Good news dalla Corea e udite, udite… dai colori italiani! Dopo un primo tabellone completato tra le donne troviamo al 4° posto Greta Benvenuti preceduta solo dall’eterna  Valerie Arrighetti e dal duo Cagla Kubat, Fanny Aubet. Tra gli uomini, sconbussolamenti… il vincitore di Reggio, Dunki, al momento è solo decimo e la classifica è guidata da Bora Kozanoglu che precede Antoine Albeau, il suo conterraneo Antoine Questel, Jimmy Diaz e Steve Allen. Ma al settimo posto troviamo super Menegatti che solo per una partenza anticipata nella finale vincenti, non è più avanti in classifica. Nella sua c’è anche Matteo Iachino, attualmente al 14° posto, che conferma con ottime prestazioni, quello che da tempo il suo allenatore va dicendo… il ragazzo è pronto ad entrare nei primi 15 di world cup e… forse anche più in alto! Dai, dai, dai… speriamo bene per il proseguimento!
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DAY 2 : KOZANOGLU AND ARRIGHETTI WIN THE FIRST RACE OF THE PWA ULSAN WORLD CUP
The second day of the competition started in much the same fashion as the opening day, with winds coming from almost every direction as the wind failed to establish itself. However at 2pm the wind swung cross shore and picked up to 15 to 18 knots, ensuring an action packed afternoon, which saw both the men and women’s first elimination’s completed. The men’s second elimination was started, but after three heats the wind faded, bringing the conclusion to an exciting day of racing.
Men Single Elimination
Heat 4 opened up the day’s proceedings, and it was Australian Steve Allen (Starboard / Severne) that was first to book his place in the second round. Also joining him was Ross Williams (Tabou / Gaastra), Damien Le Guen (Exocet) and Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Fanatic / North). The main casualty of the first round was Finian Maynard (RRD / Avanti), who suffered a broken fin just metres after crossing the start line, putting an end to his hopes of progressing in the first elimination.
Semi-Finals
The semi-finals included the majority of the top seeds, as the top sailors managed to survive the opening rounds unscathed. The first semi-final saw Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) cross the start line in the lead, and the Frenchman looked in confident mood as he made the most of the gusty conditions to win heat 13, and secure his place in the winner’s final. Alberto Menegatti (Starboard / Gaastra) wasn’t far behind Albeau, as the Italian maintained his excellent form to progress. Steven Allen finished in third place, whilst Antoine Questel (Starboard / Loft Sails) pipped Micah Buzianis (JP / MauiSails) to the remaining place in the winner’s final. The second semi-final was cancelled as the wind was deemed too fluky for the heat to be completed. This was unfortunate for Peter Volwater (Fanatic / Avanti) as he got off to a brilliant start and had built a healthy lead. When the heat was restarted the Dutchman had to settle for a place in the loser’s final as he finished sixth. First over the line in the rerun was Pascal Toselli (RRD / Point-7), followed by Bora Kozanoglu (Starboard / Severne). As the race progressed it was Kozanoglu who asserted his dominance to win the heat followed by Toselli and Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North). The final place up for grabs resulted in a photo finish as either one out of; Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne / Mystic), Peter Volwater and Josh Angulo (Angulo / Point-7) could’ve claimed fourth place. After a tense wait it emerged that Angulo had snatched the last spot. Meanwhile Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / Dunkerbeck Eyewear) endured his worst heat for several events as he finished in seventh place. For once the terminator would be missing from the winner’s final.
Loser’s Final
Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Loft Sails / Mystic) sailed a terrific race, coming from behind to win the heat and finish ninth overall in the first elimination. Buzianis got off to the best start, but he dropped his gybe on the third mark, opening the door for the rest of the chasing pack. As the race headed into the final reach, the top three of Van Der Steen, Dunkerbeck and Williams remained unchanged. Buzianis on the other hand was battling to move into fourth place but Sylvain Moussilmani (Tabou / Simmer) fought off the challenge, meaning the American had to settle for fifth.
