2011 Aruba Hi Winds Grand Slam, PWA Freestyle und Slalom

Tag 7 ist um, heute letzter Tag:

Zitat von PWA

2011 Aruba Hi Winds Grand Slam

Day 7: The tension mounts on competitions penultimate day in dazzling Aruba as the scores draw tantalizingly tight at the top.
The sailors awoke to another day in paradise at the Aruba Hi Winds Grand Slam. The sun blazed down onto the Fisherman’s Huts and the trade winds returned to full strength providing wind between 15-20 knots, perfect for another standout day of slalom.
Race director Juan Antonio Aragon scheduled a mammoth day of competition seeing two more eliminations furiously fought out on the glistening waters, and all but the finals of a further elimination completed.
The PWA caught up with Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Loft / Mystic), to find out his thoughts on Aruba’s playground.
“The conditions are great, the water is warm and the weather is amazing. I have used the same equipment every day, my 8.6m sail and 107 liter board with a 41cm fin. We have sailed the same course each time so all the sailors are used to it, making the racing really exciting. This is an outstanding location for slalom”
An electrifying day saw emotions running high as the sailors gave it everything they had to work their way around the racecourse.
Highs
Fanny Aubet (JP / NeilPryde) was overjoyed to have won her first ever winners final, having displayed an outstanding set of polished skills defeating current event leader, Karin Jaggi (Patrik /Severne) and local legend Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic).
Taty Frans (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic) continues to prove he has what it takes to make it on the slalom tour, steaming into the winner’s final on his 6.6 meter sail. Frans has been labeled the ‘wasp that won’t go away’ by the rest of the fleet as he continues to perform outstanding gybes stealing the top spots from the world’s best.
Offringa scores her third bullet, putting her in an ever stronger position to upset the top spot and claim her second win on her home turf.
Lows
Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / Dunkerbeck Eyewear) made a fatal mistake in the men’s elimination 6 winners final. Heading out to the wrong mark and then crashing in an attempt to rectify his mistake. Dunkerbeck lost out on the race win and potentially the event lead.
Consistent performer Pieter Bijl (JP / NeilPryde) fell victim to another premature start, early into the men’s fifth elimination taking his record up to four in the event so far.
Men’s elimination 5 final – Forcing the front
An explosive start for the men’s final as Taty Frans (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic) and Finian Maynard (RRD) pushed hard for the front of the fleet, resulting in a premature start and their disqualification.
The remaining six sailors were fuelled with adrenaline for the second start. In an attempt to take advantage of the reduced fleet Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde) and Pascal Toselli (RRD / Point-7) pushed ahead, but both sailors timed it fractionally wrong and crossed the line early and were consequently disqualified from the final.
In the third attempt to start the race, Ross Williams (Tabou / Gaastra) give it everything he had at the start in order to go for the victory but it was his turn to fall victim to his own eagerness, leaving just three remaining sailors for the remaining showdown.
Guaranteed a top three finish the remaining sailors made sure they had a clean start. Dunkerbeck was fastest out of the blocks and edged ahead of Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Fanatic / North) and Antoine Questel (Loft), however a rare mistake from the multiple World Champion saw him speed off towards the wrong mark. Costa Hovel seized the opportunity and sailed straight into first place. In an attempt to catch Costa Hovel, Questel flew into the second gybe but lost control seeing him go down, providing Dunkerbeck with an opportunity to catch up. Costa Hoevel held his ground for the remained of the race, whilst Questel and Dunkerbeck battled it out for second and third. The crowds on the beach were ecstatic with the action as Costs Hoevel claimed his first bullet and Questel held of Dunkerbeck who was obviously furious with his costly error.
Men’s elimination 6 final –Bjorn’s confidence boost
The next winner’s final was a much more efficient affair. Albeau opened the race with an initial lead around the first mark, but Dunkerbeck wasn’t going to let him have it so easy. Burning down the second leg Dunkerbeck overtook Albeau and continued to charge his way further in front of the fleet. Down the pack Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North) and Van Der Steen battled it out for third and fourth place seeing Diaz snatch 3rd by a whisker. Dunkerbeck cleaned up in this elimination ensuring the points sit extremely close at the top and everything will come down to the final day of competition.
Women’s elimination 5 final- Aubet’s moment
French slalom specialist Fanny Aubet (JP / NeilPryde) displayed an outstanding set of racing skills during the women’s winner finals. Aubet opened the race with a blinding start followed by a perfect collection of slick gybes and blistering board speed down the straights. Aubet secured her first race win holding first from start to finish. Disaster struck for Jaggi in the winner’s final as she failed to stick her opening gybe taking Colette Guadagnino (JP / NeilPryde) down in the process.
Women’s elimination 6 final – Offringa’s the boss
Disappointed with her previous performance Jaggi stormed the start of the second final closely followed by Offringa. Out of nowhere Cagla Kubat (Starboard / North) managed to cut underneath the two off them to lead at the first mark but her flat out speed wasn’t enough to fend off Offringa or Jaggi who overtook the Turkish celebrity by the third mark. In the ensuing battle, Jaggi tried to cut upwind leaving Offringa with her dirty wind, but when it came to the gybe Offringa spotted her line early and came out fully planing allowing her, to distance herself from the rest of the fleet and secure a well-earned first place.
Results
Men’s Fleet
1st Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde)
2nd Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / Dunkerbeck Eyewear)
3rd Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Loft / Mystic)
4th Gonzalo Cost Hoevel (Fanatic / North)
5th Finian Maynard (RRD)
Women’s Fleet
1st Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne)
2nd Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic)
3rd Fanny Aubet (JP / NeilPryde)
4th Alice Arutkin (Starboard / North)
5th Lena Erdil (Patrik / Loft / AL360)
Another perfect forecast is lined up for the final day of competition; the action will kick off with the final rounds from elimination 7. Tune in at 10am for the skippers meeting and what promises to be another action packed day of racing in Aruba.

