Fly! ANA PWA Slalom World Cup 2017

FEATURED EVENT

Japan

The second and final stop of the Asian leg of the 2017 PWA Slalom World Tour sees the best slalom sailors in the world returning to Japan for the first time in 24 years. Tsukuihama Beach will be in the windsurfing limelight for the next 6 days with the Fly ANA! PWA World Cup running between the 11th-16th May.

Reigning World Champion - Matteo Iachino

After the first event of the season there’s still plenty of questions to be answered with just the one elimination being completed in the women’s division, but hopefully the wind God’s will be more generous in Japan than they were in South Korea.

Tsukuihama Beach, Yokosuka City, is situated approximately 80km southwest of Japan’s capital Tokyo. Yokosuka blends city life with the sea, while also being a Naval Port. Yokosuka occupies most of the Miura Peninsula and is bordered by the mouth of Tokyo Bay to the east and Sagami Bay on the west, which provides a beautiful backdrop. As Tsukuihama Beach is almost completely protected it should provide great flat water racing conditions. As well as its maritime connections Yokosuka is also famous for it’s locally grown produce and there is even a tourist farm where you can pick your own strawberries, sweet potatoes or tangerines depending on the time of year.

Ones to Watch

Women’s

Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) holds the early season advantage heading into the second event of the year after the 25-year-old made the perfect start to her title defence by claiming the open victory of the year ahead of Lena Erdil (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360).

Current world tour leader - Sarah-Quita Offringa

Erdil looked extremely quick on the straights and almost caught Offringa on the opening reach in Ulsan, but couldn’t quite do enough in the opening battle of the year, but even at this early stage of the season it looks as though it could develop into another fight for the title between Offringa and Erdil as they rivalry intensifies.

Lena Erdil

The prestigious podium was completed by Marion Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails) in South Korea as the 25-year-old made a bold start to the season with her best performance since 2015. Now it will be interesting if she can sustain that level over the rest of the season and possibly even apply pressure on the top two.

Marion Mortefon

With two-world titles to her name - Delphine Cousin Questel (Starboard / S2Maui) - certainly can’t be written off, but she already faces an uphill battle to add to her previous world titles after missing the winners’ final in South Korea. Expect to see an immediate reaction from Cousin Questel as she looks to get her season back on track.

Delphine Cousin Questel

Esther de Geus (JP / Point-7) and Nimet Tulumen (KA Sail) both spent the winter training in Tenerife and both were rewarded with their best results so far as they finished 4th and 8th respectively.

Esther de Geus

Meanwhile, Maëlle Guilbaud (Patrik / LoftSails) and Oda Johanne (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) also recorded their best performances on the world tour after finishing 5th and 6th.

Maëlle Guilbaud

The Japanese quartet of Fujiko Onishi (99NoveNove / Point-7) - 4th overall last year - Yuki Sunaga (LoftSails) - 6th for 2016 - Ayako Suzuki (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic) and Mio Anayama (Starboard / MauiSails) will also be hoping to produce a big performance on home waters.

Start line action - Yuki Sunaga

Elsewhere, you can expect to see Cagla Kubat (Starboard / Point-7) and Fulya Ünlü (Starboard / Point-7 / Mystic) bounce back from disappointing starts to the season.

Fulya Ünlü

Men’s

Even though it was not possible to complete an elimination in South Korea, we still learnt a few things heading into the second event of the year, and it looks as though the usual suspects will be battling it out for top honours again over the coming season with five out of the eight sailors who qualified for the winners’ final - which was not completed - coming from last years overall top 10:

- World champion Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) - who crept under the radar slightly as he quietly went about his business while on his way to the final.

Matteo Iachino

- Vice-world champion Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins) - who had shot into the lead in the winners’ final and will be disappointed that it was cancelled as even at that early stage it looked as though he would be hard to catch. The Frenchman looks set for another title run in, in 2017.

Pierre Mortefon

- Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) - 4th in 2016 - who again used his excellent gybing and pace to recover from seemingly tricky situations with a minimum amount of fuss.

Julien Quentel

- Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic) - 6th in 2016 - admitted he didn’t time his starts as well as he could have, but was delighted with being able to slice his way back through the field.

Taty Frans

- Cyril Moussilmani (99NoveNove / Severne) - 8th in 2016 - eventually escaped from the heat of doom.

