Day one: il notizione è che per una volta inizia uno slalom e a dominare non è Antoine Albeau, ma Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard, Severne) che è riuscito a mettere le sue manone sul primo round! Troppo presto per capire se riuscirà a portare via una tappa all’incontrastato (fin’ora) re dello slalom, ma certo è che Dunki è apparso velocissimo a cavallo del suo Starboard iSonic 111 spinto dalla Severne Reflex 8.6!
A conferma che lo slalom è uno sport in cui l’esperienza conta… la classifica femminile è guidata da un nome relativamente nuovo: la trentottenne Valerie Arrighetti è davanti all’esperta Karin Jaggi e alla giovane Sarah-Quita Offringa.
Ma sentiamo le prime parole dei due attuali leader di classifica.
Bjorn Dunkerbeck: “I felt good all day long. I won every single one of my heats, and my semi-final by a really long way. I felt very confident on my Starboard iSonic 111 and my Severne Reflex 8.6. I had a great top speed, and no problems coming out of the gybes either. In the final I went for a safe start because I didn’t want to push it too much. I had excellent speed down the first leg and managed to get ahead of both Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard, North) and Antoine by the first mark. I pretty much took off from there. Although, I had a little problem at the third mark because the wind dropped quite a bit and Antoine managed to catch up a little, but a gust came just at the right moment and I took off ahead of him again. Winning the first race is the best thing that can happen in an event, and it’s great for the confidence. I’m hoping that the wind will stay strong for the rest of the competition so that I’m powered on my 8.6 because I much prefer that to the lighter stuff we had in Korea.”
Valerie Arrighetti: “I didn’t go to Korea because of some personal problems, so it was important for me to come here and perform well, both for my sponsors and for myself. I used my 7.0 with the Tabou 59, and it all worked incredibly. I didn’t think that I would be in first position so quickly because the sails are brand new and I’m borrowing the board, but there you go! It’s great for me to be where I am, and I’m looking forward to getting on the water tomorrow, and trying to win again.”

Results Men:
1st Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard, Severne) 0.7pts
2nd Antoine Albeau (JP, NeilPryde) 2.0pts
3rd Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard, North) 3.0pts
4th Ross Williams (Tabou, Gaastra) 4.0pts
5th Peter Volwater (Fanatic, MauiSails) 5.0pts

Results Women:
1st Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou, Loft) 0.7pts
2nd Karin Jaggi (Patrik, Severne) 2.0pts
3rd Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard, Gaastra) 3.0pts

Photo Pwa/Carter - words PWA/Paul Griffiths
For more information on all the entrants, and to keep up to date with every piece of the action, click on http://www.pwaworldtour.com