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Björn steht schon als Sieger fest. Wenn Ben jetzt das Finale gewinnen sollte, wäre er sogar 2. in Aruba vor Antoine.

Entscheidung fällt in den nächsten 15 Minuten...

pwaworldtour.com

Finale geht jetzt los!

Ben hat es tatsächlich geschafft und ist 2. auf Aruba!

Ja, definitiv. Endlich mal einer zwischen die beiden gefahren...

Und das war Tag 8:

Zitat von PWA

2011 Aruba Hi Winds Grand Slam

Day 8: The tables turn in Aruba seeing Bjorn Dunkerbeck and Sarah-Quita Offringa burst into first place and claim the event crowns.

The tension on the beach could be cut with a knife as the sailors entered the final day of competition, race director Juan Antonio Aragon announced at the skippers meeting that elimination seven would be completed and only one more race would be sailed after that.
With the trusty trade wind’s kicking in around 10:30am, the action picked up with heats one and two of women’s elimination seven. Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne) and Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic) began the day with very little between their scores; both sailors knew they had to be on top form to emerge victorious in Aruba.
In the opening heats both Fanny Aubet (JP / NeilPryde) and Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic) stormed into the top spots having timed their starts to perfection. Both ladies held off the fleet the whole way around the course in order to secure their entry into the final.
The ensuing showdown saw Offringa turn on her turbo chargers and unleash everything she had, in order to claim the valuable victory. Meanwhile the rest of the fleet were caught in a pile-up initiated by Alice Arutkin (Starboard / North). Karin Jaggi somehow managed to avoid the drama until a rough piece of chop caught her out, rendering her unable to complete the race. Offringa’s result bumped her up into first place, leaving everything to play for in the final elimination before it was set in stone.
The men’s elimination seven was full off thrills and spills, seeing Josh Angulo (Angulo / Gun / Dakine) Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North) and Kurosh Kiani (Angulo / Simmer) all lose out in the quarter finals due to premature starts.
Taty Frans (Starboard / MauiSails / Mystic) sailed an incredible set of heats, working his way into the winner’s final for the second time this week, reaching blistering speed on his 6.6m sail while the majority of the fleet were using 8m and up.
Entering the men’s elimination seven winner’s final, Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / DunkerbeckEyewear) sat a fraction of a point behind Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde), the crowds on the beach fell silent as the pressure mounted and the sailors crossed the start line.
Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Loft / Mystic) opened the heat with a perfectly timed start, but lost his lead at the first mark to Dunkerbeck who was fired up and gunning for the vital heat victory. Albeau suffered during the hustle at the start line putting him in an unrecoverable position from the outset. The crowds watched the marks fly by as Albeau managed to work his way into fourth chasing down Van Der Steen, Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Fanatic / North) and his arch nemesis Dunkerbeck but his efforts were in vain as Bjorn succeeded in securing a huge lead on the fleet, marking the turning point in the overall event scores.
After having his claws on the number one position through six eliminations, Albeau had now dropped down into second place and needed to win the final race, with Bjorn at least finishing fifth in order to steal back the victory.
Elimination eight opened up to an explosive first heat, once again Frans caught the attention of the beach as he displayed his lighting speed working his way from fourth into the lead, overtaking Micah Buzianis (JP / NeilPryde) and Sebastian Kordel (NeilPryde) on his way past.
Disaster struck for Costa Hoevel in the second heat, as he over-stepped the start line early, seeing him struck from the elimination. Having had a great run at this event Costa Hoevel was knocked down from fourth to a disastrous eleventh place in the overall standings.
More drama arose in heat five as Kiani erupted out of the starting gates to take the lead, followed by Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde). Surprised by his lead Kiani then made a fatal error and took off towards the fourth mark rather than the second. In an attempt to rectify his mistake, he was forced to put a tack in just in time to watch the rest of the fleet fly past.
Moving into the quarter finals, the pressure to perform increased, leading to more and more premature starts, the first to suffer were Peter Volwater (Fanatic / MauiSails) and Cedric Bordes (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic) in heat twelve, shortly followed by Frans in heat thirteen.
The final and critical crescendo came in heat fourteen, when Ross Williams (Tabou / Gaastra), Ludo Jossin (Loft) and windsurfing icons Albeau and Dunkerbeck all forced too hard and went over early. The dramatic turn of events cemented Dunkerbeck’s event win and left Albeau helpless in the battle for second place leaving the door open for Van Der Steen to snatch the valuable podium spot. With only four men remaining in heat there was no need for it to be run and the racing progressed into the finals.
Having the blessing of the wind gods Van Der Steen had the opportunity to break into the Dunkerbeck, Albeau stronghold over first and second. In order to cause an upset at the top of the ranks it was essential for Van Der Steen to perform to his fullest potential.
Opening the winner’s final Van Der Steen hit the start line right on the button, closely followed by Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / North) and Quentel. In spite of the challenges from the rest of the fleet Van Der Steen delivered an exceptional performance seeing him win the race and slide into second place overall, knocking Albeau down into third.
The PWA caught up with Van Der Steen to find out how he was feeling after such a momentous day.
“I am super stoked; this is my first time in second place at a PWA event. I came in third in Costa Brava, but second is even better. I am right up there with the big boys now.”

Over in the women’s fleet the tension was also causing the sailors to crack under the pressure with one round remaining. The first heat saw Zofia Klepacka (RRD / North) fall victim to a false start. In with a chance of a podium finish Fanny Aubet sailed a perfect race securing herself a position in the winner’s final whilst Mio Anayama of Japan (NeilPryde) crashed hard and failed to complete the race.
In order for Offringa to secure an event win it was essential she made it into the winner’s final. Casting all nerves aside she flew out of the starting gates in the second heat and built up a substantial lead in front of the rest of the fleet securing an easy win.
With everything to play for all eyes were on the women’s winner final. Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic) executed a perfect start securing her an early lead on the pack, followed by Aubet and Jaggi, with Offringa back in fourth. In an aggressive move to chase the number one spot Jaggi took the inside line at the first mark but unfortunately clipped her sail causing her to lose control and fall down. Taking advantage Offringa slipped into third knowing that if he held onto the position she could win the event. Offringa set her sights on second place behind Arrighetti and charged passed Aubet, however not wanting to make a mistake she took the remainder of the course cautiously to secure her event win.
The PWA caught up with Karin Jaggi to find out her thoughts on the weeks racing.
“The week started great with a win, I felt really confident, but then I didn’t manage another one. The start has been quite difficult in the gusty conditions but you have to be right at the front to make it, you can’t come from the back full speed, so I had to get used to that. The racing was great and the level is really high, there are four or five girls winning so that is great to see. In the end Sarah-Quita was more consistent and I am really pleased for her to win on her home ground.”
Quotes from the top
Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / DunkerbeckEyewear)
“This is amazing; my equipment is really fast so I knew if everything was working I could win. I had a few hiccups at the start of the competition, I crashed in the second final, and went to the wrong mark after they had adjusted the course in another, and then after that I won four out of eight. I am really happy that it came down to the last round and I managed to pull it off.
Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic)
“I was quite inconsistent throughout the competition but every time it went well I came in first which meant I didn’t have to fight really hard today. I managed to win the first final today, which put me just ahead of Karin; I then just had to finish in front of her of within fourth to win. Karin crashed at the first mark so from then on I just wanted to win second place and not make any mistakes.”
Results
Men’s Fleet
1st Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / DunkerbeckEyewear)
2nd Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Loft / Mystic)
3rd Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde)
4th Finian Maynard (RRD)
5th Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde)
6th Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / North)
7th Antoine Questel (Loft)
8th Arnon Dagan (Tabou / Gaastra)
9th Taty Frans (Starboard / MauiSails / Mystic)
10th Micah Buzianis (JP / NeilPryde)
Women’s Fleet
1st Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic)
2nd Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne)
3rd Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic)
4th Fanny Aubet (JP / NeilPryde)
5th Alice Arutkin (Starboard / North)
6th Cagla Kubat (Starboard / North)
7th Lena Erdil (Patrik / Loft / AL360)
8th Delphine Cousin (JP / NeilPryde)
9th Zofia Klepacka (RRD / North)
10th Lise Vidal (Exocet / North)
The PWA will now embark on the Canary Islands leg of competition, opening up with Lanzarote for the fifth stop on the men’s freestyle tour, taking place on the Jun 30 - Jul 03.