Cyril Moussilmani

The other sailors to qualify for the incomplete winners’ final included:

- Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails), who looked very impressive when winning his semifinal ahead of Mortefon and the German will no doubt be a threat again here in Japan.

Sebastian Kördel

- Maciek Rutkowski (Tabou / GA Sails), who backed up the rumours that he’d been flying over the winter by making it all the way to final. The Pole will be gutted, as will the rest of the sailors, that the heat couldn’t be completed as that would have bettered any result he managed last season.

Maciek Rutkowski

- And Marco Lang (Fanatic / NorthSails), who despite still recovering from a shoulder injury looked blisteringly quick and the Austrian should be in the mix again over the next six days.

Marco Lang

Last year’s world No.3 Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) will undoubtably be challenging for the top five and beyond again. The Brit was eliminated in the quarterfinals in South Korea, but that can be ignored as he was underpowered in Heat 9 and before that he’d barely missed out on the top 10 for the last two seasons.

Ross Williams

Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) looks in potentially menacing form coming into Japan. The 23-time world champion was qualifying for the final in virtually every attempt to run Heat 14 in South Korea, until a premature start in extremely light winds saw him eliminated. AA also sounded quietly confident when talking to him and he’s apparently happier with this year’s setup.

Antoine Albeau

Elsewhere, Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / NorthSails) looks to have stepped up his game again over the winter and he too comfortably qualified for the semifinals, while also being in the top 4 during several efforts to complete the semifinal. The Dutchman showed excellent pace and he’ll be hoping he can continue that here.

Jordy Vonk

Seamless Transitions

Ben van der Steen (Patrik / Gun Sails) looks to have made a smooth transition on to his new equipment after changing sponsors during the winter as he too made the top 16. As has Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / GA Sails / Chopper Fins), who changed sail brands over the winter. The Frenchman won his second round heat as well as his quarterfinal before jumping the gun in the semis.

Ben van der Steen

You can also expect to see Argentine Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins), Israel’s Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde), France’s Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / LoftSails / Chopper Fins) as well as many more challenging for the top ten and beyond, while 18-year-old Basile Jacquin (Starboard / Point-7) will be hoping to continue the form which carried him into the semifinals.

Pascal Toselli

Also keep an eye out for the local Japanese sailors who will be hoping to use their home waters to their advantage to cause a few upsets a long the way.

Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com between the 11th-16th May to see how the second event of the season develops.

To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Japan — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Schedule for Day 1:

Registration - 10am-12pm (GMT+9)

Skippers’ Meeting - 1pm (GMT+9)

First Possible Start - 2:30pm (GMT+9)

Overall Ranking 2017 Women’s PWA Slalom World Tour - After One Event

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)

2nd Lena Erdil (Starboard./ Point-7 / AL360)

3rd Marion Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails)

4th Esther de Geus (JP / Point-7)

5th Maëlle Guilbaud (Patrik / LoftSails)

6th Oda Johanne (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins)

7th Yuki Sunaga (LoftSails)

8th Nimet Tulumen (KA Sail)

= 9th Ayako Suzuki JPN61 (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic)

= 9th Maria Shapkina (Starboard)

FEATURED EVENT

Japan

Highlights Day 2 - Fly! ANA Yokosuka PWA World Cup

Day three of the Fly! ANA PWA World Cup started with barely a breath of wind with Tsukuihama Beach seemingly stuck in the middle of a volatile low-pressure weather system. Over the duration of the morning and early afternoon the torrential rain continued to pour, on what was generally a miserable day, but at around 2:30pm the forecast wind began to arrive to offer a glimmer of hope.

Umbrellas at the ready

Racing started soon after, but conditions remained extremely tricky with gusty and shifty winds once again playing havoc at times. However, by the end of the third day, a result has been gained for the women’s fleet, while only the top 16 men remain standing in the men’s - a position which echoes memories of the recent event in South Korea.

Women’s

Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) produced another dominant performance as she led from start to finish - just as she did in South Korea - to claim her second bullet of the season in as many races. The 25-year-old has made the perfect start to her title defence and if she continues this rich vein of form it is extremely difficult to see anyone stopping her from claiming a hat-trick of world titles.

Victory for Sarah-Quita Offringa

After missing out on the winners’ final in South Korea, due to a snapped outhaul - Delphine Cousin Questel (Starboard / S2Maui) - knew it was imperative to make a quick start here if she wanted to get her season back on track, and that’s exactly what the former two-time world champion managed to do as she hit back with a solid second place in the opening race of the week.

