen Rennen sowie auf 1-2 Veranstaltungen in Dänemark.“ Florian Brunner, Starboard Importeur in Deutschland: „Gunnar ist mit Sicherheit einer der talentiertesten Slalomfahrer überhaupt. Für das kommende Jahr ist er hochmotiviert und ich freue mich sehr ihn auf unseren Boards zu sehen.“ Bald geht es für Gunnar in Richtung Teneriffa um sich ausgiebig auf die neue Saison vorzubereiten. „El Medano“ ist seit einigen Jahren das ultimative Winterdomizil für Slalomracer und auch Gunnar kann es kaum erwarten auf der Kanareninsel mit neuen Boards ordentlich Gas zu geben. „In der Vergangenheit war ich einfach immer zu schwer aber ich habe in den letzten 3 Monaten gute 10kg  abgenommen und werde topfit ins neue Jahr gehen. Starboard ist ein kleiner Traum von mir und ich werde richtig Gas geben“, ergänzt Gunnar , der gestern bereits seine ersten Boards in Empfang nehmen durfte.

Antoine Albeau hat es geschafft, er stellte seinen im Jahr 2012 gefahrenen Weltrekord mit unglaublichen 53.27kts (98.66km / h) über 500m ein. Seit vier Tagen ist Antoine nun auf dem Kanal in Lüderitz gefahren, heute hat er es endlich geschafft, die 53kts-Schranke zu passieren. Bei seinen über 30 Läufen am heutigen Tag erzielte er eine Maximalgeschwindigkeit von 55.50kts (102.79km / h).

 

Der Wettbewerb in Lüderitz läuft noch zwei Wochen, wir sind gespannt ob Antoine es schafft seinen Rekord nochmals zu überbieten.

http://luderitz-speed.com/2015 https://www.facebook.com/luderitzspeedchallenge Pressemitteilung der CHRIS BENZ LUDERITZ SPEED CHALLENGE: After 4 weeks of the LUDERITZ SPEED CHALLENGE 2015 event, conditions today – 02.11.2015 – were strong and perfect to break world and national records – BOTH achieved! Until now, the wind has been strong but not enough to break world records. Today, 02 November 2015, the wind has been much stronger than predicted and the angle has been better to be able to sail in a multiple performance speed channel with flatter water surface. We began the day with 25-30 knots average wind speed starting the race at 12.30. From 2pm, the wind suddenly starting to increase and strongly, reaching more than 50knots in the gusts. Sand was flying and sailing down the channel started to be really challenging due to the strong sand blasts. After a couple of runs over 50 knots, Antoine Albeau who achieved 51.66 kts 2 days ago was determined to beat his World Record (set at the 2012 Luderitz Speed Challenge: 52.05 kts). Then records started to tumble one after the other! Boris Vujasinovic set yet another new Croatia Record with 48.28 kts (was 47.37 kts yesterday). Karin Jaggi (29 World titles) improved her Swiss record again with 45.3 kts (was 44.92 kts a few days ago). Boris Vujasinovic followed up with another Croatian record with 48.99 kts. Antoine Albeau started to go over 51 knots and was joined by Patrik Diethelm (ITA).  At about that time, around 1.15pm, Karin pushed hard and broke the Female World Record in Windsurfing with 46.31 kts!  (Previously held by Zara Davis (UK) at the 2012 Luderitz Speed Challenge with 45.83 kts) and, just 15 minutes later, Antoine Albeau broke his world record, for the first time, achieving 52.41 kts! Then he never stopped - and broke it 5 times: 52.50 kts > 52.76 kts > 53.1 knots and then the actual World Record which now stands at a highly impressive 53.27 kts. ANTOINE ALBEAU today: 32 runs total > 13 runs over 52 knots > 4 runs over 53 knots – amazing! After the first NEW World Record set by Antoine, it was then the turn of British Record Holder Farrel O Shea to show his true skills and determination. After breaking his own British record 2 days ago with 49.24 kts, he improved it further with 49.99 kts. But he knew he couldn’t stop as he was so close to the 50 knots! After a couple of runs, he smashed the 50kts with a highly impressive 51.20 knots (he is NOW 5th in the Windsurfing World Speed rankings!) Patrik Diethelm who has broken his Italian record yesterday (01.11.15) and was leading with 51.77 kts, has smashed his Italian record with a highly credible 52.33 kts (he is NOW 2nd in the World Speed rankings!) Only ONE word to describe today’s blisteringly fast performances – AWESOME! Today has been insane. Speed limits were pushed like never before. The LUDERITZ SPEED CHANNEL, masterminded by Sebastien Cattelan, twice World Record Holder in Kitesurfing, is the true diamond of this event. He has proven to all in the world speed sailing fraternity, yet again, that his original well engineered channel (& perfect spot), combined with the famous winds of Lüderitz; smashes world and national records and takes once average speed performances to much higher levels.     Let’s see what will happen in the forthcoming days. 16 riders from different nationalities have until the 15th of November to achieve their personal objectives. Well done to all the record breakers!

VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE CHANNEL

ANTOINE ALBEAU: https://youtu.be/EG9L5em_0jw

KARIN JAGGI: https://youtu.be/5XmwsaCqMSM

Auch am fünftenTag des NoveNove Maui Aloha Classic lieferte Ho'okipa erneut gute Bedingungen, allerdings dauerte es ein wenig länger bis sich der Passatwind aufbaute. Der Wind schwankte heute aufgrund einiger Wolken im Laufe des späten Morgens und am frühen Nachmittag. Trotzdem konnte die Single Elimination der Damen schwierigen Bedingungen abgeschlossen werden.

Aufgrund der schwierigen Bedingungen entschied Oberschiedsrichter Duncan Coombs das  Damen Finale auf 30 Minuten zu verlängern, um jeder der vier Finalteilnehmerinnen - Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins), Sarah Hauser (Tabou / Simmer ), Ingrid Larouche (Fanatic / North) und Vickey Abbot - eine faire Chance zu geben, das zu zeigen, was tatsächlich drauf haben.

Women’s / Single Elimination Winners’ Final The Women’s Winners’ Final was completed at the third time of asking — after one cancellation yesterday and today — and there was no denying the reigning champion Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins), who made the most of the tricky conditions, by showing patience to wait for the best waves before combining several well timed turns with an aerial to be crowned the winner of the single elimination. Victory in the single means Iballa is now on the verge of claiming a famous hat-trick of prestigious Aloha Classics -- having won here in 2006 and in 2014. Meanwhile, Ingrid Larouche (Fanatic / North) sailed through the pain barrier having injured her foot the day before to secure an excellent second place. ahead of Sarah Hauser (Tabou / Simmer) — who completes the podium after achieving her best result ever — and Vickey Abbot in fourth place. Iballa Moreno reacts to winning the single elimination: “I’m honestly not looking into the world title points at all. I’m more focused on winning the event here, which I think this is one of my favourite events — This is my favourite tack particularly for wave riding and I really enjoy sailing here. I’m only focusing on doing well here and whatever with the title race happens. Of course if it goes in my favour I would be happy, but Daida still has a very good chance and I’d also be really happy for her if she gets it [the world title]. Last year was my year, maybe this year is her year, who knows? It’s all in her hands and I hope she can comeback through the double.” As things currently stand Iballa leads the title race, but things are still in Daida’s hands. If Daida is able to fight her way back from 7th into 3rd place then Iballa will be powerless to stop her sister from regaining her world title. Make sure you stay tuned to www.pwaworldtour.com to see which one of the legendary twins come out on top in this year’s battle for the title. The forecast for tomorrow sees the swell drop further, so a lay day has been called for all fleets. The forecast predicts a new long period, together with wind, for the end of the week, so an announcement will be made at 7pm each evening with the latest call as we monitor the forecast.  Result NoveNove Maui Aloha Classic — Women’s Single Elimination 1st Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Ingrid Larouche (Fanatic / North)
3rd Sarah Hauser (Tabou / Simmer)
4th Vickey Abbot
5th Anne-Marie Reichman (Starboard / Hot Sails Maui)
5th Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins)
7th Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins)
7th Shawna Cropas (JP / NeilPryde)

Die Prognose war sehr gut für das letzte Wochenende. Während der Freitag noch ein sehr guter Trainingstag war, ging es am Samstag richtig zur Sache. Der deutlich stärkere Wind mit durchschnittlich 30-35 Knoten und Böen bis zu 55 Knoten schuf rauen Bedingungen auf dem Kanal. Der Sonntag war dann jedoch nicht so stark wie vorhergesagt, nur 30 kts Durchschnitt, vorhergesagt waren rund 40 Knoten.
 