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Wenn ich das Regelwerk jetzt richtig interpretiere, hat Dunki 3 Matchbälle. Mit dem 4. Worldcup gab es einen Discard-Event, mit dem 7. wird es einen zweiten Streicher geben. 7 Worldcups sollen dies Jahr stattfinden, Wind vorausgesetzt.
Mit dem nächsten Worldcup-Sieg ist Dunki demnach Slalomweltmeister 2011, das kann jetzt auf Fuerte Ende Juli bereits passieren. Danach gibt es noch den Türkei und Sylt Worldcup.
Dunki hat 3 Siege und einen 2. Platz. Antoine Albeau einen Sieg, einen 3. und 2x einen 2. Platz erreicht. Er müsste alle 3 verbliebenen Worldcups gewinnen, um noch aus eigener Kraft Weltmeister zu werden.

Ich glaube, ich werde mit nach Fuerte rüber gehen, die Sause wird bestimmt eine ganz besondere werden...

Hier die Zusammenfassung von Aruba:

Zitat von PWA

[h=3]Event Summary: Aruba delivers eight days of outstanding action seeing Steven Van Broeckhoven, Sarah-Quita Offringa and Bjorn Dunkerbeck claim the event crowns.[/h]
The dazzling island of Aruba marked the second stop on the Caribbean leg of competition, and played host to the world’s finest freestyle and slalom windsurfing talents for eight days of exhilarating action between 19^th – 26^th June.
The happy island had previously hosted PWA events for ten consecutive years, with the last competition taking place in 1997. After a 14 year break the conditions have not changed at all, the consistent trades blow every day, the water remains bath warm, and the crowds are extremely proud to have the world’s greatest windsurfers on their shores.
19^th-22^nd June Men and Women’s Freestyle
Opening up the competition the cream of the PWA’s male and female contortionists took to the pristine water for a four day freestyle frenzy. Cue an explosion of spectacular aerial and sliding manoeuvres as the sailors battled their way through man on man heats, in order to decide which sailors had the greatest armoury of tricks.
Testing condition’s had an adverse effect on the freestyle fleet for the opening two days of competition, due to blankets of cloud rolling in over the event site, leading to exceptionally gusty wind and bursts of rain. The sailors took to the water to make use of the occasional squall and polish their maneuvers, whilst the crowds were given a glimpse of the action that was to come. In an attempt to get proceeding underway the PWA headed out to sea to their floating judges tower, however the wind remained insufficient for a fair competition.
Entering the third day the sailors were greeted to wall to wall sunshine and Caribbean trades blowing between 15-20 knots. Head judge Duncan Coombs wasted no time in heading out to sea and putting the sailors into competition sequence, extending the heats to nine minutes, and announcing the best three out of six moves in either direction would count towards the sailor’s scores.
As the single elimination progressed, the form-players slowly began to emerge; as a result it was no surprise that the quarter finals consisted of European freestyle wizard Steven Van Broeckhoven (F2 / Gaastra), Caribbean superstar Kiri Thode (Tabou / Gaastra), four times world champion Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (Fanatic / North) and the style master Tonky Frans (Tabou / Gaastra). Fuelled by his second place in Bonaire, Van Broeckhoven delivered an outstanding series of combination maneuvers. Taking advantage of the nine minute heat he timed each move to perfection, ensuring his advance into the final past a devastated Thode. On the other side of the heat, Tonky was firing on all cylinders performing his most spectacular aerial maneuvres. It did little to phase the four times world champion Estredo as he sailed a well-planned out heat granting his pass into the winner’s final.
Van Broeckhoven and Estredo entered the final both hungry for victory. Van Broeckhoven opened with a funnel, which was upstaged by Estredo’s double. The sailors then embarked on a game of one up man-ship as the opening minutes of the heat flew by. Both sailors fought tooth and nail, busting out everything in their collection of tricks but ultimately a 3-2 decision from the judges crowned Van Broeckhoven as the winner in the single elimination.

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The fourth day in Aruba marked the final day of competition for the PWA freestyle elite. Having completed the single elimination, the ensuing double elimination would determine the event standings, and crown the competition winners.
The sailors battled their way through the double elimination in an attempt to build on their event scores, drama arose early in the day when Davy Scheffers (Tabou / Gaastra) lost out to Bonaire hot shot Florian Wegerer, Wegerer sailed the heat of his life, leaving Scheffers distraught with his early exit.
The standout sailor of the double elimination was Brit Andy Chambers (JP / NeilPryde). Chambers displayed a collection of carefully chosen tricks to fight, through five heats raising his result from 17^th to 9^th.
Moving toward the final heats of the double elimination Thode went into overdrive, storming past his fellow country man Taty Frans (Starboard / MauiSails / Mystic), and Estredo with his multitude of mind-blowing maneuvers.
The final came down to arch rivals Van Broeckhoven and Thode. Thode opened the heat with all guns blazing, whilst Van Broeckhoven bided his time, and waited for the larger gusts to power him through an enormous culo and a burner. It came down to tactics as both sailors kept one eye on the clock and another on the gusts. Van Broeckhoven managed to seal the deal with a final sequence of explosive maneuvers; thus securing his win in the final and the overall event win.
Women’s Fleet
The women’s single elimination saw experienced competitors Laure Treboux (Fanatic / North) and Yoli De Brendt (Fanatic / North) sail their way into the semi-final, alongside Xenia Kessler (JP / NeilPryde) who managed to defeat Arrianne Aukes (RRD / Simmer) for the first time, having lost out to her four times in Bonaire. Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic) breezed through her heat into the next round.
In the semi-finals Treboux quickly disposed of De Brendt displaying a particularly impressive heat, she landed a clean shove-it spock and a high switch kono. Meanwhile Offringa appeared to be in the zone claiming a shaka, and an array of switch maneuvers as she worked her way past Kessler.
The final came down to the familiar duo of Swiss style Queen Treboux and local hero Offringa, having faced each other five times on the 2011 world tour, both sailors were well aware of each other’s tactics. Opening up the heat both women struggled to land their initial moves, however as the minutes passed by Offringa relaxed and flew through her routine. She made use of her home advantage to land her tricks to perfection, securing her early victory in front of her fans.
The double elimination took place on day four seeing Kessler as the standout sailor of the day, she worked her way past Mio Anayama (NeilPryde) and De Brendt raising her result from 4^th to 3^rd.
Kessler’s next opposition was Treboux with the prize at stake, and a coveted place in the final. Kessler fought hard throwing down every move in her armoury, however Treboux’s powerful Swiss style swayed the judges and saw her take her familiar place in the final.
Once again Offringa and Treboux took to the water for the final. The women unleashed everything they had in their repertoire of tricks, each time upstaging one another in order to win the judges votes. Offringa upped her game in the closing seconds of the heat, landing a sequence of astonishing stunts, securing her the event victory on her home turf.
The 2011 Aruba Hi Winds Gland Slam Freestyle Results
Men’s
1^st Steven Van Broeckhoven (F2 / Gaastra)
2^nd Kiri Thode (Starboard / Gaastra)
3^rd Jose Estredo (Fanatic / North)
4^th Taty Frans (Starboard / MauiSails / Mystic)
5^th Tonky Frans (Tabou / Gaastra)
Women’s
1^st Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic)
2^nd Laure Treboux (Fanatic / North)
3^rd Xenia Kessler (JP / NeilPryde)
4^th Yoli De Brent (Fanatic / North)
5^th Mio Anayama (NeilPryde)

23^rd – 26^th June Men and Women’s Slalom
The baton was then handed over to the slalom fleet for their turn to hit the azure water and battle it out for first place. With the wind’s blowing between 15-20 knots, Aruba proved that it was not only a freestyle mecca, but a slalom dreamland as well.
The race crew, led by Juan Antonio Aragon took advantage of every minute of daylight, plowing through two eliminations a day, the sailors fought tooth and nail in an attempt to work their way onto the sacred podium steps.
Up and Coming
Freestyle fanatic Taty Frans proved that he has the skill on the racecourse, seeing him sail into the winners final in three elimination and earn himself the nickname ‘the wasp that won’t go away’ by the rest of the fleet’.
Lena Erdil (Patrik / Loft / Mystic / AL360) put in an outstanding race in the elimination three women’s final. Erdil stormed off the line and sailed a stellar race, fending off Karin Jaggi (Patrik /Severne) to secure her first ever women’s final win.
Fanny Aubet (JP / NeilPryde) was overjoyed to have won her first ever winners final in the fifth elimination, having displayed an outstanding set of polished skills defeating, Karin Jaggi (Patrik /Severne) and local legend Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic).
Down to the wire
Throughout six of the eliminations, flying Frenchman Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde) had his claws on first place, having bagged two race wins and a series of consistent positions. However his arch nemesis Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / DunkerbeckEyewear) sat just a few points behind and it came down to the final day of competition for the drama to unfold.
The upset arose when Albeau suffered a slow start, placing him in an unrecoverable position from the outset in the elimination seven winners’ final. Dunkerbeck and Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Loft / Mystic) sailed the race of champions, securing their first and second places consecutively, causing Albeau to drop down into second place on the overall event scores.
In order to recover his position Albeau needed to secure a first place in the final elimination with Dunkerbeck finishing at least fifth.
Disaster struck in heat fourteen of elimination eight, the sailors were raring to go, and pushed the start too hard seeing four sailors cross the line early including Albeau and Dunkerbeck. This dramatic turn of event’s cemented Dunkerbeck’s win on the event and left Albeau helpless in the battle for second place, leaving the door open for Van Der Steen to snatch the valuable podium spot.
Having the blessing of the wind gods Van Der Steen had the opportunity to break into the Dunkerbeck, Albeau stronghold over first and second.
Van Der Steen exploded out the gates in the elimination eight winners final, and fought off any challenges from the rest of the fleet, seeing him win the race and slide into second place overall, knocking Albeau down into third. The first time the windsurfing legend has had a result below second since Korea 2007 when he was third.
Women’s Fleet
A similar story arose from the women’s fleet, Jaggi and multitalented Offringa entered the final day of competition with everything to play for in the final eliminations. Both sailors had been placing consistent results throughout the week; however Jaggi held the upper hand by a few points.
The big crescendo came in the final eliminations; Offringa turned on her turbo chargers in the elimination seven winners’ final and secured an easy win, whilst Jaggi fell victim to a rouge piece of choppy water, rendering her unable to complete the race. Offringa’s result bumped her up into first place, however she would need to secure one more podium result before it was set in stone.
Jaggi went for an aggressive move early in the elimination eight winners’ final, resulting in her misfortune, allowing Offringa to take advantage and sail into second place. Content with her position Offringa cruised around the remainder of the course and locked in her second title at the 2011 PWA Aruba Hi Winds Grand Slam.
The 2011 Aruba Hi Winds Gland Slam Slalom Results
Men’s
1^st Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / DunkerbeckEyewear)
2^nd Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Loft / Mystic)
3^rd Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde)
4^th Finian Maynard (RRD)
5^th Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde)
Women’s
1^st Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic)
2^nd Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne)
3^rd Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic)
4^th Fanny Aubet (JP / NeilPryde)
5^th Alice Arutkin (Starboard / North)

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Die PWA überlegt aktuell, noch einen weiteren Slalom-Tourstop einzufügen. Der Event soll in Italien stattfinden. Wenn das so wäre, kann eine vorzeitige WM-Entscheidung nicht auf Fuerteventura fallen.