Ross Williams joins Boardseeker to give a unique look behind the scenes of the PWA in Costa Brava….

Ross Williams, image credit PWA/JC.

Thursday 13th:

“The wind changed pretty quickly yesterday, so everyone was left running around for the smaller gear. I didn’t get a good start to the my semi final but the sea state was pretty choppy so finally it was possible to over take at the gybe marks. I felt my speed was competitive and I was gaining a place at each gybe mark to secure my spot in the final.

I will head into the final pretty confident as I have sailed in a range of conditions in my heats: 9.5m, 8.6m, and 7.9m and both big and medium boards; all combo’s seem to be delivering the goods. I will focus on getting a good clean start and bring it on to the rest of the guys.

So far, I think that Antoine F192 has been the most consistent and has the all round package in any winds. Also Alberto ITA 4 has been one of the fastest, Antoine F99 also in the lighter wind has been impressive. I think Maciek Rutkowski has shown that he is coming of age finishing 7th in the first race and now he is in the losers final, if he can continue to put in results like this he should fine himself in the top 10 at the end of the event.

I didn’t touch my equipment settings, as I know I am going fast enough to compete.

Hopefully we will finish this elimination today and also complete another, it’s hard to tell what the sea breeze will do but I think for sure there will be more ups and downs to talk about.”

Matteo Iachino, image credit PWA/JC.

Boardseeker catches up with Matteo Iachino Ita-140, who placed second in the first round of racing in Costa Brava. At just 23 he is much younger than most of the top racers, though he hasn’t yet shown the consistency to win an event, surely he is a name to watch both now and in the future?

My best result in a single race has been a 3rd place in Korea this year. My best result out of a complete event has been a 11th in Sylt last year.

This is my 4th year on PWA, but it’s just the 2nd year that I’m doing all the events.

My weight is 91kg.

I used F2 SX 2013 82 and 69 in Korea and Challenger Sails Aero+ 9.4, 8.7, 7.9 in Korea and F2 SX 2013 82 and Challenger Aero + 9.4 here in Costa Brava.
This year I have more speed, and more of everything compared to last year due to the hard training I did this winter. My only problem is to be consistent in the results without doing a super good one and then a bad one… But little by little I will do it.. That’s what I hope.

The conditions here are really hard, super light wind a bit gusty and onshore. If you make a mistake and you are out. I did really good yesterday but today I got the worst start ever and I went out.

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Clarification of the racing rules for 2013, regarding lower wind limits, from the PWA:

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Ross Williams on the first two days of racing:

Ross Williams. Image credit PWA/JC.

The conditions for the first 2 days have been pretty light, most of the fleet were sailing on their biggest gear. I think the conditions were on the edge for good racing and maybe some heats could of been abandoned, but generally the race crew did a great job. I was in heat 7 in the first race and the wind died before I got to sail my heat on the first day. So I was one of the first to go onto the race course on the second day. I won my first heat on 9.5m and big board and 46cm fin, pretty sure everyone was using their big stuff. Then for my quarter final I took my 8.6m and big board, but unfortunately i sailed the wrong course like an idiot. I had done the hard work, I got a clean start and was leading the race, but for some reason I decided to gybe the wrong second bouy!!!! At least I know now I have good enough speed, but i just need to find my brain.

Personally I think the conditions were fine to race. I think some of the bigger guys need to trim down a bit, and go sailing more in 7 knots, take the biggest fins and sails possible. When it’s windy you don’t see the smaller sailors getting any favours, so it shouldn’t be that these beasts of 105 to 115 kgs get let off in the lighter winds, when they already have a size advantage when the wind picks up. Antoine always seems to be tuned for every wind strength, so the other should as follow his example.

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RW: I had just come back from a broken ankle and was not really ready to go straight into a world tour competition.

It’s looking pretty light, maybe some sea breezes depending on the temperature. CB can throw anything at you, so it’s best just to be ready for anything even if the forecast isn’t great.

RW: I would say my 8.6 and big board will be the most used combo.

RW: Here there are a lot of pretty good guys, I think the Gaastra and Tabou team will put in good performances though.

Ross Williams. PWA Costa Brava 2012. Image credit PWA/JC.

RW: Sure he can, it will be interesting to see how he handles the pressure. I think he has the gear to win and he is working hard. But on the race course anything can happen.

RW: 1st place.

RW: Everyone has the fire to do well. A lot of us have been here for 4 or 5 days already so that shows the commitment, I feel I am pretty ready now to race again too. I am fit, my ankle is fine and my gear is fast. I just want to get out there and race.