Antoine Albeau aus Frankreich, Weltrekordhalter mit 52,05 kn, hat viele Läufe gefahren an den letzten 2 Renntagen (31.10.15 & 01.11.15) -  mit konstant hohen Geschwindigkeiten. Mehr als zehnmal mehr als 50 kts und sechsmal mehr als 51 kts. Er führte auch das Rennen am Samstag mit seiner Bestzeit von 51.66 kts an.

Patrik Diethelm aus Italien hat seinen eigenen nationalen Rekord erneut gebrochen (bisher 51.18 kts im Jahr 2014) und er kam sehr nah an der Weltrekord mit 51,77 kts am Sonntag (01.11.15).

 
Für heute, Montag, 02.11. ist erneut sehr guter Wind angesagt und für alle Starter ist der  Weltrekord das ultimative Ziel!

In der vierten Woche 4 wurden auch noch weitere Rekorde und Bestzeiten gefahren:

Karin Jaggi brach ihren Schweizer Rekord nicht weniger als 5 mal: erst 42.5 kts und zum Schluss mit 44.92 kts (war 41.25 kts vor ihrer ersten Teilnahme an der Lüderitz Speed ??Challenge). Sie ist jetzt nur 0,91 kts vom Weltrekord bei den Damen entfernt!
Der Britische Rekordhalter Farrel O 'Shea, erzeilte erst 48,84 und dann 49,28 kts kts (bisher 48.82 kts)

Christian Bornemann aus Deutschland brach seinen deutschen nationalen Rekord mit erstaunlichen 50,20 Knoten. (bisher 48.82 kts)

Der Kroatische Rekordhalter Boris Vujasinovic, der in den USA lebt verbesserte den nationalen Rekord seines Landes, zunächst mit 46,66 kts und dann 46.84kts und schließlich erreicht er 47.37 kts (bisher 46.51 kts)

Jean Michel Cloarec (Frankreich) erreicht einen neuen französischen Rekord auf einem Serien Board mit 48,38 kn (bisher 48.33 kts vom letzten Jahr)

 

Auch zahlreiche persönliche Bestzeiten wurden erzielt:

Manfred Merle aus Deutschland bisher mit einem PB von 47.86 kts erreicht 48.50kts und später dann 48,62 kts.

Christophe Richaud (Frankreich) kam in diesem Jahr mit seinem PB 46.55 kts aus dem letzten Jahr und schlugen ihn bereits ersten Tag mit 46,66 kn und verbesserte sich it vier Läufen mit  jedem Lauf bis zum Erreichen von 49.28kts!

Zum ersten Mal dabei, der Französische Windsurfer Laurent Fesquet erreicht eine beeindruckende 45.11 kts, und verbessert diese Leistung noch weitere drei Mal mit  46.55 kts, 47.79 und 48.45 kts.

Der Franzose Thierry Bielak, Speed Legende mit dem ultimativen Weltrekord der 90er Jahre mit 45,34 kn,  verbessert zunächst seine beste Geschwindigkeit von 2014: 48,02 kts und schafft es am Ende auf 49,94 kts.

Christian Maillet aus Frankreich fuhr 41,67 kts, er verbesserte seine persönliche Bestzeit insgesamt drei Mal – respektable Leistung für seine erste Teilnahme an der Lüderitz Speed ??Challenge.

In dieser Woche sind einige neue Starter dabei, darunter auch einige sehr bekannte Namen im Speedsurfen: Ein herzliches Willkommen an Raffaello Gardelli, Björn Dunkerbeck, Alberto Possati, Andrew Redfern, Roger Ornvang, Erik Beale, Martyn Ogier und Francesco D'Urso.

Bereits zum vierten Tag in Folge liefert  Ho'okipa hervorragende Bedingungen, die Single Elimination der Damen wurde bis zu den letzten vier Surferinnen abgeschlossen. Weitere sieben Heats der Double Elimination der Herren wurden ebenfalls abgeschlossen, bevor der Wind dann zu schwach wurde.  Heute war der Wind insgesamt etwas schwächer, auch die Wellen waren etwas kleiner als an den Vortagen, allerdings waren die Wellen absolut perfekt, so dass heute spektakuläres Weltklasse Waveriding möglich war. Women’s Single Elimination The women kicked the day off at 11am with the resail of Heat 10 and Sarah Hauser (Tabou / Simmer) was the standout sailor as she won the heat ahead of Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins). Hauser showed excellent speed on the wave and she combined superb wave selection with fluid carving turns to progress, whilst Offringa was able to connect with a few powerful, vert snaps to end the hopes of Nayra Alonso (Fanatic / Severne) and Tiffany Ward (Starboard / Ezzy). Heat 11 featured Ingrid Larouche (Fanatic / North), Shawna Cropas (JP / NeilPryde), Jessica Crisp (Patrik / Hot Sails Maui) and Amanda Beenen (99NoveNove / Point-7). Larouche has made the podium at four consecutive Aloha Classics and she showed why with a combination of excellent wave selection and execution to win the heat ahead of Cropas. Reigning world and Aloha Classic Champion — Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) — took to the water for the first time in Heat 12 and she made no mistakes in what could’ve proved to be an extremely tricky heat with Fiona Wylde (Starboard / Goya Windsurfing), who finished second in last year’s Aloha Classic, and Alice Arutkin (Fanatic / North), who completed the overall podium in 2014, also involved. Iballa produced the performance of the day so far with the highlight seeing her earn a 9 point wave for a snappy turn off the top together with an aerial. However, it wasn’t either Wylde or Arutkin joining her in the next round as Anne-Marie Reichman (Starboard / Hot Sails Maui) proved to be the dark horse of the heat. The Dutch girl landed two powerful, late hits off the lip to earn 8.38 points and despite Wylde’s best efforts to overhaul her the 18 year old couldn’t quite find enough. Reichman and Wylde finished the heat tied on points, but Reichman won the tiebreak with the highest single wave score carrying her through. Sarah Hauser shone again in the first semifinal as she booked her place in her first PWA Winners’ Final to cap a fantastic day. Meanwhile, the fight for the remaining place in the final saw a close tussle between Vickey Abbot, Sarah-Quita Offringa and at the time current world tour leader Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins). Britain’s Abbot clinched second place in the end as she consistently picked out the best waves before combining perfectly timed turns in the pocket to fend off Offringa by just quarter of a point. Offringa produced her best wave at the death, but unfortunately for her there was no time remaining to reverse the result. With Daida eliminated from the single elimination this opened the door for Iballa to assume control of the title race, but could she take advantage of the opportunity presented before her’? For Iballa to take control of the title race she would need to book her place in the final as a top four finish or better would be enough to see her overtake Daida, for the time being at least, and that’s exactly what she managed to do by winning Heat 14 ahead of Ingrid Larouche.  The final was started but had to be cancelled with the conditions deemed not suitable with three out of the four girls getting pinned on the inside. Before the cancellation flag was raised Iballa suffered a horrific wipeout which saw her air drop upside down into the pit of a pitching wave, but thankfully she survived unscathed. At the end of Day 4 Iballa sits at the top of the world rankings and the better she can do in the final the more pressure it will apply to Daida. A fourth place finish for Iballa would mean Daida would only need to improve one position in the double to move back to the top of the overall rankings, so the title race is still poised on a knife edge. Men’s  Double Elimination Ricardo Campello (Patrik / Point-7 / MFC) was the standout sailor in the double elimination today as he combined devastating full roundhouse cutbacks with late aerials and air taka attempts to consistently earn waves in the excellent range. Campello won both of his heats in emphatic fashion and looks to be one of the most dangerous sailors coming back through the double.  Heat 36 was probably the heat of the day as Keith Teboul (Quatro / Goya Windsurfing / MFC) went head-to-head with Kai Lenny (Naish / MFC), Bernd Roediger (Naish / MFC) and Antoine Martin (JP / NeilPryde / MFC). Teboul was in terrific form, but unfortunately ran into Lenny and Roediger, who were simply unstoppable. Teboul was qualifying until his two fellow countryman both destroyed their final waves with both landing massive aerials and vert snaps to secure the top two places.  Roediger and Lenny then both progressed again from Heat 40 ending the hopes of Josh Stone (Goya Windsurfing) and Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins / SWOX) with more brilliant riding -- with Roediger also landing a perfect goiter off a smaller inside section, which is the first goiter landed in the entire contest.  Emotions ran high in Heat 41 when the heat was cancelled with Diony Guadagnino (Hot Sails Maui / MFC) leading and the Venezuelan was visibly upset and angry when he returned to the beach. At the time he and Ricardo Campello were qualifying with Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / North / MFC) less than a point behind, but the wind was deemed to have become too light to give the sailors a fair chance of being able to show what they can do.  The title race is still alive with Victor Fernandez fighting his way back through the double. The Spaniard produced his best waves of the contest so far and whilst he still has a long way to go to deny Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) a third world title, he still has a chance of completing what would be a heroic comeback, whilst he remains in the draw.  The wind forecast for tomorrow looks excellent, but the swell is forecast to drop so a decision will be made at the 10:30am skippers’ meeting for the days plan of action. The first possible start will again be 11am. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to stay up to date with all the latest news from the NoveNove Maui Aloha Classic via the PWA live steam and live ticker

Die letzten Wochen des Europäischen Etappe der PWA World Tour war weitgehend ohne Wind und Wellen, ganz anders als nun beim NoveNove Maui Aloha Classic vor Ho'okipa. Auch am dritten Tag in Folge rollen  über masthohe Wellen am Ho'okipa Beach Park und sorgen für absolut epische Action. Jede Menge Material landete heute auf den berüchtigten Felsen von Ho’okipa, Grund waren relativ leichte Winde und eine  starke Strömung auf der Innenseite.  Wer es dann nach draußen geschafft hatte konnte unglaublich gute Wellen abreiten. Bis zum Ende des Tages wurde die Hälfte der Double Elimination bei den Herren und ein weiterer Heat der Single Elimination bei den Damen  gefahren. For the third day in a row over mast high bombs rolled into Ho’okipa Beach Park to create more epic action. Carnage ensued again today with light winds and a strong rip current on the inside making it difficult to get out, which resulted in several sailors sacrificing their kit to the hungry Ho’okipa rocks. However, the sacrifices made were often rewarded with moments of pure brilliance as the world’s best tore apart the mast and a half high sets — laying it all on the line in order to progress. Inevitably some crashed and burned, but others thrived in the tricky conditions, coming to life in the big pounding surf. By the end of Day 3 we are just over a third of the way through the men’s double elimination, while one more heat of the women’s single elimination was also completed. With a lot more west in the swell the wave face turned from glassy perfection into a terrorising choppy face at times, which led to inadvertent air drops and plenty of boom eating potential as the elite of the wave sailing world tried desperately to stay in control. Double Elimination  Men’s Bernd Roediger (Naish / MFC) and Ferdinando Loffreda (Quatro) essentially received byes through the first round of the double elimination — Heat 24 — with Nicola Terenzi missing his heat and Moritz Mauch (Starboard / Severne / MFC) absent from proceedings due to a family emergency, which meant the young German only arrived in Maui after the completion of his heat. Roediger looked in excellent form nether-the-less — combining a variety of turns and aerials as a warmup to round two. In the next heat Dany Bruch (Starboard / Challenger Sails / AL360) and Jake Miller (Quatro / Goya Windsurfing / MFC) safely dispatched of Freestyle world champion Dieter Van der Eyken (Starboard / Severne) and local boy Harley Stone (Naish). Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD) wasn’t quite in tune with the conditions in the single elimination but he made no mistakes as he started his comeback through the double to advance from Heat 26 — with the highlight seeing the Spaniard boost a monster aerial out into the flats. Boujmaa Guilloul (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / MFC) — who won the AWT pro bracket last year — also looked in good form as he delivered a few critically late hits to also progress.  Heat 27 saw Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) in action and the two-time world champion, who is on the verge of world title number three, was a little unlucky. Köster attempted the most radical move of the day with a sick frontside 360 attempt into a gnarly mast high bomb, but just over rotated which had severe consequences for his gear and ultimately ended his chances of progressing. The twenty-one year old took a no fear approach to the conditions and was rewarded for his efforts on his final wave as he somehow held onto a massive hit into a huge piece of whitewater, before delivering a gouging turn, which we have become accustomed to seeing, on a monster wave, but there was no time for him to add a second wave to his scorecard and he took an early exit. Kai Lenny (Naish / MFC), who arrived just in time for his heat after surfing Jaws in the morning, stole the show as the waterman picked up the biggest wave of the day, which was easily mast and a half high, and he used all of his extensive experience in large waves to tear the wave apart with several fluid, vertical top to bottom turns to earn 8.88 points and advance into Heat 33. Bryan Metcalfe-Perez (JP / NeilPryde) earned himself second place to book his place in round two. John Skye (RRD / RRD / MFC) and Aleix Sanllehy (Tabou / GA Sails) negotiated their way through Heat 28 as they ended the hopes of Sean Aiken (Quatro / Naish Sails) and Filipe Wedeles (Goya Windsurfing) respectively.  