Delphine Cousin Questel hits back

Meanwhile, Lena Erdil (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360) continued her sharp start to the season as she secured third place ahead of Maëlle Guilbaud (Patrik / LoftSails) and Esther de Geus (JP / Point-7).

Marion Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails), who started the season with a third place, was unhappy to miss out on the winners’ final, but she regained her composure to win the losers’ final ahead of fellow compatriot Marion Dusart(Patrik / Gun Sails) and Oda Johanne (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins).

Men’s

In the men’s draw there were plenty of changes in comparison to Korea as Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails), Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic), Maciek Rutkowski (Tabou / GA Sails) and Marco Lang (Fanatic / NorthSails) all missed out on a place in the winners’ final this time around.

Today also saw a mixture of fortune. In Heat 5 - Nicolas Warembourg (JP / NeilPryde) - was on the unfortunate side of luck, as when the Frenchman was qualifying for the quarterfinals, he was impeded by weed around his fin, which cost him dearly as Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde), Josh Angulo (Angulo / S2Maui), Benjamin Augé (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg) and Andrea Rosati (RRD / LoftSails) all qualified - with the real tale being that Rosati, who would’ve otherwise missed out, then going on to qualify for the winners’ final.

Andrea Rosati takes full advantage of his slice of luck

Vice-world champion - Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins) - produced a great piece of work late on in Heat 10 as he fought back to snatch the final qualifying place into the semifinals from Maciek Rutkowski. After a slightly slow start, Mortefon then recaptured the form expected of him as he went on to win his semifinal to comfortably qualify for the winners’ final.

Pierre Mortefon on the comeback trail

In the first semifinal - Josh Angulo and Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) - were both disqualified for premature starts, while Finian Maynard (99NoveNove / GunSails) was fortunate that his premature start was overturned due to the wind being deemed unsuitable in the run up to the next start. The 42-year-old has lost 10 kilos over the winter and he’s already starting to see the fruits of his labour after booking his place in the winners’ final as he, Mortefon, Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins) and Rosati all advanced from Heat 13.

Finian Maynard books place in top 8

There was further drama in Heat 14, which almost proved to be the Heat of Doom again, with several efforts being needed to successfully complete the heat.

On once occasion, Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde), looked to be comfortably qualifying for the final, until getting caught out by the weed as he rounded the third buoy, which caused him to go over the handlebars and allow his rivals to overtake. Luckily for AA a wind shift on the last reach meant that several sailors were unable to finish the course and a resail was called for, which was extremely harsh on Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde), who had sailed fantastically to secure third place - and a spot in the final - only to see his hard work undone through no fault of his own.

Antoine Albeau up in arms

Upon the resail Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / NorthSails) produced a brilliant performance to win the heat ahead of reigning world champion - Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7 / Shamal Windsurfing / Sunglasses) - and Albeau, while there was an amazing cat and mouse battle for the remaining spot in the final between Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) and Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui), which the man from Saint Maarten eventually won.

All smile for the flying Dutchman - Jordy Vonk

The winners’ final was started on a couple of times, but unfortunately, on both occasions, it had to be cancelled due to the wind dropping below 7 knots. With the light quickly fading and the boats needing to return to harbour the competition was officially called off at 6:15pm.

Julien Quentel leading the second attempt to run the winners' final before it was cancelled

The forecast for tomorrow shows the possibility of some marginal wind in the morning with northerly winds of 12-19 knots currently being predicted. With this in mind, the skippers’ meeting has been called for 7:30am with the action commencing from 8am (GMT+9) - if conditions allow.

To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Japan — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Current Event Ranking 2017 Fly! ANA Yokosuka PWA World Cup - *After One Elimination

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)

2nd Delphine Cousin (Starboard / S2Maui)

3rd Lena Erdil (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360)

4th Maëlle Guilbaud (Patrik / LoftSails)

5th Esther de Geus (JP / Point-7)

6th Fulya Ünlü (Starboard / Point-7 / Mystic)

7th Çağla Kubat (Starboard / Point-7)

8th Ayako Suzuki (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic)

9th Fujiko Onishi (99NoveNove / Point-7)

10th Mio Anayama (Starboard / MauiSails)

FEATURED EVENT

Japan

Highlights Day 3 - Fly! ANA Yokosuka PWA World Cup

The wind eventually delivered on day four of the 2017 Fly! ANA Yokosuka PWA World Cup - allowing the first men’s elimination of the season to be completed and it was Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti), who struck to claim the opening bullet, to sit proudly at the top of the event rankings with two days to go.