Make sure you check back soon for more details from the PWA Costa Brava. 

Words – windsurfingtenerife.com

Tenerife has far more to offer then the well known Worldcup spots of Cabezo and El Medano Bay. Especially during the winter you will be able to find other spots with brilliant waves. Last years PWA Wave World Ranking number 3 Alex Mussolini, El Medano resident, is one of the local Tenerife windsurfers that know about the variety of spots on the island and has always an eye on the forecasts so as not to miss one of those magic moments everyone loves. Last week we had again such a moment.

A hurricane warning was given out and the schools on all the island got closed for the bad weather and rain. On Monday we had some nice down the line wavesailing at the El Medano bay with strong wind and some small, but quality waves… Alex and Lampie (Martin Ten Hove) opted that day for Alex’s home beach La Tejita and good some nice waves and strong wind also. The next day the waves at El Medano were quite small for us and I checked together with Lampie some other spots on the island. Alex in the meanwhile had some other plans. There is a surfing spot that he never windsurfed before. It’s a gnarly small slab that sucks away so much water that mainly boogie boarders surf this wave. Arriving we didn’t know if it would work, but Alex wanted to give it a go. During low tide the reef brought some nice small powerful waves through and maximum aerial time was our ambition. After 2 hours, with the rising tide, the spot transformed into a not so surfable small monster that breaks directly onto some sharp rocks. So even making it into the flat in front of the lip you would have ended on the rocks. Alex, Lampie and Sandro then sailed another spot for one more hour.

I cant wait for a similar forecast to happen. I know someone who will also keep an eye on that…Will this wave let us more often have some magical moments with her?

I hope all of you will find your own magic moments out there windsurfing, as often as you desire… Greetz from Tenerife.

In a sun- and action filled weekend, Kiri Thode defended his Freestyle title successfully and Taty Frans took the Slalom pro division with ease. 85 windsurfers  from some of the world’s best surf countries, Bonaire, Aruba and Curacao, competed in front of hundreds of spectators. In its fifth year, the Curacao Challenge again proved to be an event where high level of competition is mixed with a great atmosphere.

Kiri Thode

Freestyle
There wasn’t enough wind for the freestyle pros to perform their usual arsenal of tricks so a special tow-in sessions was organized, where the surfer gains high speeds by being pulled by a jet ski before letting go and doing a spectacular move. Tow-in competition is gaining popularity worldwide as the public can see the moves close to shore and no wind is needed. Remarkable were the efforts by local windsurfer Rafael de Windt, who went for extreme maneuvers but placed 4th behind the big three from Bonaire. Kiri Thode took first place, followed by Björn Saragoza and Taty Frans. Other competitors were Amado Vrieswijk and Quincy Offringa.

Taty Frans up in front

Slalom
Taty Frans did take home the slalom title in front of one the most beautiful beaches of Curacao with clear turquoise Caribbean water, the so-called Directors Bay. The 1st day of competition featured 20 knots of wind and a total of 7 ocean heats raced, which set a record for the Curacao Challenge. Kiri Thode proved to be very capable on a slalom board and took second place. Jean Patrick van der Wolde, another local Curacao talent, placed third.In the amateur divisions, Curacao showed where its real future of windsurfing is, with over 15 female competitors and some raw talent in winners Mylene de Vries and Evi Brandt.

Team Curacao Challenge

All smiles
The 3-day surf event was characterized by smiles, which showed at the award ceremony where, although Bonaire took the biggest prizes, the local talents climbed the podium with happy faces and pride. Taty Frans produced the biggest smiles of all, which truly makes him one of the greatest ambassadors and inspirations for the sport of windsurfing. He arrived on Curacao by surfing from Bonaire to Curacao in a world record 1 hour and 40 minutes for a fundraiser for his friend Jayson Muller.

Taty Frans powering ahead in the SUP Racing

Stand Up Paddle
For the first time on Curacao, a SUP competition was held. With 48 competitors this sport rapidly becomes popular on Curacao. Again, Bonaire took control and Taty Frans claimed the title with a board length after 4 rounds of elimination, followed by Ingmar Schnitzler and Felix Martina, both from Curacao.

Next year
Both the organization and the competitors are excited for the sixth edition in 2014, where the international focus of the event will be continued and hopefully generates more competitors from Aruba, Bonaire and possibly even neighboring country Venezuela.

The Curacao Challenge was sponsored by Amstel Bright, Goisco, Insel Air, HICC, EWT, het Kinderfeestje, PRGV, Windsurfing Curacao, Merlin Internet Marketing, Securitas, Dolfijn FM and many more.