Marc Paré (99NoveNove / Simmer / Maui Ultra Fins) deserves a huge amount of credit for the way he approached today. This was only the seventeen year olds second-time ever sailing Ho’okipa and the conditions were not for the faint hearted, but Paré did not let the conditions phase him as he made a strong start to the heat by combining a couple of carving turns on a big face. His confidence grew with every minute and by the end of the heat he was even attempting aerials off of seriously meaty sections. Unfortunately his final aerial attempt resulted in a trip to the rocks and the Ho’okipa rocks showed no mercy as another set of gear was sacrificed. However, Paré, probably won’t be to disappointed as he won the heat ahead of twenty year old Italian Federico Morisio (Quatro / Goya Windsurfing / MFC) as the two young guns caused an upset with Florian Jung (RRD / Gun Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) crashing out in the first round.  Things didn’t go to plan for either Ricardo Campello (Patrik / Point-7 / MFC) or Jules Denel (JP / NeilPryde) in the single elimination, but both made successful starts to their comebacks through the double. Campello looked fired up and he proved that he meant serious business on his first wave as he unleashed a hell turn and a late aerial to earn 8.5 points. The Venezuelan/Brazilian then became the latest sailor to take a trip across the rocks, but he was one of the few lucky ones as his equipment survived. Campello added another fine wave with his final attempt to win the heat. Meanwhile, Denel, consistently delivered powerful turns with an aerial to also progress from Heat 30. The final heat of the first round saw Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / North / MFC) in action for the first time and the pressure was on. The Spaniard knew that failure to advance would hand the title to Köster, but Fernandez more than rose to the occasion to keep his title hopes alive — for now at least. Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne) described Heat 31 as the hardest heat of his life, which is testament to just how punishing the conditions were today, but unfortunately for the Australian he was on the wrong end of a tiebreak decision as Russ Faurot (Ezzy) claimed second qualifying place. The two sailors were tied on points come the end of the heat, but Faurot was given the verdict with the American’s highest single wave score proving to be the difference. Sweden’s Markus Rydberg (Simmer) was a little unlucky after making a solid start to the heat with an excellent wave, however he then found himself caught on the inside and was unable to find the second wave he needed before the clock ran out, after spending much of the heat working his way back upwind.  In the first heat of the second round Bernd Roediger and Dany Bruch both continued their comeback through the double. Heat 33 was extended to 25 minutes with the wind beginning to rapidly fade and this turned out to be the final heat of the day. Two of the standout sailors in the opening round — Alex Mussolini and Kai Lenny — were involved and they produced a fitting end to another epic day with a masterclass in wave riding. Mussolini won the heat and was able to come in early after ending up on the rocks having combo’d Jake Miller and Ferdinando Loffreda with a fantastic display, whilst Lenny was clearly loving the conditions and excelled again. Both men will be a major threat moving forward into tomorrow.  Women’s Single Elimination The women kicked off Day 3’s action, but only the opening heat was completed. Current world tour leader — Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) — was involved in Heat 9 and she made the perfect start as she looks to regain the world title by winning the heat ahead of Vickey Abbot. Daida made a slightly nervous start to the heat, but any nerves were forgotten by the end as she picked up a bomb out the back before unleashing three slashy turns.  Heat 10 featuring — Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins), who currently occupies third place in the overall rankings, Tiffany Ward (Starboard / Ezzy), Nayra Alonso (Fanatic / Severne) and Sarah Hauser (Tabou / Simmer) —  was started, but had to be cancelled with the girls being pinned on the inside by a rapidly increasing swell and it being judged that they did not receive a fair chance to show what they are truly capable of. Heat 10 will now be the first women’s heat on the agenda when the action resumes. The wind and waves look set to continue into Day 4 of the NoveNove Maui Aloha Classic with the only change being with a slight reduction in the swell size from 2.4 metres to 1.9 metres at 14 seconds, which for many will be a welcome relief. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10:30am with the action commencing from 11am. Make sure you tune into the PWA live stream @ www.pwaworldtour.com to see yet more radical action from the home of windsurfing. It promises to be another spectacular day.

Ho'okipa lieferte auch am Tag 2 des NoveNove Maui Aloha Classc perfekte Bedingungen, so dass die Single Elimination abgeschlossen werden konnte. Die Wellen waren gegenüber dem gestrigen Tag  signifikant schwächer – wobei es immer noch mehr als masthohe Sets liefen. Allerdings waren die Wellen deutlich sauberer und die Starter konnten sich mehr auf ihre Performance konzentrieren als darauf nicht auf den Felsen zu landen. Nach einem weiteren epischen Tag steht der Gewinner des vergangenen Jahres - Morgan Noireaux (JP / Hot Sails / Maui) – erneut ganz oben auf dem Treppchen. Er setzte sich in einer hart umkämpften Single Elimination gegen ein hochklassiges Starterfeld durch. Single Elimination / Men’s / Winners’ Final With the early evening wind starting to fade the men’s winners’ final — featuring Morgan Noireaux, Kauli Seadi (99NoveNove / Hot Sails Maui / MFC), Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) and Camille Juban (Quatro / Avanti / MFC) — was extended to 35 minutes to give each sailor a fair chance to show exactly what they can do. The level of sailing leading into the final was superb and the final continued in the same vein. With the light winds the sailing was also an extremely tactical affair, which gave the final another dynamic in what was classic float and ride conditions.  Noireaux was the first sailor to catch a wave and the twenty-one year drew first blood as he landed a huge aerial out into the flats off of a pitching lip before backing it up with a vert snap in the pocket and another floaty aerial off the end section. Noireaux was awarded 8.52 points for his opening effort, which turned out to be the highest scoring wave of the final and put him in a commanding position. The Hawaiian looked every bit the champion yesterday and he quickly followed up his opening wave with another score in the excellent range to really apply the pressure to the remaining three sailors. Thomas Traversa responded first as he landed two critically late aerials on the wave same wave to earn 8 points, whilst Kauli Seadi also racked up an 8 point wave to add to his earlier score of 7.65 after linking a few of his trademark fluid turns and a radical aerial. This left less than half a point between the top three sailors such was the closeness of the battle, however, with the clock quickly running down and the wind continuing to fade there was no chance of grabbing a final wave and Noireaux was left to celebrate clinching the single elimination. Unfortunately things didn’t quite click for Camille Juban in the final and after looking like the winner for much of the day the twenty-five year old had to settle for fourth place and he will now look to fight his way into the top three when the double elimination begins. Morgan Noireaux had this to say after winning the single elimination: “The final was really hard. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do at the beginning since I’m a lot heavier than the other riders, but thankfully everyone was just as slow as me — even Thomas [Traversa] was having a hard time moving around the break. In the end it was awesome. I managed to get my two best waves right at the beginning and then I spent the rest of the heat just looking for another good scoring opportunity. Now I’m just hoping I can hang on in the double, but I’m really stoked.” Noireaux also added which kit he was on and why he opted to choose a 4,9m still in the light winds: “I was on my 85l board and my 4.9m. I do have a 5.2m in my quiver, but I don’t really like going bigger than 4.9m and it was still perfect on the wave.” Heat of the Day While the final may have not quite gone to plan for Juban, he was absolutely