All smiles for Julien Quentel

Earlier in the day, the first exhibition foil races of the week were completed, which saw Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) deliver a masterclass with two victories and a narrow second place in the three races completed. Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui) won the third race to prevent Albeau from completing a quickfire hat-trick, but AA still holds a comprehensive lead at the top.

Antoine Albeau Foiling

Women’s

Elimination Two

In the first women’s semifinal the top seeds made no mistakes as Lena Erdil (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360), Delphine Cousin Questel (Starboard / S2Maui), and Marion Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails) safely navigated their way into the winners’ final along with Yuki Sunaga (LoftSails), who did well to battle back and grab 4th place ahead of Fulya Ünlü (Starboard / Point-7 / Mystic), who grabbed the last place qualifying place after finishing 5th.

Lena Erdil

Current event and world tour leader - Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) - made no mistakes in the second semifinal as she went on to win the heat ahead of Maëlle Guilbaud (Patrik / LoftSails), Fujiko Onishi (99NoveNove / Point-7), Oda Johanne (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) and Marianne Rautelin (Patrik / LoftSail), but there was disappointment for Esther de Geus (JP / Point-7) as the 25-year-old missed out on a place in the winners’ final for the first time this season.

Qualification Battle - Yuki Sunaga, Fulya Ünlü, Çagla Kubat (Left, middle, right)

Men’s

Elimination One

Winners’ Final

The first attempt to run the winners’ final today resulted in a cancellation due to the wind dropping below 7 knots when Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / NorthSails) was leading the heat. Upon the restart, Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins) timed his start perfectly, just as he had done in the previous effort, but the Argentine’s hopes were then dashed with weed around his fin, all but ending his chances of winning the final.

Instead, it was Quentel and Finian Maynard (99NoveNove / Gun Sails), who were left to fight it out as the fleet headed to the opening mark, but it was Quentel who seized the initiative as the man from Saint Maarten produced a textbook gybe to dive down the inside of Maynard to break into the lead. Quentel had been leading the winners’ final yesterday before it was cancelled, but there was no cancellation this time around as the 30-year-old held tight to secure the first bullet of the season.

Julien Quentel threading the needle

Behind him, Vonk managed to manoeuvre himself into the top two and the flying Dutchman, who has looked dangerous both here and South Korea, deservedly earned himself his best result in an elimination so far as he secured a brilliant second place.

A delighted Jordy Vonk

Meanwhile, Maynard, was desperately unlucky as the seaweed caused more havoc, which resulted in him losing out on 3rd place to Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) just before the finish line with Maynard completing the course sideways. The 42-year-old was bitterly disappointed, but fourth still marks an excellent result.

Finian Maynard

Andrea Rosati (RRD / Loft Sails) secured 5th place while reigning world champion and vice-world champion - Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) and Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins) - had to settle for 6th and 7th place respectively.

Pierre Mortefon desperately jumping to try and clear his fin

Julien Quentel after winning the opening race: “The conditions were very hard, so I’m super happy to get the win. I went down the first reach with Finian [Maynard] and there was only a small gap but I managed to gybe inside, maybe last year I wouldn’t have gone for it, but this year I’m going for it. I’m feeling more confident on my gear this year as it's my second year with Patrik and Avanti and now I have the boards and sails that I want, so I’d like to say thanks for them both and of course thanks to my friends and family and everyone supporting me.“

Handsfree - Julien Quentel

Flying Dutchman - Jordy Vonk : “I had a pretty bad start, but I caught a gust and I think I had some advantage because I was on 8.4m, when the other guys were on 9.0m or 9.4m, so I was able to go between Antoine [Albeau] and Gonzalo [Costa Hoevel] and I took the first mark in third place and then I was trying to chase down Julien, but I couldn’t quite do that. But second is sick. I’m super happy - especially after leading the last winners’ final until the final mark and then having it cancelled. I was just trying to stay calm. Thanks to my family, my girlfriend, friends and sponsors.”