Curacao has great wind conditions year round with trade winds blowing at around 20 knots. With an average of 8 sun hours a day and absolutely no need for a wetsuit, this beautiful Caribbean island is a windsurfer’s dream. The conditions are similar to neighboring islands Aruba and Bonaire, which are two of the world’s most popular windsurf destinations.

Event website – http://www.curacaochallenge.com
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/curacaochallenge

You’ll find all the details on the poster below and be sure to email info@tws-windsurf.com to reserve your space or find out more details.

Want to see Alex in action, here is his latest video of him shredding in Tenerife!

Lady SQ also looking worthy of a knighthood

“On the 1st of May I received a recognition for being 6 times world champion from the Aruban governor Fredis Refunjol with consent from Queen Beatrix of Holland.

I was knighted and am now a knight in the order of Orange Nassau. I was the youngest person to be knighted this year in the Netherlands.
It’s quite special as this was the last time Queen Beatrix would give her consent for these recognitions as she has abdicated in favor of her son King Willem-Alexander.

My parents flew in from Holland, my brother was there, many friends as well as Aruban Parliamentarians including prime minister Mike Eman.
I gave a short speech and most of all have to thank God for blessing me with all of these achievements.

Furthermore everything I achieved up until now has been because of the input of so many people! Biggest thank you goes to my parents Ruud, Esther and my brother Quincy for being my role-models in everything they do.

I actually made it on national television as well with some freestyle footage so that was cool!  It would be cool to get more exposure for the sport!
I have received a massive response to all of this and can’t put in words how much I appreciate all of it!”

The official PWA event preview has been released, read all about what is in store below as we head into the first stage of the PWA Slalom Tour.

Event Preview: Prepare for adrenaline-fueled slalom as the PWA returns to South Korea

This forecast was pretty well predicted a fair way in advance, in fact it came off the back of a few windy days before so i had been sailing a fair bit and was into the groove.  But I didn’t expect it to come through that strong!

Normally when it blows strong in Rhossy it gets to 3.7m weather, but it is still quite manageable, this day it was at a whole other level; the wind was so strong it was chopping up the waves and making it super hard to keep the thing on the water.

One of the pilots from the neighboring RAF valley gave a phone call through to the weather tower where they were reading a steady 58 knots whilst we were sailing.  That’s pretty scary windy!  It’s not like the Canaries where it’s warmer and some how softer, this was a full blown cold wind storm!

Because the day before had been a classic 4.7 day, wall to wall sunshine, and would have been great for filming, I decided that today, with the odd ray of sunshine at my house 30 minutes away would be the same.  I somehow managed to talk my girlfriend Maike into coming with me, I said, it’ll be just like Cape Town (!!!) where she’s done sterling jobs behind the lens on many occasions before. I advised her to wrap warm as you never know with British weather and so on….. Knowing full well there was a front pushing nearly 60 knots ahead of it!!  Add to that the fact that she is six and a half months pregnant and has a stomach like a bowling ball, needs a bathroom every 10 minutes and had to negotiate my way out of antenatal classes for that evening, I thought I did a pretty good job to get any footage at all!!

The sailing was hard work, you know it’s strong when the seaweed is blowing along the beach.  I rigged my Gaastra Manic 3.7 and my Tabou Pocket Wave 75, that was the smallest gear I had; the sail felt pretty good in the hands despite the fact that I was getting my arms pulled off! I could always point it where I wanted it to go, I just couldn’t always sheet in with it! It’s rare but days like this is when I need a 3.3! Every jump and piece of white water I found myself unhooking and quickly my forearms got pumped, add to that a few bottom turns and I had arms like Popeye in no time!

I couldn’t really do too much, there were some big backloops but even they are super tricky, you pass through the apex of the wind and there is still bags of pressure in the sail, so you accelerate down towards the water and the landing has to be spot on or it’s an explosion!

I managed to squeeze in a few pushloop tables but the thought of going over the front into a forward was too much; no way!!  I think if you go for it like that everything has to be perfect, otherwise you sheet in and anything could happen!

If nothing else it was good practise ahead of the first rounds of the UK tour in May, it’s unlikely but you never know we may get something like that for the event here, how crazy would that be!  After Rhosneigr it’s Ireland and as we’ve seen before anything can happen there.

See you all there! Phil

As always Boardseeker will be providing you with podcasts from all of the BWA events, thanks to our film maker Alfie Hart, so stay tuned to Boardseeker for all the latest footage. You can also keep up to date with more info on the BWA on our sister site www.boards.co.uk and the BWA website here.