on fire during the second semifinal against Seadi, Levi Siver (Quatro / Goya Windsurfing / MFC) and Robby Naish (Naish), so much so that the man from Guadeloupe racked up the highest scoring heat of the day within the first five minutes of Heat 22. Juban combined huge, head throw aerials off of meaty sections with vert gouging rail-to-rail turns right in the pocket in what was easily the performance of the day. New Move? Accidental or not is the question many people were asking about Morgan Noireaux’s move in the opening semifinal. Noireaux lined up for another aerial but was inadvertently thrown into a grubby off the lip, which he somehow managed to sail away from. Some are coining it a new move under the name of ‘oiseaux’ but whether it was deliberate or not remains to be seen — either way it was a hugely impressive feat to sail away from it and it was more than worthy of the 9.25 points it received after a couple of trademark gouging turns beforehand. In the same heat Thomas Traversa advanced over Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing / MFC) by way of a tie break with the Frenchman’s progressing due to acquiring the higher single wave score.  Game, Set and Match? Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) is another step closer to securing his third world title today despite a second round exit from the single elimination after his only rival left standing — Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / North / MFC) — suffered the same fate after being eliminated from Heat 16 by Antoine Martin (JP / NeilPryde / MFC) and Diony Guadagnino (Hot Sails Maui / MFC). The Spaniard now faces the almost impossible task of fighting his way all the way back through the double elimination — as Fernandez needs to claim victory here to overhaul Köster from the top of the rankings. Women’s The women took to the water for the first time this event as the opening couple of heats were completed. Nayra Alonso (Fanatic / Severne) made a winning return to the competition scene as she defeated Tatiana Howard (JP / NeilPryde) in Heat 4a, whilst Vicky Abbot advanced over Ulrike Hölzl (Goya Windsurfing). Shawna Cropas (JP / NeilPryde) successfully negotiated her way past Robynne Riley with an efficient display, before Anne-Marie Reichman (Naish) defeated Anna Rohden. When the action resumes for the women we will pick up with round two which will see the big hitting top seeds come into play. The swell is expected to increase in size again tomorrow with the current forecast models predicting a 2,4 metre swell at 16-17 seconds. The wind strength looks as though it will be roughly the same as today, so a decision with the plan of action will be made in the morning. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10:30am with the action commencing from 11am onwards. Don’t miss any of the action by tuning into www.pwaworldtour.com. Current Standings NoveNove Maui Aloha Classic — After Men’s Single Elimination 1st Morgan Noireaux (JP / Hot Sails Maui) 2nd Kauli Seadi (99NoveNove / Hot Sails Maui / MFC) 3rd Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails) 4th Camille Juban (Quatro / Avanti / MFC) 5th Kevin Pritchard (Starboard / Ezzy / MFC) 5th Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing / MFC) 5th Levi Siver (Quatro / Goya Windsurfing / MFC) 5th Robby Naish (Naish) 9th Keith Teboul (Quatro / Goya Windsurfing / MFC) 9th Kai Katchadourian (Simmer) 9th Klaas Voget (Fanatic / Simmer / MFC) 9th Josh Stone (Goya Windsurfing) 9th Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins / SWOX) 9th Graham Ezzy (Tabou / Ezzy) 9th Diony Guadagnino (Hot Sails Maui / MFC) 9th Antoine Martin (JP / NeilPryde / MFC)