Jordy Vonk holds his nerve

In the losers’ final, Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) and Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails) secured the remaining places in the top 10 - with the Brit holding off a stern challenge from the German to finish 9th and 10th, respectively, while Cyril Moussilmani (99NoveNove / Severne) and Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui) were the next closest challengers.

Ross Williams

Elimination Two

The opening round of the second elimination was also completed and so far there has been no major upsets. The local Japanese sailors enjoyed an excellent first round though with Akihiko Yamada (Patrik / LoftSails), Tomohiko Suzuki (Fanatic / NorthSails) and Tomohiko Komai (Starboard / GA Sails) all advancing from Heat 1, while Norio Asano (Fanatic / S2Maui) was also able to book his place in the next round.

Norio Asano

The forecast currently predicts moderate to strong winds for tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully, there will be the opportunity to complete further eliminations. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 9:30am with the action commencing from 10am (GMT+9).

To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Japan — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Current Event Ranking 2017 Fly! ANA Yokosuka PWA World Cup - Women’s Slalom *After One Elimination

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)

2nd Delphine Cousin (Starboard / S2Maui)

3rd Lena Erdil (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360)

4th Maëlle Guilbaud (Patrik / LoftSails)

5th Esther de Geus (JP / Point-7)

6th Fulya Ünlü (Starboard / Point-7 / Mystic)

7th Çağla Kubat (Starboard / Point-7)

8th Ayako Suzuki (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic)

9th Fujiko Onishi (99NoveNove / Point-7)

10th Mio Anayama (Starboard / MauiSails)

Current Event Ranking 2017 Fly! ANA Yokosuka PWA World Cup - Men’s Slalom *After One Elimination

1st Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti)

2nd Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / NorthSails)

3rd Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)

4th Finian Maynard (99NoveNove / Gun Sails)

5th Andrea Rosati (RRD / LoftSails)

6th Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses)

7th Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins)

8th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel ARG3 (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins)

FEATURED EVENT

Japan

Highlights Day 4 - Fly! ANA Yokosuka PWA World Cup

Unfortunately the forecast for the penultimate day of the 2017 Fly! ANA Yokosuka PWA World Cup proved to be inaccurate again with the wind never rising above 10 knots - meaning the men’s and women’s slalom fleets stayed on hold for the day.

Instead, the sailors involved in the foiling exhibition took centre stage once again as a further 4 races were completed in light winds - generally between 4-9 knots.

Foil Fleet

After a rousing performance yesterday - Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde), who was leading the foil rankings overnight- surprisingly failed to win a race today as he recorded two, 3rd places and a 4th, which has seen him fall to 3rd overall with the two discards after 7 races.

Antoine Albeau

Fellow countryman - Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui) - now heads the rankings after another extremely consistent day which saw the 32-year-old record one victory, two, seconds and a third. Questel’s level of performance has been so high that out of the 7 races completed, he has only finished out of the top 3 once.

Antoine Questel takes a bullet and the top spot in the rankings

Meanwhile, Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde) enjoyed a fine day as the Dane won the opening two races, before finishing second and fifth in the remaining races. Kornum discards the latter 5th place and currently sits in second overall just 1 point behind Questel.

Sebastian Kornum

Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins) is also still in the hunt after winning the final race of the day, but things could’ve been even better for the Argentine if he hadn't have dropped his gybe, in the opening race, at the last mark when clear of the rest of the pack. After hitting something in the water in the first race yesterday, which resulted in a damaged fin box and a 9th place, Costa Hoevel has recovered nicely by not finishing outside the top 4 in the last 6 races.

Gonzalo Costa Hoevel

After another day of waiting for the wind we took the opportunity to catch up with Turkish beauty - Lena Erdil (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360) - who is the women’s slalom vice-world champion and currently sits second in this year’s rankings after Korea. Heading into the final day in Japan, Erdil currently occupies the final place on the podium in 3rd place. You can read our interview with Lena below and also view her brilliant new movie ‘Windsurfing Game’ by visiting @ https://vimeo.com/216535073.

Lena Erdil

What makes Cape Town such a special place for you that you keep going back?

I think Cape Town just has it all city life, nature, wind, waves and sunshine. I think especially during the European winter it is one of the most consistently windy and wavy places in the world.

During the winter you often go away and leave the slalom equipment behind for a month or two - do you think that helps you refresh with regard to your slalom training?

Yes, actually I think it’s good for me to have a break from slalom sailing, especially as when I get back I still have 3 months to restart from scratch with all the new equipment. Wave sailing is more dynamic than slalom sailing and I also do a lot of SUP-ing, so I think my winter training is actually pretty solid the way it is. I’ve been doing it this way for a few winters now and I think what’s also particularly good is that by the time I start slalom training again I am usually super amped to get back into it.

What is it that you love about slalom sailing?

The thing I love most is the actual racing with the girls! We have a great level on the tour and it’s just so fun to properly fight it out with the best women in the world! Of course, preparation is a big part of that and I also enjoy the training a lot - here I would say that tuning is my least favourite and that the race simulation again is the best

And then in comparison what is it that you love about wave sailing?

Wave sailing allows me to really push myself out of my comfort zone in pretty much every single session! I love feeling the power of the waves and I love getting humbled by the forces of nature. It’s a rush of adrenaline that is totally different to slalom sailing for me.

You started the year off with an excellent second place in Korea - are you feeling happy with your speed and setup?

Yes, the two races I got to sail I felt really happy with my speed and super comfortable on my Starboard’s and Point7’s. Of course, it is hard to say more after just two races, but yeah I am happy and excited for more racing!

I think in general at the moment all the sailors here are so hungry for racing, after a long winter of preparation, that it's quite a strange atmosphere now, excitement mixed with frustration about the waiting… But like in the movie I can only say that that's windsurfing for you, conditions are never in our hands and all we can ever do is try and adapt as well as we possibly can to whatever the conditions through at us…

Coming back to the event here - this is the first event in Japan for 24 years - have you ever been to Japan before and what do you think of it so far?

I love Japan!!! I’m excited to have the World Cup here. We received such a warm welcome by the organisers and sailors, and the Japanese people, in general, are so polite and always trying to help, it feels good to be here.

On the beach people are asking for autographs and pictures - it really looks like the windsurfing community in Japan is doing super well. The beach set up looks great and the only thing missing to make this a truly epic event is the wind!

I’ve been to Japan once before for 3 days in Tokyo, while on the way to New Caledonia, already then I was fascinated by the culture and especially the way in which high-technology is so effortlessly integrated into people’s everyday life.

After the conclusion of the event here you’ll then have a break until September - how will you be spending the summer months?

I’m going to be in Turkey for the summer at Lena Erdil Windsurf Centre in Bodrum, I am planning to run a few advanced windsurf clinics there and generally take this chance of not having many races this summer to be more involved at the centre. I think it’s possible that I’ll add some more last minute trips to my agenda, but for now, nothing is sure, to stay up to date you can follow my social media pages

Instagram: @lenaerdil 

Facebook: @lenaerdilwindsurf 

Twitter: @LenaErdil

Thanks, Lena - Good luck for the final day tomorrow

If you missed the earlier link to Lena’s new movie ‘Windsurfing Game’ here it is again @ https://vimeo.com/216535073

The forecast for tomorrow looks very light on paper, but so far this week nothing has gone to forecast so anything could still happen heading into the final day. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 8:30am with the racing commencing from 9am (GMT+9) - if conditions allow.

To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Japan — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Current Event Ranking 2017 Fly! ANA Yokosuka PWA World Cup - Women’s Slalom
*After One Elimination

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)

2nd Delphine Cousin (Starboard / S2Maui)

3rd Lena Erdil (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360)

4th Maëlle Guilbaud (Patrik / LoftSails)

5th Esther de Geus (JP / Point-7)

6th Fulya Ünlü (Starboard / Point-7 / Mystic)

7th Çağla Kubat (Starboard / Point-7)

8th Ayako Suzuki (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic)

9th Fujiko Onishi (99NoveNove / Point-7)

10th Mio Anayama (Starboard / MauiSails)

Current Event Ranking 2017 Fly! ANA Yokosuka PWA World Cup - Men’s Slalom

*After One Elimination

1st Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti)

2nd Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / NorthSails)

3rd Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)

4th Finian Maynard (99NoveNove / Gun Sails)

5th Andrea Rosati (RRD / LoftSails)

6th Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses)

7th Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins)

8th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel ARG3 (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins)

9th Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Glasses)

10th Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails)

Current Rankings Fly! ANA Yokosuka PWA World Cup - Foil Exhibition
*After 7 Races