Winner’s Final
The winner’s final had to be restarted due to both Josh Angulo and Alberto Menegatti jumping the gun. In the end the showpiece of the day didn’t disappoint as it provided one of the most exciting finishes of the day. From the outset, Bora Kozanoglu burst to the front with a perfect start and he made the most of the clean wind to open up a commanding lead over his closest rival Antoine Albeau. As the Turk rounded the final gybe mark it looked as though he was going to cruise to victory, however Albeau looked like a man on a mission as he gave chase, eating into Kozanoglu’s lead at an alarming rate of knots. By the finish line there was only a few metres in it, but to the relief of Kozanoglu he had held on to claim the victory in the first race. It was later revealed that the Turk had caught some sea grass around his fin, explaining why Albeau was able to catch him at such an astonishing rate. Third and fourth place went to Questel and Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North) respectively.
Double Elimination
The men’s double elimination was started but the wind dropped shortly afterwards, meaning that only three heats were completed. In the first heat, Ross Williams, Pascal Toselli, Patrik Diethelm (Patrik / Loft Sails) and Andrea Rosati (RRD / Gaastra) all qualified for the second round. Going through from heat two was; Antoine Questel, Kurosh Kiani (Fanatic / Simmer), Ludovic Jossin (Patrik / Loft Sails) and Matteo Iachino (F2 / Challenger  Mystic / AL306). The third heat saw competitors well spread out as Menegatti won the heat with ease, followed by Maciek Rutkowski (Patrik / Loft Sails / Maui Ultra Fins), Costa Hoevel and finally Dunkerbeck. When the action begins tomorrow, heat 4 will be the first heat to be sailed.
Women
The first semi-final of the day saw second seed Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic)  safely navigate her way to the winner’s final, behind Delphine Cousin (JP / NeilPryde) who put in a very confident display. Joining the two other women would be; Fanny Aubet (JP / NeilPryde) and Japan’s Ayako Suzuki (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic). The major story of the day though was that the current world number one, Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne), made an uncharacteristic mistake as she false started, meaning that for the first time in a long time the Swiss gem would be missing from the winner’s final. Lise Vidal (Fanatic / North) rose to the forefront putting in a flawless performance to secure first place. In second was Cagla Kubat (Starboard / Loft Sails) followed by Greta Benvenuti (Patrik / Point-7 / Al 360) and Melek Toraman (Starboard / Loft Sails).
Loser’s Final
Lena Erdil (Patrik / The Loft / AL360) put the disappointment of missing out on the winner’s final behind her as she cruised to victory in the loser’s final. Meanwhile Marion Mortefon (Starboard / Severne) was able to keep her cool and hold off Alice Arutkin (Starboard / North) to finish second with Arutkin in third. An out of sorts Karin Jaggi finished in fourth place, with a performance well below her normal standards.
Winner’s Final
With Jaggi absent from the final, Arrighetti seized the moment to win the opening race of Korea. The win means she has now won back to back races, proving that she is a real contender for the overall title this year. Cagla Kubat performed brilliantly today and she was rewarded with second place after gybing beautifully to separate herself from the rest of the group. After a tight battle between Arutkin and Benvenuti, it was the French woman who came out on top as she claimed third leaving the Italian in fourth.
The forecast for tomorrow predicts lighter winds than today, but with the wind in the correct direction, we are expecting the thermal wind to kick in to allow more racing in the afternoon. The skippers meeting will be at 10:30am tomorrow morning, with the first possible start at 11am.

Results After The Elimination One : Men’s Slalom
1st Bora Kozanoglu (Starboard / Severne)
2nd Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)
3rd Antoine Questel (Starboard / Loft Sails)
4th Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North)
5th Steve Allen (Starboard / Severne)

Results After The Elimination One : Women’s Slalom
1st Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic)
2nd Cagla Kubat (Starboard / Loft Sails)
3rd Fanny Aubet (JP / NeilPryde)
4th Greta Benvenuti (Patrik / Point-7 / Al 360)
5th Ayako Suzuki (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic)