Day 4 of the 2025 Bonaire PWA Youth Slalom World Cup delivered the full package with five eliminations on foil followed by a further five on the fin, which saw Tycho Smits (Future Fly / Point-7) clock over 90km sailed on his GPS watch - there’s certainly been no shortage of racing here in Bonaire.

Tycho Smits clocking up the kilometres
Foil
The morning kicked off with foiling in a perfect 18-22 knots. With blue skies and turquoise waters, it was truly paradise out there.
Event leader, Kasper Nielsen (Duotone Windsurfing), had a turbulent day, leaving the door open for other riders to capitalise. Almost nothing could separate Thijs Hanemaaijer and Brendan Lorho (FMX Racing / S2Maui) with battles going all the way to the finish line in race three & four of the day. Hanemaaijer took the photo finish in the first instance, whilst Lorho immediately exacted revenge, making it one a piece. Nielsen’s still holds a 3.5 point lead over Lorho heading into the final day, but with Hanemaaijer only two points behind him, it’s going to go down to the wire.

Kasper Nielsen gybes
Another event leader who couldn’t find her form today was Bobbi-Lynn De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde). Flawless and untouchable have been the only words to describe her until now, but today she faltered and Kit De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde) capitalised by claiming three bullets. Whilst Bobbi-Lynn maintains a substantial lead, it’s clear to see the fight between these sisters is going to be one we write about for many years to come.

Kit De Jong makes her move
In the under 15 Boys, the tight battle between the boys from Miami continued and the lead of the event returns to Pedro Grubissich, who claimed four out of the five eliminations completed today. Ashton Reid drops back to second, but if the racing this week is anything to go by, nothing is secure until the final race is completed.

The Miami boys fighting it out
The plan for tomorrow is a further three foil races in the morning, where the battles will commence to decide who becomes champions of Bonaire 2025.
Fin Slalom
After lunch, the battles commenced on fin. The most exciting battles of the day were undoubtably within the under 21 Boys. Whilst on paper the podium is quite well secured by Brendon Lorho (FMX Racing / S2Maui), Thijs Hanemaaijer and Storm Nicolai (Starboard), the action has been far closer. Ibrahim Ali Dönmez came charging out of the blocks today and redeemed yesterday‘s uncharacteristically poor performance, which sees him jump up into fourth place.

Brendan Lorho continues to dominate
Tycho Smits, Bobbi-Lynn De Jong and Arxon Gomperts (Future Fly / Point-7) all maintained their perfect score sheets today with an unprecedented 18 wins from 18 races for all three riders. Julien Blom also took home a perfect score today after a slightly rocky day yesterday.

Arxon Gomperts leads
A special mention should go to the battle between the under 13 boys, who have improved beyond belief this week. I could write a story about each of them, but their determination and tenacity is unmatched. Whilst obviously the slowest fleet of the lot, it’s amazing to see the battles, overtakes and defence happening at such a young age amongst these little rippers. Every single one of them comes off the water with a story to tell and a smile on their face and it’s safe to say the future of windsurfing is very much alive. The plan for tomorrow is two more races on the fin where the podium places will be locked in, but with battles being close right down to the back of the fleets, everyone will be keen to put on their best performance for the final day.

Day four highlights
Also if you don’t already, follow us on our Social Media Channels:
- Facebook: @PWAWorldTourWindsurfing - Instagram: @pwaworldtour - X: @pwaworldtour - YouTube: @pwaworldtour |