1st Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui)

2nd Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde)

3rd Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)

4th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins)

5th Mateus Isaac (JP / NeilPryde)

6th Malte Reuscher (JP / NeilPryde)

7th William Huppert (Fanatic / NorthSails)

8th Maciek Rutkowski (Tabou / GA Sails)

9th Nicolas Warembourg (JP / Warembourg)

10th Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne)

FEATURED EVENT

Japan

Highlights Day 6 - Fly! ANA Yokosuka PWA World Cup

The PWA received an extremely warm welcome upon their return to Japan for the first time in 24 years and while the wind wasn’t always on our side during the last six days - the Fly! ANA PWA World Cup was extremely well supported by the locals, who clearly loved having their windsurfing idols on their home beach - while showing that windsurfing is alive and well in Japan.

Thankfully, there was just enough wind to gain results in both the men’s and women’s fleets, which saw Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) and Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) claim their places on the top of the prestigious podium after winning the sole elimination completed in each division.

Men's and Women's Top 3

When the wind remained too light for slalom, foiling took centre stage and over the last 6 days, 7 races were completed and after showing an unbelievable level of consistency, Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui) walks away from the foil exhibition with top honours after recording counting results of 2 victories and three, 2nd’s. Although he was fortunate that the 8th race couldn’t be completed as the 32-year-old was disqualified for a premature start, which would’ve opened the door for Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde), Antoine Albeau(RRD / NeilPryde) and Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins), who finished second, third and fourth respectively.Antoin

Antoine Questel

Women’s

Sarah-Quita Offringa consolidates her place at the top of the rankings after producing another dominant performance to preserve her perfect record so far this season, which has seen her win every heat she has sailed in 2017. Offringa is the reigning world champion and it looks as though it’s going to be very hard for anyone to stop her now with two events to go.

Sarah-Quita Offringa on her perfect start to the year: “I’m feeling good. I’m happy to have won the second event. Even though we’ve only had two races overall because there’s really been no room for error as if you make a mistake it's immediately over. So, in that regard, I’m very happy to have won the opening two events. After this, we only have two more events - Denmark and New Caledonia - which I’m looking forward to. I just really want to get on the water and race more because it’s really challenging now to be on the water with all the girls, which makes it so much fun to race. For now though I’ll switch my focus to wave and freestyle.”

Sarah-Quita Offringa

Lena Erdil (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360) remains Offringa’s closest rival after backing up her solid second place in South Korea by securing the final place on the podium here in Japan, but the 28-year-old will have her work cut out if she wants to stop Offringa this season with the Aruban gem opening a 3.6 point advantage at the top of the rankings.

Lena Erdil

Esther de Geus (JP / Point-7) will have breathed a sigh of relief that the second elimination couldn’t be completed after missing out on the winners’ final for the first time this season, but as a result, she walks away with 5th place, which sees her rise to 3rd overall. The 25-year-old has made a huge amount of progress over the winter and looks set to be battling it out for the podium places.

Esther de Geus

Delphine Cousin Questel (Starboard / S2Maui) produced an almost perfect response, after missing out on the winners’ final in South Korea, as she bounced back to claim second place to kick start her season. The former two-time world champion still has no room for error in the remaining two events, but she has at least giving herself a fighting chance of being involved at the business end of the season. After her second place in Japan, Cousin Questel rises to 5th overall.DelDelphne

Delphine Cousin Questel

Meanwhile, Maëlle Guilbaud (Patrik / LoftSails) continued her excellent start to the season and the 20-year-old is showing the kind of consistency necessary to challenge for the overall podium, while also emerging as one of the most exciting young talents on the tour. After the opening two events, Guilbaud is tied with Esther de Geus in 3rd.

Maëlle Guilbaud

Men’s

Last year’s world No.4 - Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti) - makes a flying start to the year with the man from Saint Maarten claiming the opening bullet of the season and with just the one race so far in 2017, Quentel takes the early season lead. The 30-year-old has been training hard over the winter, while consciously trying to be more aggressive on the water and added: “I’m very happy because in the past I’ve made okay starts to the season, but nothing exceptional. So to start the season with a win is brilliant. Now I hope that Costa Brava is windy and we can get more racing in.

I’ve been training hard over the winter so it’s nice to see it pay off with the result here. I spent one month in South Africa training wave and slalom and then one month in Tenerife with Jordy [Vonk] training with the TWS - where I focused on starts.”

