Fernandez beats Browne in Starboard Tack Showdown - PWA Grand Slam

The men’s wave final was held in starboard tack cross-on winds and Victor Fernandez shone again as he produced another superb display to secure the event victory in the PWA Grand Slam, in Sylt, Germany.

Day seven of the 2017 Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam saw Sylt produce virtually every variation of conditions you can imagine.

The day started off with glassy waves and barely a breath of wind meaning a few sailors snuck in an early doors surf before the wind began to swing cross offshore as forecast which tempted numerous sailors out on the water for a down-the-line wave session.

The wind then continued to pick up and slowly swing more and more onshore until the early evening. 
 

Wave  – Double Elimination – Women’s

The opening two rounds of the women’s double elimination were completed in challenging conditions with the wind swinging more onshore than earlier in the day.

Caterina Stenta, Justyna Sniady and Steffi Wahl all won their opening heat in the second round to progress into at least joint seventh place, while Lena Erdil won both of her heats today as she dispatched of Serena Zoia and Caroline Weber and she will now face Wahl in the next round.
 

Men’s – Final

Victor Fernandez successfully defended his single elimination lead by defeating Marcilio Browne in the final, which was held in solid starboard tack winds and decent waves.

Browne made the better start to the final as he landed a brilliant double forward, but Fernandez soon hit back with a sick table forward and an excellent double of his own.

Browne actually edged the jumping by just over half a point, but never looked quite in tune with the waves, while Fernandez shone again just as he did yesterday.

The Spaniard connected with four frontside turns on one wave to earn eight points and linked together a solid six point wave with his final ride to defeat Browne.

After the port tack conditions yesterday both sailors showcased their world class talent on starboard tack as they made the difficult conditions look much easier than it actually was. Victory here sees Fernandez finish as the vice-world champion, while Browne completes the overall podium for the second year in a row after another fine display.
 

Freestyle – Double Elimination

The third round of the men’s double elimination was also competed in starboard tack conditions which favoured some sailors more than others.

In the opening heat of the day Yentel Caers made a successful start to his comeback through the double after powering past Loick Spicher, while Giovanni Passani claimed a narrow victory over Nicolas Akgazciyan.

Heat 39a saw a bit of an upset as Philip Soltysiak suffered an earlier than expected defeat against Italy’s Francesco Cappuzzo, while Tonky Frans  proved too strong for Nic Hibdige.

Heat 40 was cancelled at the first attempt due the wind dropping, which was not well received by Antony Ruenes who had still managed to post a score of 110 points, but the Frenchman put that frustration behind him to defeat Max Rowe again, while on the b-side Youp Schmit produced a late flurry of moves to come back and win against Yegor Popretinskiy.

Davy Scheffers seemed to revel in the starboard tack conditions as he produced a dominant aerial display consisting of a backloop, shaka, shifty and pasko to defeat Steven Van Broeckhoven, who almost looked to be trying to go too big which resulted in too many crashes and the Belgian was crucially missing a move on starboard tack, which cost him dearly. The b-side saw Riccardo Marca produce a safe, but ultimately effective display, as he knocked out Julien Mas.

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

Result Men’s Wave Mercedes-Benz PWA Super Grand Slam – Double Elimination

1st Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / NorthSails / Shamal Sunglasses)
2nd Marcilio Browne (Goya Windsurfing)
3rd Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins)
4th Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD Sails)
5th Adam Lewis (Fanatic / NorthSails / SWOX)
6th Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne / SWOX / Shamal Sunglasses)
7th Thomas Traversa (Tabou / GA Sails)
7th Aleix Sanllehy (Tabou / GA Sails)
9th Leon Jamaer (JP / NeilPryde)
9th Alessio Stillrich (Fanatic / NorthSails)
9th Ricardo Campello (Point-7 / Aeron)
9th Marc Paré (Simmer / Simmer Sails)

Result Men’s Freestyle Mercedes-Benz PWA Super Grand Slam – Single Elimination

1st Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo (Fanatic / NorthSails)
2nd Amado Vrieswijk (JP / Severne)
3rd Jacopo Testa (RRD / RRD Sails / AL360)
4th Antoine Albert (Goya Windsurfing)
5th Sam Esteve (JP / NeilPryde)
5th Balz Müller (Patrik / Severne)
5th Mattia Fabrizi (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg)
5th Adrien Bosson (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins)
9th Yentel Caers (JP / Point-7)
9th Julien Mas (JP / Gun Sails)
9th Steven Van Broeckhoven (JP / Neilpryde / Shamal Sunglasses)
9th Philip Soltysiak (Starboard / Sailworks)
9th Antony Ruenes (Tabou / GA Sails)
9th Yegor Popretinskiy (Fanatic / NorthSails / Maui Ultra Fins / Flymount)
9th Tonky Frans (RRD / RRD Sails)
9th Nicolas Akgazciyan (99NoveNove / Challenger Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)

Result Women’s Wave Mercedes-Benz PWA Super Grand Slam – Single Elimination

1st Iballa Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins)
2nd Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins)
3rd Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins)
4th Lina Erpenstein (Patrik / Severne)
5th Caroline Weber (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg / Maui Ultra Fins)
5th Steffi Wahl (Patrik / Sailloft Hamburg)
5th Justyna Sniady (Simmer / Simmer Sails / Mystic)
5th Caterina Stenta (RRD / RRD Sails / Maui Ultra Fins)

Current Ranking Mercedes-Benz Sylt PWA Super Grand Slam – Men’s Slalom

*After 2 Eliminations

1st Marco Lang (Fanatic / NorthSails)
2nd Vincent Langer (Fanatic /NorthSails)
3rd Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Sunglasses)
4th Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde)
5th Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove /LoftSails / Chopper Fins)
6th Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / NorthSails)
7th Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails)
8th Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti)
9th Enrico Marotti (RRD /NeilPryde)
10th Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)