When asked about if he is sailing more aggressively while competing Quentel said: “Yes, for sure. Before I wasn’t pushing 100% as hard as I can, but I’ve realised that if I want to win, then I need to treat it like a job and understand that on the water friendships are put aside for a moment while competing, but once back on the beach I’m friends with everyone.”

A winning start for Julien Quentel

Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / NorthSails) made a statement of intent before the start of the season by making it clear that he’s a man on a mission and he’s certainly lived up to it so far. The flying Dutchman looked dangerous in South Korea and he continued that blistering form here to secure second place, which is the 23-year-olds first ever podium on the PWA World Tour and he was understandably delighted saying: “Oh my god I’m super, super stoked, especially after just missing out in Costa Brava last year, so to make it now is just amazing.”

Jordy Vonk

23-time-world champion - Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) - completes the prestigious podium to make a solid start to the season. The 44-year-old shows no signs of slowing down and he looks set for another title run in and you can expect to see him heavily involved in Costa Brava as well.

Antoine Albeau

Finian Maynard (99NoveNove / Gun Sails) may still be a bit disappointed that a clump of seaweed on the final reach cost him a place on the podium to Albeau, but 4th place still represents his best result since 2012. The 42-year-old shredded 10 kilos during the winter and he’ll be happy to see his hard work already paying off.

Finian Maynard

Andrea Rosati (RRD / LoftSails) also records his best result for a few seasons by kicking off the season with a super 5th place.

Andrea Rosati

Meanwhile, reigning world champion and vice-world champion - Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) and Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins) - had to settle for 6th and 7th place respectively, with seaweed, causing havoc, but you can be sure that in Costa Brava both of them will be gunning for the top and both remain two of the favourites for the title despite the result here.

Pierre Mortefon not jumping for joy

Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins) is another sailor to have been impeded by the seaweed. The Argentine made the best start to the winners’ final, but soon saw his chances wilt away, but he still kicks off the season with an 8th place.

Gonzalo Costa Hoevel

Last year’s world No.3 - Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses) - held off a stern challenge from Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails) in the losers’ final, so the Brit starts the year with a 9th place, with Kördel completing the top 10.

Ross Williams

The PWA would like to extend their thanks to all of the sponsors who made the event possible - especially Fly! ANA - and also to the Japanese people for their fantastic reception and hospitality.

To view previous news from Japan — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply clickHERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Current Ranking 2017 Women’s PWA Slalom World Tour:

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)

2nd Lena Erdil (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360)

3rd Maëlle Guilbaud (Patrik / LoftSails)

4th Delphine Cousin (Starboard / S2Maui)

Result 2017 Fly! ANA Yokosuka PWA World Cup - Women’s Slalom

1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)

2nd Delphine Cousin (Starboard / S2Maui)

3rd Lena Erdil (Starboard / Point-7 / AL360)

4th Maëlle Guilbaud (Patrik / LoftSails)

5th Esther de Geus (JP / Point-7)

6th Fulya Ünlü (Starboard / Point-7 / Mystic)

7th Çağla Kubat (Starboard / Point-7)

8th Ayako Suzuki (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic)

9th Fujiko Onishi (99NoveNove / Point-7)

10th Mio Anayama (Starboard / MauiSails)

Result 2017 Fly! ANA Yokosuka PWA World Cup - Men’s Slalom

1st Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti)

2nd Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / NorthSails)

3rd Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)

4th Finian Maynard (99NoveNove / Gun Sails)

5th Andrea Rosati (RRD / LoftSails)

6th Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7 / Shamal Windsurfing Sunglasses)

7th Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails / Chopper Fins)

8th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel ARG3 (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins)

9th Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Windsurfing Glasses)

10th Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / GA Sails)

Result 2017 Fly! ANA Yokosuka PWA World Cup - Foil Exhibition

1st Antoine Questel (Starboard / S2Maui)

2nd Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde)

3rd Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)

4th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Severne / Chopper Fins)

5th Mateus Isaac (JP / NeilPryde)

6th Malte Reuscher (JP / NeilPryde)

7th William Huppert (Fanatic / NorthSails)

8th Maciek Rutkowski (Tabou / GA Sails)

9th Nicolas Warembourg (JP / Warembourg)

10th Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne)