Wind- & Kitesurfing

Today is day one of the second Act of the new EUROSAF Champions Sailing Cup, a grouping of the traditional European regattas not counting for the ISAF Worldcup. In addition to the Olympic classes, the Paralympic 2.4 m and Sonars will be racing. The best attention have the Lasers, where the World nbr 1 Tom Burton AUS encounters again Tonci Stipanovic CRO, Robert Scheidt BRA, Andy Maloney NZL and Jean-Baptiste Bernaz FRA, to name but a few. The USA and Canada have boats in the 470 men and women, 49ers, Lasers Standard and Radial, Finn, RS:X men and women. All entry listsand the event-website. Good wind conditions have been forecast as from this afternoon with a breeze of up to 15 kn.

The Garda Olympic Week ended yesterday with the Medal Races, sailed in a moderate 10 to 14 kn breeze. The new format carries the total result of the Qualification and Final Series forward to the results of the short Medal Races. No wonder, that in some classes major throw overs happened such as in the 49ers - the only ones with three Medal Races - where Markus Hansen/Josh Porebski NZL climbed on top with constant race results ahead of Frei/Rocherieux FRA and Angilella/Zucchetti ITA. The clear dominators of the week Delle-Karth/Resch AUT had to content themselves with rank 4. An Austrian triumph was to note however in the Nacra 17 with Thomas Zajac/Tanja Frank AUT in front of Waterhouse/Darmanin NZL and Bissaro/Sicouri ITA. While Damian Rijsselberge NED defended his first place in the RS:X male windsurfers, the day was disappointing for Byrony Shaw GBR in the RS:X women who was overtaken by Flavia Tartaglini ITA, the winner of the Medal Race. Farrah Hall USA, the only NorAm participant in one of the Medal Races, is on rank 6 of the female windsurfers. Change also on top of the 470 women where Jo Aleh/Polly Powrie NZL moved on top ahead of Tina Mrak/Veronica Macarol SLO on the last day. No problem to hold their lead had Sime Fantela/Igor Marencic CRO in the 470 men, adding another race win in the Medal Race. Ed Wright remained first in the Finns followed by Ivan Klijakovic CRO and Piotr Kula POL. The videos of the Medal Races and the event-website.

The Final Series of the Garda Olympic Week were concluded yesterday in a Northerly breeze with up to four races by class. As from today, the Medal Races of the best 6-8 boats per class are on the program. With a 15 points' advance, Ed Wright GBR will not let fade away the victory in the Finns. Deniss Karpak EST and Ivan Klijakovic CRO follow on the ranks 2 and 3. Even more predominant were Sime Fantela/Igor Marencic CRO in the 470 men. Barreiros/Curbelo ESP are already 26 points behind. Gerz/Follmann GER progressed on rank 3. Closer is however the situation in the 470 women, where Tina Mrak/Veroca Macarol SLO are now only one point ahead of Jo Aleh/Polly Powrie NZL, the winners of two races yesterday. The outcome in the 49ers seems to be clear as well. Delle-Karth/Resch AUT are 21 points ahead of Januszewski/Nowak POL. Tight is the situation in the Nacras 17 with Thomas Cajak/Tanja Frank AUT only one point in front of Gemma Jones/Jason Saunders NZL. Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED in the RS:X male windsurfers and Byrony Shaw GBR in the RS:X women can also start to the Medal Races very relaxed with the results on their accounts up to now. The report of the day, all results and the videos.

Rain prevented the Ora from filling in on Lake Garda and only the Finns and Nacra-17 catamarans at Malcesine a couple of miles farther South down the lake were able to complete some races.
Ed Wright GBR took the lead in the Finns with the day ranks 2/2/9 followed by Filippo Baldessari ITA and Deniss Karpak EST. Gordon Lamphere USA is now 8 places up on rank 26. The Nacra-17 even sailed four heats and Thomas Cajak/Tanja Frank AUT moved on top of the rankings, in front of Gemma Jones/Jason Saunders NZL at 5 points on rank 2. Federica Salva/Francesco Bianchi ITA follow on rank 3. The weather outlook for today is improving and hopefully all classes will be able to sail according to program. All results, the video of the day and the event-website.

The Olympic Week continued yesterday in a well established Ora filling in with up to 16 kn in the afternoon. The Finnswere already out off Malcesine in the morning in the North wind and Giorgio Poggi ITA took the lead after the first races ahead of Deniss Karpak ESTand Michael Maier CZE. Ed Wright GBR moved up on rank 4. Gordon Lamphere USA is 34th. A class of their own remained Sime Fantela/Igor Marencic CRO in the 470 men. They are already 14 points in front of Gulic/Nevecny SLO. Crawford/Crawford AUS remain on rank 3 of the 29 teams. In the 470 women, Tina Mrak/Veronika Macarol SLO stay on top but the best of the day Jo Aleh/Polly Powrie NZL closed the gap to two points. Progressing is also the Olympic Champion 2008 Elise Rechichi AUS with her new crew Sarah Cook AUS now on rank 6 overall after the day ranks 1 and 2. In the 49ers are Delle-Karth/Resch AUT clearly on top. Januczewski/Nowak POL are now 2nd. Gemma Jones/Jason Waterhouse NZL took the lead in the Nacra-17 with two bullets. Thomas Zajac/Tanja Frank AUT follow on rank 2. Dominator in the windsurfers are Dorian van Rijsselberge NED in the men and Byrony Shaw GBR in the women. Carson Crane USA is on rank 20 RS:X men, Farrah Hall is 5th in the small RS:X women fleet. The report of the day, all ranking lists and the video of the day.

The breeze was not good enough on the last day of the first Slalom Worldcup 2013 to terminate the fourth elimination round. Alberto Menegatti ITA gained his first Worldcup title in his career ahead of the multiple World Champion Antoine Albeau FRA. Karin Jaggi SUI added in Ulsan KOR another Worldcup victory to her immense palmares ahead Delphine Cousin FRA. All other details on the PWA-website.

Only one race was sailed by the Finns off Malcesine while the other classes at tje upperside of Lake Garda completed 3 to 4 heats, partly with surprising results. Filippo Baldessari ITA was the winner of the only Finn race ahead of Deniss Karpak EST, while the top favorite Ivan Kljiakovic CRO began the event with a premature start. In the 470 men, Fantela/Marencic CRO are in the lead with two race wins in three races ahead of Mikulin/Bozic SLO and Crawford/Crawford AUS. In the small 470 women fleet, the leaders are Mrak/Macarol SLO while the Olympic Champions Jo Aleh/Polly Powrie NZL are only 5th after a disqualifcation. In the 49ers, Warrer/Lang DEN are in front of Delle-Karth/Resch AUT and Hansen/Porebski NZL. Federica Salva/Francesco Bianchi ITA are the leaders in the 20 boats' Nacra-17 fleet ahead of Gemma Jones/Jason Saunders NZL On top of the windsurfers are the Olympic Champion Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED in the men's category and Byrony Shaw GBR in the women's category. The event-website.

The gradient wind enhanced the seabreeze and created perfect conditions in South Korea yesterday, allowing to sail two complete eliminations during eight hours for men and women. Alberto Menegatti ITA defended his lead in the men's category but the World Champion Antoine Albeau FRA advancing on rank 2 reduced the points' gap with the day ranks 1and 3. In the women's, Karin Jaggi SUI stays on top with the day ranks 1 and 2. Report, video and results as always on the PWA-website.

Today begins the 'Garda Trentino Olympic Week' on Lake Garda, the first event of the 'EUROSAF Championship Sailing Cup', a series of non-Worldcup Olympic Classes regattas in Europe. With 122 participants from 33 nations, the Laser Standard fleet has an excellent attendance with the World nbr 1 Tom Burton AUS, the Olympic Bronze medalist Pavlos Kontides CYP or Philipp Buhl GER as favorites. In the 470s, the winners of the Italian 470 men Championship of last week, Yannick Brauchli/Romuald Hausser SUI will meet a strong international competition with the past World Champions Fantela/Marencic CRO, the German Olympians Gerz/Follmann GER and four French teams.. In the Lasers Radial the Worldcup leaders Tatjana Droszdowskaja BLR and Isabelle Bertold CAN as well as the Olympia-forth Annalise Murphy IRL are the favorites. All entry lists and the event-website.

Men and women sailed a complete round at the PWA Slalom Competition in Ulsan KOR in good sailing conditions. In the men's category, the favorites Antoine Albeau FRA and Björn Dunkerbeck SUI were eliminated with equipment damage, leaving the first places to Alberto Menegattî ITA 1st and Antoine Questel FRA 2nd. Winner in the women's category was Karin Jaggi SUI ahead of Delphine Cousin FRA. The PWA-Website with video, report and ranking lists.

The updated ISAF World Ranking Lists after last week's Hyères Worldcup have just been published. With the new ranking formula and only a few races considered in the new classes 49erFX and Nacra 17, a number of position changes happened. Thanks to the Hyères victories, Alexandra Malones/Molly Meech NZL, 49erFX, and Byrony Shaw GBR, RS:X women windsurfers took the lead. New on top of the Nacra-17-catamarans are Billy Besson/Marie Riou FRA. Federico and Arturo Alonso ESP climbed on rank 1 of the 49ers.
A remarkable number of NorAm teams rank in the top-10, i.e. Caleb Paine USA 2nd Finn, Greg Douglas CAN 8th Finn, Haeger/Provancha USA 4th 470 women, MacNay/Hughes USA 9th 470 men, Strammer/Brown USA 7th 49er, Lane/Neville USA 8th 49erFX, Charlie Buckingham USA 5th Laser Standard, Isabella Bertold CAN 2nd Laser Radial, Newburry/Casey USA 5th Nacra-17,
The leading sailing nation remains Australia with three number one rankings. The USA and Canada are 11th nations with one 2nd-ranked sailor each. All ranking lists and the ISAF report.

The Hyères Worldcup Regatta ended yesterday with the Medal Races in a light wind and rain. The changed weather and the new regatta format putting all emphasis of the event on the final day caused partly for some major changes on top of the ranking.
The outstanding Matthew Belcher/Will Ryan AUS won both Medal Races in the 470 men also in these conditions and took the overall win with a huge advance on Bouvet/Mion FRA and Calabrese/Delafuente ARG jumping on rank 3 on the final day. No change on top of the 470 women, but the leaders during most of the week, Fernanda Oliveira/Ana Barbachan BRA, were only one point ahead of Camille Lecointre/Mathilde Geron FRA at the end. Weguelin/McIntyre GBR finished 3rd. The top American performance at Hyères was the 4th place of Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha in the 470 women. A leader change happened in the Nacras 17, where Tim Shuwalow/Hanna Klinga SWE closed the gap to Billy Besson/Marie Riou FRA and took the overall win thanks to the results in the two Medal Races. Matias Buhler/Nathalie Brugger SUI finished 3rd 9 points behind the leading duo. Winner of the English duel on top of the Finns was Andrew Mills GBR replacing Giles Scott GBR on rank 1. Josh Junior NZL took Bronze. A second 2013 Worldcup win after Melbourne went to Alex Maloney/Molly Meech AUS in the women's 49erFX skiff in front of Dobson/Rook GBR and Bekkering/Blom NED. The winners of two of the three Medal Races Leonie Meyer/Caroline Vandame GER advanced on rank 4; the podium was too far away. Dylan Fletcher/Alain Sign GBR were first in the 49ers ahead of Evans/Powys GBR and Paz/Paz ESP. Winning both Medal Races brought Przmyslav Miarczynski POL on rank 1 of the RS:X men windsurfers ahead of Piotr Myska POL and Julien Bontemps FRA. Bryony Shaw GBR defended her lead in the RS:X women windsurfers ahead of Blanca Manchon ESP and Charline Picon FRA, who lost all chances for victory with a premature start. The event-website with all results, the final report and the videos. Comments on the performance of the US Sailing Team can be found on their website.

Sun and a 25 - 30 kn breeze set a perfect stage on the second day of the PWA Freestyle Worldcup event on Lake Neusiedl. Unchallenged leader is José Gollito VEN winning both the Single- and the Double-Elimination. The PWA-website with reports and pictures.

The breeze yesterday was much less as forecast and the last races of the Final Series (FS) were sailed in a wind as light as 2 kn. Today, two or three short Medal Races of the best 10 (or 8) by class just in front of the harbour mole according to the new format are on the program. An 8 - 12 kn breeze has been predicted.
Annie Haeger / Briana Provancha USA are the only US team qualified for the Medal Races today. Starting the day on rank 3, they dropped on the 7th after her worst day in the FS (OCS/12). Bad day also for Sydney Bolger/Sarah Lihan USA on rank 13, dropping out of the top-10 with the day ranks 12 and 20. The Hyères Worldcup is over for all other NorAm teams except Isabella Bertold CAN, rank 5, who also will start in today's Medal Races. For details on the US Sailing Team performance, go to the team website.
Matthew Belcher/Ryan Palk AUS in the 470 men have a solid 16 points' lead on the tied Bouvet/Mion FRA and Leboucher/Le Berre FRA. Superior firsts in the 470 women are the winners of the Miami and Palma Worldcups Fernanda Oliveira/Ana Barbachan BRA. Lecointre/Geron FRA and Xiaoli/Xufeng CHN are the first chasers. Another overwhelming leaders are Alex Maloney/Molly Meech AUS in the 49ersFX ahead of Dobson/Rook GBR and Grael/Kunze BRA on the ranks 2 and 3. The 49ers remain tight until the Medal Race with Evans/Powys and Fletcher/Signs GBR at equal points. Morrison/Rhodes GBR on the 3rd place make the English dominance complete. More volatile is the situation on top of the Nacra 17 where Billy Besson/Marie Riou FRA are now just ahead of Shuwalow/Klinga SWE and Vaireaux/Audinet FRA. Dominance of the Brits also in the Finns where Giles Scott GBR leads 6 points ahead of Andrew Mills GBR. Pieter-Jan Postma NED is now 3rd - the report of the Finn Class. A close fight can also be expected in the RS:X men windsurfers between Ivan Pastor ESP one point in front of Louis Giard FRA and Piotr Myszka POL closely behind. In the RS:X women windsurfers turned the situation in favor of Charline Pico FRA extending her lead on Bryony Shaw GBE and Blanca Mancon ESP. All results and the report of the day.

Highsummer temperatures around 30°C prevailed yesterday on Lake Neusiedl, too much for the first PWA Freestyle Competition of the year, as the wind remained absent. The report.

The 15-20 kn East wind and big waves stayed on in the Bay of Hyères and all classes completed the scheduled Final races according to program.
The still prevailing Easterly - opposite direction of the Mistral - pushed the US team of Sydney Bolger and Sarah Lihan to another race win to put them into the Women's 470 top 10. They join their team mates Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha, who are in third overall. For more details on the performance of US athletes, visit the US Sailing Team website.
Really at ease in these conditions were Matias Bühler/Nathalie Brugger SUI, again the best of the day with the ranks 2/2/3 taking the overall lead in the Nacra 17 mixed catamaran 4 points ahead of Billy Besson/Marie Riou FRA. Tom Shuwalow/Hanna Klinga SWE are now 3rd. After a number of black-flag starts of the top group, it is Giles Scott GBR taking the lead in the Finns - the report of the Finn Class. Andrew Mills GBR on 2nd is 5 points behind. Josh Junior NZL and Pieter-Jan Postma NED tied on 3rd are 10 points back. Matthew Belcher/Ryan Will AUS added another race win and are, as expected, now on top of the 470 men. Leboucher/Le Berre FRA and Bouvet/Mion FRA follow at some distance on the ranks 2 and 3. Still clearly ahead in the 470 women are Fernanda Oliveira/Ana Barbachan BRA. Lecointre/Geron FRA advanced on rank 2, Haeger/Provancha USA follow on rank 3. The 49er leader group stays closely together with Paz/Paz ESP 1 point ahead of Fletcher/Sign GBR, while Heil/Plössel GER follow 3 points behind. No change on top of the 49ersFX with Charlotte Dobson/Mary Rook GBR leading in front of Alex Malones/Molly Meech NZL and Martine Grael/Kahena Kunze BRA reducing the backlog. Closely together are also Charline Picon FRA and Bryony Shaw GBR in the RS:X women windsurfers. Blanca Manchon ESP as 3rd is 8 points behind. A leader change happened in the RS:X men with Louis Giard FRA as first ahead of Prszmyslav Miarcyinski POL and Ivan Pastor ESP. All ranking lists and the report.
The last Final Series races today will again be sailed in a fresh Easterly according to the wind forecast. Tomorrow Saturday, the Medal Races are on the program.

Perfect sailing conditions with a 15 to 20 kn East wind and a big swell prevailed yesterday in the Bay of Hyères. Team of the day in the Nacra 17 were Matias Bühler/Nathalie Brugger SUI advancing on rank 2 overall with the day ranks 1/3/9. Tim Shuwalow/Hanna Klinga SWE lead 3 points ahead of the Swiss. Billy Besson FRA/Marie Riou FRA follow on rank 3. No surprise was the crank up of the Olympic Champion Matthew Belcher AUS with his new crew Will Ryan AUS in these conditions winning the two 470 men races of the day and advancing on rank 2 overall behind Luke Patience/Joe Glanfield GBR who defended their lead. Pierre Leboucher/Nicola Le Berre FRA follow on rank 3. Solid is the performance of Fernanda Oliveira/Ana Barbachan BRA in the 470 women, keeping the lead 8 points ahead of Anne Haeger/Briana Provancha USA. Weguelin/McIntyre GBR and Lecointre/Geron FRA follow as 3rd with the same number of points. The new first in the Finns is Pieter-Jan Postma NED with Vasilji Zbogar SLO and Giles Scott GBR only one point behind. Small are the gaps also in the 49ers with Fletcher/Sign GBR 2 points ahead of d'Ortoli/Delpech FRA and Morrison/Rhodes GBR. Two of the three races in the 49er FX went in favor of Charlotte Dobson/Marx Rook BRA leading ahead of Maloney/Meet NZL and Grael/Kunze BRA at equal points. Ivan Pastor ESP defended his lead in the RS:X male windsurfers followed by the best of yesterday Louis Giard FRA. Julien Bontemps FRA is now 3rd. Same for Charline Picon FRA who remains 1st in the RS:X women in front of Byrony Shaw GBR and Flavia Tartaglini ITA on the ranks 2 and 3.
For all details on the US athletes, visit the pages of the US Sailing Team.
All ranking lists and the report.

800 participants from 53 nation were ready at 11 a.m. CET for the first starts at the 4th and last 2013 Worldcup event at Hyères, but the wind was absent. Only during the afternoon, a light and unconstant breeze filled in, and most classes could complete their program according to schedule. Some light-weight newcomers took advantage of the special conditions and finished on surprisingly good ranks. However in most of the classes, the experienced teams are already in the lead of the interims rankings with the worst result discarded right from race one according to the new rules.
Highlight of the NorAm sailors is rank 3 of Annie Haeger/Briana Provancha in the 470 women, confirming their top performances in Europe so far. Remarkable also Charlie Buckingham's 11th place in the Lasers Standard. Isabella Bertold CAN stays on rank 16 in the Lasers Radial. Not at all at ease in the light-wind was Caleb Paine as 34th in the Finns. Best of the three 49ers were Strammer/Brown as 29th, while Lane/Neville were 19th in the new 49erFX women's skiff. Finally, Farrah Hall is 17th in the RS:X women. Details in the US Sailing Team Day 1 report.
And here the overview on the top rankings of all classes. Snow-Hanson/Willcox NZL, winning both races, lead in the 470er men after three races 4 points ahead of Bouvet/Mion FRA and Matsunaga/Yoshida JPN. Also two bullets in three races have Oliveira/Barbachan BRA in the 470 women, one points ahead of Vadlau/Ogar AUT. Haeger/Provancha USA and Lecointre/Geron FRA are tied on rank 3. The performance of the Finn sailors was quite diversing: Ed Wright GBR (ranks 17/11) leads ahead of Oliver Twedell AUS (1/22), Giorgio Poggi ITA (32/2) and Josh Junior NZL (2/7) - the report of the Finns. Two English teams are on top of the 49ers with Fletcher/Sign GBR and Evans/Powys GBR. Alonso/Alonso ESP and Heil/Plössel GER follow on the ranks 3 and 4. Victoria Jurczok/Anika Lorenz GER lead in the new women Olympic skiff 49erFX in front of Dobson/Rooks GBR and Peters/Groves GBR. The light wind yesterday, contrary to the big-breeze days at the Palma Worldcup, did not hinder the former matchracer Renée Groenveld with Karel Begemann NED in the new mixed Nacra 17 catamaran to take the lead ahead of Semeneov/Pankratieva RUS and Zajac/Frank AUT. A remarkable Olympic sailing premiere had the French Sailing-Superstar Franck Cammas FRA with the former Laser Radial Olympian Sophie De Turckheim FRA as crew, staying on rank 6 after the first race day. The RS:X male windsurfers have Julien Bontemps FRA leading ahead of Piotr Myszka POL and Ivan Pastor ESP, while Bryony Shaw GBR was the winner of the only race of the RS:X female windsurfers ahead of Eugenie Ricard FRA and Charline Picon FRA. All ranking lists and the report.

The fourth and last 2013 Worldcup Event began yesterday with the Practice Races sailed in the Bay of Hyères in a light wind. As from today 11 am. CET, the competition begins in a light wind (max. 6 kn) as well according to the wind forecast. Over 800 yachts from 53 nations participate in the 10 Olympic Classes. Here the not very informative official event-website and a preview from ISAF.

Today, the practice races of the fourth and last ISAF Olympic World Cup Regatta, the French Olympic Week in the Bay of Hyères, will be sailed. With over 800 participants, this is the first event of this Olympic classes circuit with usual number of athletes. The continental weather change is apparent in the South of France as well. After a fresh 30 kn Westerly breeze in the Mistral direction yesterday - only a few boats were out for tune-ups - the wind has calmed during the night and is now around 5 and 10 kn in rather cold temperatures. As from Wednesday, the East wind with rain and up to 35 kn will fill in. The wind forecast and the event-website.

The 4th and last ISAF Olympic Classes Worldcup Event will begin next Sunday in Hyères FRA. Spring 2013 - delayed as in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere - has just started in the South of France, and much sun and warm temperatures are to be expected next week. But this means as well, that the breeze will be light, as the wind forecast foresees.
After the rather reduced participation in the three Worldcups completed so far- some classes could not even start due to the limited number of entries - , the Hyères Worldcup is again a reunion of almost all top sailors campaigning for Rio 2016. Lijia Xu CHN and Marit Bouwmeester NED in the Laser Radial e.g. are back for the first time since their medal successes in London, and in the Lasers Standard, the top-10 of the ISAF World Rankings are all present.
The North American representation is rather small. From the USA to be mentioned above all Haeger/Provancha, who started the European season exceptionally successful, and Bolger/Lihan in the 470 women, Charlie Buckingham and Erik Bowers in the Laser Standard, Brown/Strammer, Burd/Pesch and Funk/Aakshow in the 49er, Neville/Lane 49FX, Caleb Paine and Gordon Lamphere in the Finn. Farrah Hall RS:X women and Daniel Evans 2.4 mR. The US Sailing Website. Canada is represented by Isabella Bertold in the Laser Radial with excellent result this year and Laurence Bonneau-Charland in the RS:X women.
The official preview and all entry lists.

The World Ranking Lists including the new classes and based on the new calculation format start to become representative after the Palma Worldcup Regatta. Three new number ones show up with Peter Lang/Anders Thomsen DEN in the 49ers, Ivan Pastor ESP in the RS:X men windsurfers and Tatjana Droszdowkaja BLR in the Lasers Radial. The US Team holds top-3 positions with Sarah Newberry and John Casey nbr 1 in the Nacra 17, Caleb Paine second in the Finn, and Stuart McNay and David Hughes third in the Men's 470. Australia remains the strongest nation with three nbr 1 (470m, Laser, Finn) ahead of Brazil with two teams (49erFX, 470w). The ISAF report and all rankings.

Much wind on the final day of the ISAF Worldcup Regatta in Palma, and some position changes happened in the - depending on the class - one to four Medal Races. Not in the 470 men, where the podium was quite clear already before the last heats with Matthew Belcher/Will Ryan AUS clearly winning ahead of Mantis/Kagialis GRE and Patience/Glanfield GBR, but Bouvet/Mion FRA missed rank 3 by one point only. Winning the Medal Race, McNay/Hughes USA moved up on rank 7. No new names in the top three 470 women with Fernanda Oliveira/Ana Barbachan BRA finally winning clearly in front of Sarah Weguelin/Eilidh McIntyre GBR. Progress with both US teams as Anna Haeger/Briana Provancha USA climbed on rank 3 and Bolger/Lihan USA finished 9th. Lara Vadlau/Jolanta Ogar AUT missed the podium by two points. A German victory in the 49ers by Erik Heil/Thomas Plössel GER with a 26 points' advantage on Norregard/Thomsen DEN. Evans/Powys GBR took Bronze. No US team in the Medal Race. Strammer/Brown USA were 23rd. Superior winners in the 49erFX were Ida-Marie Baad-Nielsen/Marie Thusgaard DEN, and - being the most successful team of all classes - were awarded the 'Trofeo Princesa Sofia'. Alexandra Maloney/Molly Meech NZL and Jena Hansen/Katia Salskov DEN completed the women's skiff podium. Tina Lutz/Susann Beucke GER followed on rank 4. No chance for Lane/Neville USA on rank 28. No change in the Finns: Giles Scott GBR finished first ahead of Pieter-Jan Postma NED and Vasilij Zbogar SLO, Jonathan Lobert FRA on position 4. Caleb Paine USA missed the top-10 and is on the 11th place. A Dutch double victory by the matchracers Mandy Mulder with Thijs Visser NED and Renée Groenveld with Karel Bergemann NED happened in the Nacra-17-Cats. Moana Vaireaux/Manon Audinet FRA took the Bronze medal. The Miami Worldcup winners Newberry/Casey USA finished twice as last in the Medal Races and remain on the 10th place overall. Winning two Medal Races, Flavia Tartaglini ITA replaced Bryony Shaw GBR in the RS:X-female windsurfers. Moana Delle GER finished 3rd. With the Medal Race ranks 8 and 9, Farrah Hall USA is one up on rank 9. Ivan Pastor ESP remained on top of the RX:X-male windsurfers. The best of the day, Toni Wilhelm GER, advanced on rank 2 overall, and a race win helped Kiran Badloe NED to move on rank 3, ahead of Julien Bontemps FRA 4th with the same number of points. No US male windsurfers participating. All ranking lists, the final report and the video of the Medal Races.

Moderate seabreeze conditions prevailed in the Bay of Palma where the 'final regattas' were concluded and the best 10 (or 8) selected for today's Medal Races.
The Olympic Champion Matt Belcher AUS with Will Ryan AUS as crew added two more race wins in the 470 men to his score line. With an advantage of 17 points and the performance demonstrated so far, this team is a safe bet for victory. Mantis/Kagialis GRE, Patience/Glanfield GBR, Bouvet/Mion FRA and Schmid/Reichstädter AUT on the ranks 2 to 5 have all chances for the Silver or Bronze Medal. McNay/Hughes USA 9th will participate in the Medal Race today. A leader change happened in the 470 women where Fernanda Oliveira/Ana Brabachan BRA overtook Weguelin/McIntyre GBR on top with two race wins. Separated by two points only, these two teams will race for victory today. Fighting for Bronze will Vadlau/Ogar AUT and Nincevic/Zupan CRO only one point behind. Both USA teams made the Medal Race: Haeger/Provancha are 5th, Bolgar/Lihand 10th. Despite of a premature start, Erik Heil/Thomas Ploessel GER stayed clearly on top of the 49ers with a 13 points' advantage in front of Evans/Powys GBR and Norregard/Thomson DEN. Frei/ Rocherieux FRA, 18 points behind rank 3, are too far away to be a candidate for the podium. Strammer/Brown USA are 23rd. Ida-Marie Baad-Nielsen/Marie Thusgaard DEN had their worst day in the 49erFX and the advance on Alexandra Malones/Molly Meech NZL melted to 8 points. Tina Lutz/Susann Beucke GER follow on rank 3. Lane/Neville USA are 28th. A duel will also decide on the winner in the Finns, as Giles Scott GBR and Pieter-Jan Postma NED are separated by two points only. The third-ranked Jonathan Lobert FRA is already 21 points behind. Caleb Paine USA on rank 11 clearly missed the top-10 as his direct opponent won the last race. Mandy Mulder/Thijs Visser NED and Moana Vaireaux/Manon Audinet FRA 8 points back are the favorites for the Nacra-17-catamarans. Besson/Riou FRA and Groenveld/Bergemann NED will duel for the Bronze Medal. Newberry/Casey USA 8th will sail the Medal Race as well. Three candidates for the Trofeo title race in the RS:X-male windsurfers where Ivan Pastor ESP, Ricardo Santos BRA and Julien Bontemps FRA are separated by 3 points only, but others, such as Toni Wilhelm GER will interfere in the battle for the podium. Moana Delle GER realized two race wins yesterday and is now only 3 points behind the leader Bryony Shaw GBR, Blanca Manchon ESP and Flavia Tartaglini ITA have also options on the medals. Farrah Hall USA as 10th will sail the Medal Race. All ranking lists, the video of the day and the report. See also the US Sailing Team website.

Excellent conditions with an initial 10 kn breeze increasing to 16 kn prevailed yesterday on the first day of the finals at the Palma ISAF Worldcup Regatta. The new and much debated new format provoked a number of changes on top of the rankings. Today's heats will be crucial for the Medal Race selection, i.e. the top-10, resp. the top-8 in the skiff classes.
Matt Belcher/Will Ryan AUS, winners of the qualifications, continued their winning straight in the 470 men ending all three heats in their favour. Overall second at equal points are Patience/Glanfield GBR and Mantis/Kagialis GRE. Schmid/Reichstädter AUT remain on the 4th place, Leboucher/Leberre FRA and Bouvet/Mion FRA follow on the ranks 5 and 6. Rank 12 for McNay/Hughes USA, but still an 11 points' gap on rank 10. Clear lead also in the 470 women with Sophie Weguelin/Eilidh McIntyre GBR ahead of Fernadez/Barbachan BRA and Nincevic/Zupan CRO. On rank 4 are now 'out-of-nowhere' Haeger/Provancha USA, discarding the summary result of the qualifiers and making a major jump with the final ranks 0(1)/5/9, well positioned to make the Medal Race today. Bolger/Lihan USA 11th just 1 point behind rank 10. With two race wins, Erik Heil/Thomas Ploessel GER moved up on the first place in the 49ers, in front of Evans/Powys GBR and Norregard/Thomsen DEN. Strammer/Brown USA ar 26th. A class of their own are Ida-Marie Baad/Marie Thusgaard DEN in the 49erFX, winning all three races yesterday. Martine Grael/Kahena Kunze BRA progressed on rank 2 tied with Dobson/Ainsworth GBR, Conti/Clapcich ITA and Lutz/Beucke GER. 29th place for Lane/Neville USA. The Brits take more and more the command in Finns with the double race winner Giles Scott GBR 1st, Andrew Mills GBR 3rd and Mark Andrews GBR 4th. The only 'disturbance' is Pieter-Jan Postma NED on rank 2. Jonathan Lobert FRA is now 5th. Caleb Paine USA is 11th in the Finns, 5 points behind rank 10. Leader change also in the Nacra 17 where Mandy Mulder/Thijs Visser NED replaced Renée Groenveld/Karel Bergemann NED on top. Vaireaux/Audinet FRA are now 3rd. Newberry/Casey USA are solid 5th. Ivan Pastor ESP has taken the first place in the RS:X male windsurfers ahead of Julien Bontemps FRA and Toni Wilhelm GER, major changes also in the RS:X female windsurfers with Bryony Shaw GBR on top replacing Maayan Davidovich ISR. Blanca Manchon ESP advanced on rank 3. Farrah Hall USA 10th has to fight for the Medal Race today. All ranking lists, the video of the day and the report.

After the windy first days, the classic Palma seabreeze filled in yesterday and the qualifications were concluded with two more races sailed in moderate conditions. The big fleets will continue in Gold- and Silverfleets, but in addition, the qualification rankings will for all classes be considered as one result in the final series beginning today.
Matt Belcher/Will Ryan AUS are the clear leaders in the 470 men ahead of Patience/Glanfield GBR nd Leboucher/Leberre FRA (here the video of the day of the team). Schmid/Reichstädter AUT dropped on rank 4. McNay/Hughes USA, ranks 5 and 3 yesterday, are now on the 13th place. Weguelin/McIntyre GBR were not as successful in the last heats, but nevertheless, they finished the qualification on the first place in front of Oliveira/Barbachan BRA and Nincevic/Zupan CRO. Bolger/Lihan USA sailed their discard (32nd) and dropped on position 11 overall. Impressive the Chinese Huang/Wang CHN on the 4th position, Vadlau/Ogar AUT follow as 5th. Well-known teams are in front in the 49ers with Morrison/Rhodes GBR ahead of Evans/Powys GBR and Paz/Paz ESP. Strammer/Brown USA, 33rd in the last race, lost lost also ground and will carry a 26th overall forward in the finals. In the 49erFX, Baad-Nielsen DEN so convincing so far lost much of their advance and just saved their first place with one point on the day's best Maloney/Meech NZL. Conti/Clapcich ITA, Lutz/Beucke GER and Jurczok/Lorenz GER follow on the ranks 3-5. Lane/Neville USA are 28th. The less windy conditions caused some bloopers for the first-ranked Finn sailors, but they stayed after all in the leading pack with Giles Scott GBR ahead of Vasilji Zbogar SLO, Andrew Mills GBR and Jonathan Lobert FRA. Perfect day for Caleb Paine USA in the Finn (ranks 2 and 4) moving up on 9th. The day winners in the Nacra 17 were French, but Renée Groenveld/Karel Begemann NED kept the lead now ahead of Vaireaux/Audinet FRA and Besson/Riou FRA. Newberry/Casey USA remain 10th. Leader change in the RS:X-male windsurfers with Julien Bontemps FRA replacing Toni Wilhelm GER on top. Maayan Davidovich ISR and Flavia Taretaglini ITA remain ahead in the RS:X-female windsurfers. Farrah Hall USA is 10th. All ranking lists, the video of the day and the daily report.

Inspite of the fact, that the first fresh-wind days of the Palma Worldcup Regatta were very demanding and selective, the value of these endeavours is practically nil with the new format proposed by a ISAF on a trial basis. This latest idea proposed by the ivory-tower far from reality ISAF Events Committee is being critised by the vast majority of people concerned, first of all athletes and coaches. The Australian Headcoach Victor Kovalenko, Mr. Medalmaker and the most successful coach of the past 20 years, was plain-speaking yesterday. 'What is the point of sailing hard? It is senseless, it's better to preserve body, sails and equipment for the second part of the regatta. Another team or sailor that does not try in the first part of the regatta can easily snatch victory in the medal races, because they are rested.' Neither the sailors investing time and money, nor the organisers have an advantage in such a lottery system. An article in Sail-World.

Yesterday, a moderate 12 to 15 kn South wind was blowing during the morning, allowing the new Olympic 49FX and Nacra-17 classes to start their racing. During the afternoon, the breeze was freshening on up to 25 kn, but all classes could complete their program.
Adding another race win, the surprising Austrians Schmid/Reichstädter took the lead in the 470 men ahead of the Olympic Champion Matthew Belcher AUS and his new crew Will Ryan AUS. Mantis/Kagialis GRE follow on rank 3, Leboucher/Leberre FRA advanced on rank 4. McNay/Hughes USA are 21st. Weguelin/McIntyre GBR stayed clearly on top of the 470 women in front of Nincevic/Zupan CRO and Oliveira/Barbachan BRA. Bolger/Lihan USA are 7th. D'Otoli/Delpech FRA and Paz/Paz ESP share the lead in the 49ers, closely followed by Morrison Rhodes GBR as 3rd. Strammer/Brown USA are 20th. As expected, the show is on in the 49ersFX for Ida-Marie Baad-Nielsen/Lotte Thusgaard DEN dominating the fleet with three race wins. Alexandra Maloney/Molly Meech NZL and Jena Hansen/Katja Salskov DEN follow on the ranks 2 and 3. Lane/Neville USA are 28th. Separated by one point only are the first three Finns: Jonathan Lobert FRA leads ahead of Giles Scott GBR and Vasilij Zbogar SLO. Caleb Paine USA is 15th. The mixed team Nacra 17 catamaran sailed three races yesterday, and according to the expectations, the Dutch teams were performing well. Mandy Mulder/Thijs Visser NED lead ahead of Thomas Zajac/Tanja Frank AUT and Renée Groenveld/Karel Bergemann NED. Sarah Newsberry/John Casey USA, winners of the Miami Worldcup Regatta, are on position 10. Leader in the RS:X male windsurfers is Toni Wilhelm GER, while Maayan Davidovich ISR, winning 3 of the 4 races, is on top of the RS:X female windsurfers. Farrah Hall USA ist 10th. All ranking lists, the video of the day and the reports.

The 3rd ISAF 2013 Worldcup Event began yesterday on the waters of the Bay of Palma in a 20-25 kn breeze with gusts of up to 30 kn in the afternoon, too much wind for the 'modern' Olympic classes Nacra 17 and 49er FX, and also the 49ers had to abandon racing after two heats as the whole fleet capsized ! The solid 'old' Olympic classes however sailed the scheduled two races. The Olympic Champion Matthew Belcher AUS with his new crew Will Ryan AUS and Schmid/Reichstädter AUT were the clear winners in both heats of their groups and stay jointly on top of the 470 men's rankings. McNay/Hughes USA are on the 24th place. To be noted, that the new format awards zero points for a first place and allows to discard the worst result right from race two. Also on top with two race wins are Sophie Weguelin/Eilidh McIntyre GBR in the 470 women, followed by Skrzypulec/Wojcik POL and Nincevic/Zupan CRO. Bolger/Lihan USA are 8th. Favorites are on the first positions of the Finns with Giles Scott GBR and the Olympia-Bronze-Medalist Jonathan Lobert FRA both winning a race each. Caleb Paine USA ist 26th. Leader in the RS:X-women windsurfers is Maayan Davidovich ISR (Farrah Hall 13th), and in the RS:X-men Toni Wilhelm GER is on top. All ranking lists, the video of the day and the report of the day.

Much wind on day one of the 3rd ISAF Worldcup 2013 in the Bay of Palma. 20-25 kn have been forecast, not only a challenge for the athletes but also for the new Olympic classes which have to prove their suitability under these conditions. They will draw much attention as for the first time, larger fleets will be on the water, a benchmark for the successful teams in the first regattas. In the 49erFX, Martine Grael/Kahena Kunze BRA will encounter Ida Baad-Nielsen/Marie Thusgaard DEN. Favorites in the Mixed Multihull Nacra 17 - 37 teams starting - are the Miami Worldcup winners Sarah Newberry/John Casey USA meeting for the first time the strong Dutch teams. All entry lists, video of the Practice Race and the official preview.

No changes in the overall rankings occurred in final races of the African Kiteboarding Championships 2013 on the Red Sea. Steph Bridge GBR defended her lead ahead of Erika Heineken USA and Katja Roose NED. Here the women's rankings (PDF). In the men's category, the superior winner was World Champion Johnny Heineken USA followed by Florian Gruber GER and Maxime Nocher FRA. The rankings (PDF). For more details, visit the event-website and the final report (PDF).

A fresh 25 kn breeze again yesterday on the Red Sea .... a home run for the World Champion Johnny Heineken USA winning all five heats in the men's category. Only Riccardo Leccese ITA was able to follow more or less. Florian Gruber GER remained on rank 3. Today begins the final of the top-10 in a knockout cup system.
The fight on top of the women's category is closer as Steph Bridge GBR was still able to defend the first place against Erika Heineken USA, but the advance is now only 2,2 points. Katja Roose NED replaced Elena Kalinina RUS on rank 3.
The daily report (PDF) and the video of the day.

A breeze of up to 32 kn prevailed on day three of the African Kiteboading Championship, just perfect for the reigning Worldchampions Johnny and Erika Heineken USA being accustomed to such condtions from their home waters San Francisco. In the men's category, racing in a Gold- and Silverfleet, Johnny Heineken USA won the four races of the day, climbing on top of the rankings ahead of Ricardo Leccese ITA and Florian Gruber GER.
Same situation in the women's category, where Erika Heineken was the winner of all four heats of the day, reducing the gap to the leading Steph Bridge GBR on 3 points. The youth driver Elena Kalinina RUS follows on rank 3.
The report of the day (PDF) and the video of the day.

The rather light seabreeze filled in late and with only 9-12 kn yesterday. The young light weights were in front in both heats of the day. In the men's, Florian Gruber GER age 19 was first in both runs, moving up to the leader Riccardo Leccese ITA at 1 point. The World Champion Johnny Heineken USA advanced on rank 3. In the women's, the young Russian Elena Kalinina RUS was on top in both heats and approached the overall leading Steph Bridge GBR at 3 points. The World Champion Erika Heineken USA moved up on rank 3, as did her brother. The daily report (PDF) an the video of the day.

Kite-Boarding ist not only high-performance sport, but also life-style. The three French Professional Kiters Gaetan Botrel, Jeremie Eloy and Benjamin Thouard, underway on a round-trip in New Zealand, decided to visit not only thrilling beaches but also ski slopes on the New Zealand mountains. Video takes of their adventures have been carefully edited in a three-part film, showing spectacular sport, and also the beautiful landscape downunder. Here part 1.

The 'Foehn', a local South wind from the Alps building up when low pressure systems from Italy hit the mountains, filled once again in a few days ago with speeds exceeding 50. Inspite of snow-covered mountains and ice-cold water, some windsurfers dared to test the big breeze conditions. Here the video.

Rob Douglas USA and Alex Caizergues FRA started their speed record attempts yesterday in a fresh 40 kn Mistral breeze on the water of the Giraud salins in the French Camargue. 54,84 kn for Caizergues FRA and 54,38kn for Douglas USA, both drivers came pretty close to the existing kiteboarding record of 55,65kn. The Tweets.
Alex Caizergues reports on the Speed-Contest he launched in a video-interview (Fr.) aired on a French TV channel.

As from today, Rob Douglas USA and Alex Caizergues FRA, two of the best speed-kiters world-wide, are ready in the French Camargue to improve the kiteboard speed record (55,65 kn) and perhaps even reach the absolute speed record established by 'Sail-Rocket' (65,45 kn). The attempt period lasts until April 18, depending on the wind situation. Already tomorrow Thursday, a first session will begin as a Mistral breeze of up to 50 kn has been announced! The preview.

On the past weekend ended the World Championship of the Ice-Kiters, Ice-Windsurfers and Ice-Wings staged in perfect conditions with sun and wind in Finland. The titles went after up to 23 runs (!) mostly to East European specialists. All ranking lists, the event-website and a well edited video.

The most important events during the past four weeks were the World Championships of the Olympic RS:X Windsurfers in Buzios BRA and the Laser Midwinters in Florida USA. Winning the Worlds title, Nick Dempsey GBR reclaimed the first place in the World Rankings of the RS:X-men, replacing Richard Stauffacher SUI, who - inspite of his retirement from competitive surfing after the Olympics - had shown up as number 1 with the new ranking formula (he is now down on rank 25). Flavia Tartaglini ITA, the only woman windsurfer with six results, is the new number one in the RS:X women at equal points with Tuuli Petäjä FIN. All other numbers one remain unchanged. The report and all rankings.

According to the Palma event website, another test of the regatta formats to be used at the 2016 Rio Olympic Regattas will be run at the next ISAF World Cup event, the Trofeo Princesa Sofía in Palma de Mallorca ESP.
In addition to a few uncontested changes - such as 0 points for a race win - the ISAF theoreticians want to make the final day crucial for the distribution of the medals. Since its introduction, the idea with the Medal Race for the 10 best-ranked teams after the fleet races (sending home the bulk of participants, leaving the harbour mostly without public) has been considered a flop by the most of the sailors, one of the reasons, why the Olympic World Cup events loose more and more participants. Now, there will be two double-points/no-discard Medal Races and for the Skiffs and the new mixed Nacra 17 catamaran even four very short (10 minutes) Medal Races on one day that will decide on the final outcome of a week-long regatta event. With this, ISAF departs even more from the idea, that the most complete sailor in all wind and weather conditions shall become Olympic Champions. A weather lotto on the final day (complemented with the mostly unsteady wind in the 'shore stadium') will be decisive for the Medals !
It is doubtful whether these politics will induce more athletes to invest time and money for an Olympic campaign, comes in addition, that the 10 Olympic classes selected by the same ISAF officials are very weight-sensitive: With some kilos too much on the balance, the chances for a top results vanish, and similarily, light-wind specialists are blown away in a big breeze. The Olympic sailing will unfortunately loose even more its significance as the 'Pinnacle of Sailing', no use to emphasise 'marketing' at ISAF.
The details on the new formats. Make sailing more understandable for the public ! And more interesting for the sailors investing time and money for an Olympic campaign ! Will this be the answer ??

Californian top cracks like Kiteboarding World Champion Johnny Heineken or the 5o5ers Mike Martin or Howie Hamlin guarantee high level competitions on the Frisco Bay over this weekend. Three races were sailed yesterday, Mike Martin and crew are leading the 5o5's, Johnny Heineken won all three kiteboarding heats while Will Dana (Radial) and Sean Kelly (Standard) are on top of the Lasers. See the complete results.

Inspite of winning the Medal Race, the Olympic Champion Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED could not replace Nick Dempsey GBR on top of the rankings. The Bronze Medal went to Byron Kokkalanis GRE.
In the women's, Lee El-Korsitz ISR had her third title in a row already before the Medal Race. Silver and Bronze went to Bryony Shaw GBR and Mayaan Davidovich ISR.
And here the ranks of the North-American men: 24th David Mier Y Teran MEX, 30th Zach Plavsic CAN, 58th Carson Crane USA. Women: 12th Demita Vega de Lille MEX, 26th Marion Leppert USA, 39th Laurence Bonneau-Charland CAN.
The event-website with the ranking lists.

Unusual light winds prevailed at Buzios yesterday for the last two qualification races. These were of course not the conditions for the Olympic Champion and leader Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED, who - with the day ranks 16 and 19 - had to cede the first place overall to Nick Dempsey GBR, with a backlog of 9 points. Byron Kokkalanis GRE, Nimrod Masiach ISR and Ricardo Santos BRA follow behind with the same number of points.
Winning another race, Lee El-Korsiz ISR defended her World Champion's title - her third in a row - prematurely. 21 points behind follows Mayaan Davidovich ISR as 2nd, Byrony Shaw GBR is 3rd with a 12 points deficit. Still with little hopes for a medal are Charline Picon FRA and Tuuli Petäjä FIN.
And here the ranks of the North-American men: 23rd David Mier Y Teran MEX, 26th Zach Plavsic CAN, 58th Carson Crane USA (sailing in the Silver fleet). Women: 13th Demita Vega de Lille MEX, 25th Marion Leppert USA, 39th Laurence Bonneau-Charland CAN. The event-website with the results.

Three races were sailed yesterday at the RS:X Windsurfing World Championships at Buzios BRA in an 18 kn breeze favoring the big-breeze specialists. No surprise that Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED took the lead in the men's category with the day ranks 2/2/1, 6 points ahead of Nick Dempsey GBR. Piotr Myszka POL on rank 3 is already 13 points back. Among the best of the day with the ranks 4/8/4 was also Louis Giard FRA as best youth surfer on rank 7 overall.
Same situation in the women's fleet with Lee El-Korsitz ISR winning all heats of the day and moving on top with a 13 points lead on Byrony Shaw GBR. Mayaan Dacvidovich ISR follows on rank 3. The 4th-ranked Charline Picon FRA is already 34 points behind. The event-website.

After an opening day with light winds, the Buzios thermal breeze filled in yesterday with the usual 15 kn average wind, and three races were sailed. In both fleets, the favorites took the command. Leader in the men with a small one-point's-lead is Byron Kokkalanis GRE ahead of the Olympic Champion Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED. Another point back are Nick Dempsey GBR and Piotr Myszka POL jointly on rank 3. As from today, the Championship continues with a Gold- and Silver-fleet.
In the women, it is Byrony Shaw GBR who moved up on rank 1 with two race wins, 3 points ahead of Charline Piccon FRA as 2nd and the defending Champion Lee El-Korsitz ISR another point behind on rank 3. The report and the pictures.
And here the ranks of the North-American men: 20th David Mier Y Teran MEX, 21st Zach Plavsic CAN, 56th Carson Crane USA. Women: 10th Demita Vega de Lille MEX, 24th Marion Leppert USA, 38th Laurence Bonneau-Charland CAN.

The fresh 15-20 kn breeze stayed also on the last day of the Cádiz Olympic Week. The 49ers saw a French double with Frei/Rocherieux FRA and d'Ortoli/Delpech FRA on the ranks 1 and 2, while Alonso/Alonso ESP finished 3rd and took the Spanish Champions' title ahead of the past-Worldchampion Iker Martinez ESP with his new crew Iago Lopez ESP. Socrates Fernandez ESP (Laser 4.7), Francisco Glez ESP (Radial M) and Emma Plaaschaert BEL ahead of Amélie Riou FRA and Mathilde de Kerangeat FRA (Radial women) are the winners in the smaller Laser classes. To be noted that in the Radials women, it was once more Annalise Murphy IRL who dominated the big-breeze days towards the end of the week winning all four heats, but as at the Olympics, this was only enough for rank 4 overall. On top of the Lasers Standard was Antony Munos FRA in front of Jesus Sanchez ESP and Matthis Naud FRA - here all Laser rankings. Leader change in the 470ern on the last day with Matos/Schedel POR replacing Barreiros/Corbelo ESP on rank 1. The report (in Span.) contains more ranking lists (RS:X, Finn).

The World Championships of the Olympic RS:X windsurfers began yesterday at Buzios BRA in light winds. Winning two heats, it is Charline Picon FRA who is on top of the women's rankings followed by Eugénie Richard FRA and Bryony Shaw GBR. Chuankun Shi CHN and Shahar Zubari ISR share the lead in the men's rankings, ahead of Pierre Le Coq FRA 2 points behind as 3rd of the 63 participants from 26 nations. The event-website including the results. The best North-Americans are in the men 16th David Mier Y Teran MEX, 29th Zach Plavsic CAN, 56th Carson Crane USA, and in the wome 17th Demita Lille Vegade MEX, 21st Marion Leppert USA, 35th Laurence Bonneau-Charland CAN.

Today begin the RS:X Windsurfing World Championships at Buzios BRA. Yesterday, the Practice Race was on the program, but the event-website does unfortunately contain neither results nor details on the day. 66 men from 26 nations and 41 women from 18 nations particpate.

The World Championship 2013 of the Olympic RS:X windsurfers begins today at the fashionable Brazilian holiday resort Buzios. This is the first reunion of the top windsurfers after the turbulences concerning the Olympic status. Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED, Nick Dempsey GBR, Shahar Zubari ISR, Byron Kokkalanis GRE, Piotr Myska POL, Zach Plavsic CAN with the men and Marina Alabau ESP, Blanca Manchon ESP, Lee Korzits ISR, Tuuli Petejä FIN, Byrony Shaw GBR, Charline Picon FRA in the women are all present, as well as the strong Chinese team. The only athletes missing are the two German Olympians Moana Delle GER and Toni Wilhelm. 65 male surfers from 28 nations and 41 female surfers from 18 nations are on the entry lists. New names in the North-American teams with Carson Craine USA, Laurence Bonneau-Charland CAN, Marion Lepert USA, Cathleen Tocke USA and Nicole Level MEX, in addition to the internationally experienced Zach Plavsic CAN, Demita Vega MEX and David Mier Y Teran MEX. The event-website.

Over the past weekend, the South American RS:X Championship 2013 took place in Rio as a tune-up to the RS:X Olympic Windsurfing Class World Championship 2013 in Buzios BRA. Most of the international top windsurfers participated. Winners were in the men Nimrod Masiach ISR ahead of Byron Kokkalanis GRE and Ricardo Santos BRA, and in the women Patricia Freitas BRA ahead of Bruna Martinelle BRA and Marina Alabau ESP. The report and the Worlds event website.

10 of the top PWA World Tour windsurfers decided to run a new Extreme Event in a tempest breeze, the 'Storm Chase' , sponsored by .... guess who ..... End of January, they did find the big breeze at the Irish West Coast to run the first of a planned series of events. In wind peaks above 70 kn, Josh Angulo CV, Tom Traversa FRA, Marcilio Browne BRA, Victor Fernandez FRA, Danny Bruch GER and others dared to ride the huge breakers. The video.

Updated ISAF World Ranking Lists have been published after the 2nd Worldcup event 2013, and for the first time, rankings for the Nacra 17 (nbr 1: Sarah Newberry/John Casey USA) and the 49erFX (nbr 1: Martine Grael/Kahena Kunze BRA) are posted. Caleb Paine USA and Greg Douglas CAN are on the 2nd and 3rd rank. Paige Railey USA is 3rd in the Lasers Radial, Charlie Buckingham USA and David Wright CAN are on the positions 3 and 4 in the Lasers Standard, The new calculation format caused a number of position changes, such as Tobias Schadewaldt/Hannes Baumann GER as new leaders in the 49ers, Richard Stauffacher SUI (who retired from competitions after the Olympics) in the RS:X-men and Tuuli Petäjä FIN for the first time on top of the RS:X-women. All rankings of the Olympic Classes.

Sail Auckland ended yesterday in an up to 30 kn breeze with among the participants the New Zealand Olympic elite such as the Olympic Champions Jo Aleh/Olivia Powrie NZL and the 49er Silver medalists Peter Burling/Blair Tuke NZL, who both were clear winners in their classes. Josh Junior NZL and Andrew Murdoch NZL, newcomers in the Finns dominated the race. First in the Lasers Standard was Ashley Brunning AUS ahead of Andrew Maloney NZL, while the Youth sailor Andrew McKenzie NZL was first in the Lasers Radial ahead of Sara Winter NZL. The only German sailing in New Zealand was Peter Scheueral GER who finished 8th in the 22 boats' OK-Yole fleet. Among the 20 Kite-Boarders was the matchracer Torvar Mirsky AUS who finished 10th. Winner was Torrin Bright NZL. All ranking lists, the report of the last day and excellentely edited videos.

The windsurfers terminated their Miami World Cup competition yesterday with a 'winner takes all' final (the windsurfers tested a new format) with Maayan Davidovich ISR (women) and Ivan Pastor ESP (men) as winners. Tuuli Petejä FIN, leader during the whole week was relegated on rank 2 of the RS:X-women. Blanca Manchon ESP, qualified for the final in the repechage after a rather weak performance during the series, finished on rank 3. The performance of Ivan Pastor ESP during the RS:X-men was rather average as well, but as big breeze specialist he took full advantage of the 20 kn plus wind on the final day. Nick Dempsey GBR and the superior leader during the week - Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED - finished on the ranks 2 and 3. The 49ers and the 49FX will test a new system in the finals as well. The best 6 teams will sail as many 10-minutes races as necessary till a team has three race wins. The results achieved during the week have no influence at all on the final outcome. Clear favorite for the overall victory in the Finns sailing a normal Medal Race is Caleb Paine USA 10 points ahead of Brendan Casey AUS. Schmid/Reichstädter AUT reduced the gap on the leading McNay/Huges USA in the 470-men to six points thanks of two race wins yesterday. These teams will duel for the final victory today. Nine points is the advantage of Fernanda Oliveira/Ana-Luiza Barbachan BRA in the 470 women. Silver will go either to Wang/Huang CHN or Xu/Yu CHN . Vadlau/Ogar AUT follow on rank 4. Everything is clear in the Nacra 17 for Sarah Newburry/John Casey USA after a flawless performance during the week. A new format - as we reported earlier - also in the Lasers where the Standard and Radial top-10 will sail three (!) double points medal races today, that will - together with the final results of the week's fleetraces - will count for the overall victory. On top of the Laser Standard is Charlie Buckingham USA ahead of Jesper Stahlheim SWE. David Wright CAN and Jean-Baptiste Bernaz FRA follow on 3 and 4. Annalise Murphy IRL - as always in a 20 plus breeze - dominated the Lasers Radial with two race wins yesterday. Paige Railey USA and Isabella Bertold CAN follow on the positions 2 and 3.
For more details see the US Sailing Team report and the Canadian Team report. All results and the daily report.

Lighter winds (5-12kn) prevailed for the first time on day 4 of the MOCR on Biscayne Bay. The Laser began with three final round races, and the winner of the qualifiers - Jesper Stahlheim SWE - defended his lead with the day ranks 3/3/2. Charlie Buckingham USA moved up on the 2nd place with a race win and is now clearly ahead of the 3rd-ranked Bruno Fontes BRA. Jean-Baptiste Bernaz FRA had a mediocre day and is now down on the 5th place. Strong comeback of Paige Railey USA in the Lasers Radial with two race wins, taking the overall lead ahead of Annalise Murphy IRL and Tuula Tenkanen FIN on the positions 2 and 3. The leading trio in the 49ers stays relatively close together still with Strammer/Brown USA 6 points ahead on Pesch/Burd USA and one point more Östling/Torlen SWE. Martine Grael/Kahena Kunze BRA in the 49FX have a 5 points' lead over Anna Tunnicliffe/Molly Vandemoer USA, while the best of the day - Giulia Conti/Francesca Clapcich ITA - are only one point behind the US team. Caleb Paine USA in the Finns added another race win on his record sheet, extending his lead on Brendan Casey AUS on 7 points. The 470 men leaders Stuart McNay/David Hughes USA increased their advantage on Schmid/Reichstädter AUT who finished only on the positions 10 and 11 yesterday. Fernanda Oliveira/Ana-Luiza Barbachan BRA are clearly on top in the 470 women, where the 2nd-ranked Xu/Yu CHN are already 11 points back. The day's best Lara Vadlau/Jolanta Ogar AUT advanced on the 3rd place. The new mixed-multihull Nacra 17 class is dominated by Sarah Mewsburry/John Casey USA. In addition to the Lasers, the windsurfer are also testing a new regatta format. They completed the first three heats of the quarter-finals yesterday. On top of the RS:X-men is still Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED followed by Ho Tsun Leung HKG and Ivan Pastor ESP. In the RS:X-women, Tuuli Petäjä FIN remains first, ahead of Maayan Davidovich ISR and Bryony Shaw GBR.
For details on the North American sailors see the US Sailing Team report and the Canadian Team report. The daily report (a.o. with explanations about the new regatta formats) and all ranking lists.

Challenging racing again on day 3 of the MOCR with a fresh 20 kn breeze prevailing. The Lasers Standard have completed the qualification phase after 6 races, and with the new format, a new serie begins with final rankings of the qualifiers as one result. Jesper Stahlheim SWE is in the lead before the final, followed by Bruno Fontes BRA and Jean-Baptiste Bernaz FRA. Charlie Buckingham USA ist 4th, David Wright CAN 5th. In the Lasers Radial, the big breeze specialist Annalies Murphy IRL is on top ahead of Paige Railey USA moving up on rank 2 and Tuula Tenkanen FIN as 3rd. Isabella Bertold CAN is 4th. Frederick Strammer/Zach Browne USA continue to dominate the 49ers and their advantage over the tied Östling/Torelen FIN and Pesch/Burd USA is already 9 points. The new leaders in the 49FX are Martine Grael/Kahena Kunze BRA ahead of Anna Tunnîcliffe/Molly Vandemoer USA, making progress from day to day in their first skiff regatta. Giulia Conti/Francesca Clapcich ITA are now 3rd. On top in the 470 men with the same number of points are Stuart McNay/David Hughes USA and Matthias Schmid/Florian Reichstädter AUT. The advantage of the first Fernanda Oliveira/Ana-Luiza Barbachan BRA in the 470 women is now 7 points. The best of the day Vadlau/Ogar AUT moved up on position 6. Caleb Paine USA leads in the Finns ahead of Brendan Casey AUS, and Sarah Newburry/John Casey USA continue their winning row in the Nacra 17. The big breeze specialist Dorian van Rijsselberge NED dominates in the RS:X male windsurfers in front of Ricardo Santos BRA and Nick Dempsey GBR. In the RS:X-female windsurfers, Demita Vega MEX defended her lead with a small margin on Bryony Shaw GBR.
For US details see the US Sailing Team report.
Up to now, Canada has athletes ranked in the top five of all six of their primary classes. See the Canada Team report
All rangking lists and the daily report.

The favorable wind conditions remained on day 2 of the MOCR as well with a 15-18 kn breeze on Bay Biscayne. Bruno Fontes BRA has taken the lead in the Lasers Standard with two race wins. To be noted that a new regatta format in this class is being tested, with - among other items - a bonus point for a race win. Jean-Baptiste Bernaz FRA, Charlie Buckingham USA and Jesper Stalheim SWE follow closely behind. In the Lasers Radial, Annalise Murphy IRL has joined Tuula Tenkanen FIN on top with the day ranks 1 and 2. Isabella Bertold CAN on 3rd follows one point behind, Paige Railey USA advanced on the 4th place. Two bullets made Frederick Strammer/Zach Brown USA the new leaders in the 49ers replacing Sebastian Östling/Kalle Torlen SWE. Giulia Conti/Francesca Klapcich ITA won two of the three races in the 49FX and are now a point ahead of Martine Grael/Kahena Kunza BRA. On the move up are Anna Tunnicliffe/Molly Vandemoer USA now on rank 4 overall with the ranks 1 and 2 yesterday. Two race wins as well for Sarah Newberry/John Casey USA in the Nacra-17-cats, consolidating their first place clearly ahead of Sarah Streater/Matthew Whitehead USA. Caleb Paine increased the lead in the Finns with two race wins as well, ahead of Brendan Casey AUS and Bruno Prada BRA on the ranks 2 and 3. On top of the small 470 men's fleet are now Matthias Schmid/Florian Reichstädter AUT in front of Stuart McNay/David Hughes USA at equal points. Inspite of a premature start, Fernanda Oliveira/Ana-Luiza Barbachan BRA climbed on the first position of the 470 women, as Xioamei XU/Chunyan Yu CHN had medium results only yesterday. The Olympic Champion Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED has taken the lead in the RS:X-windsurfers with two race wins ahead of Ricardo Santos BRA and Nick Dempsey GBR. Demita Vega MEX replaced Tuuli Petäija FIN from the first place in the RS:X female windsurfers. The daily report and all ranking lists.

A fresh 4 bft breeze prevailed on day one of the second 2013 ISAF Olympic Classes World Cup event on Biscayne Bay. On top of the pretty representative 70 boats' Laser Standard fleet is Charlie Buckingham USA, followed by David Wright CAN and Jesper Stalheim SWE. Jean-Baptiste Bernaz FRA, the only French sailing in Miami, is on position 5. In the Lasers Radial, also with a remarkable number of competitors, a new name - Cagla Donertas TUR - is first after two races ahead of Isabella Bertold CAN and Tula Tenkanen FIN. Paige Railey USA and Erika Reineke USA are on the positions 4 and 5. Three races were sailed in the skiffs: the first leaders in the new 49FX-class are Giulia Conti/Francesca Clapcich ITA at equal points with Martine Grael/Kahena Kunze BRA. First in the 49ers are Sebastian Östling/Kalle Torlen SWE. In the Finns, Caleb Paine USA is on top in front of the Starboat Olympic Bronze medalist Bruno Prada BRA. The Austrians Schmid/Reichstädter AUT and Bargehr/Mähr AUT confirmed their results at the 470 North Americans and are on the positions 2 and 3 of the 470 men, where the US Olympian Stuart McNay USA with his new crew David Hughes USA is on top. Xiaomai Xu/Chunyan Yu CHN lead in the 470 women ahead of Oliveira/Barbachan BRA. Good fleets are present in the windsurfers: RS:X-men's leader is Nick Dempsey GBR ahead of Roberto Santos BRA and the Olympic Champion Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED. Tuuli Petejä FIN is first in the RS:X-women followed by Blanca Manchon ESP and Marina Alabau ESP. Leaders in the first appearance of the Nacra-17-catmarans are Sarah Newberry/John Casey USA. The daily report and all ranking lists. This afternoon, the races of the day can be followed live on the Internet.

Today begins the second of four 2013 ISAF Olympic Classes World Cup events on Biscayne Bay. As already in Melbourne at the first event, the participation with 300 athletes in 13 classes is rather small. With the Nacra17 and the 49erFX, the new Olympic classes are for the first time active, but with small 7 boats' fleet each rather modestly. The entry lists and the official preview.

Next week begins the second ISAF Olympic Classes World Cup Event in Miami. Admittedly, the number of 303 participants from 36 nations sounds impressive, but 186 boats come from the USA and Canada. As in Melbourne in December, the fleets are rather modest, and only the Lasers Standard with 71 participants have a World-Cup worthy fleet on the starting line. For the first time, the Nacra-17-catamaran, the new mixed team multihulls, will participate with 7 teams at this premiere. Special attention will go to Anna Tunnicliffe/Molly Vandemoer USA, who - having been deprived of the Women's Match Race - start an Olympic campaign in the new 49er FX women's skiff. The entry lists and a preview by ISAF.

Twelve youth sailors have qualified for US Sailing's 2013 Youth World Team, and will receive invitations to represent the United States at the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Youth World Championship in Limassol, Cyprus from July 11-20. The U.S. Youth Worlds Team members were selected based on first-place finishes in their respective classes at US Sailing's 2013 ISAF Youth World Qualifier regatta, hosted by Clearwater Yacht Club, Jan. 19-21. See who's in the US-Team 2013 .

Winning the Billabong Pipe Masters season final in Hawaii, the Australian Joel Parkinson, age 31, took for the first time the Surf-World-Champion's title of the ASP World Tour 2012. He defeated the multiple defending champion Kelly Slater USA in the last run. The only European mentioned in the final rankings is Jérémy Flores FRA on rank 10. The videos on the ASP-website and the website of the new World Champion.

The latest edition of the ISAF Olympic Classes World Ranking List contains the results of the Melbourne World Cup Regatta. For the first time, the new Olympic women's skiff 49erFX is presented with Alexandra Maloney/Molly Meech AUS as the first leaders. A change on top of the RS:X-female windsurfers, with Moana Delle GER as number one. Tom Burton AUS is the new number 1 in the Lasers Standard. With the new ranking system (a 12-months' rolling ranking), the USA and CAN representation in the top-10s of all classes but the Windsurfers (how the Kiteboards are missed by US Sailing ... ) has increased with Zach Railey USA on rank 3 in the Finns as the best results. Other top ranked are Clarke/Lihan 4th 470 woman, David Wright CAN 4th Finn, Storck/Moore 6th 49er, McNay/Biehl 7th 470 men, Charlie Buckingham 7th Laser and Paige Railey 7th Laser Radial. Australia has reclaimed position one in the nations rankings, where the USA stay with one 3rd rank on rank 12. All ranking list.

No surprises today in the Medal Races of the first 2013 ISAF Worldcup event, that ended mostly with clear Aussie victories. Tom Burton AUS is the overall winner in the Lasers Standard with a 14 points' lead on Matthew Wearn AUS, age 17, who was the winner of the light wind Medal Race today. Krystal Wear AUS controlled the Medal Race of the Lasers Radial, booking a superior win ahed of Manon Luther SUI, realizing her best-ever Worldcup result so far. Brendan Casey AUS was first in 8 of the 10 races in the Finns, as did the Olympic Champion Matthew Belcher AUS with his new crew William Ryan AUS, who was on top of 10 of the 11 heats in the 470s. The Kite Boarding events went in favour of the Europeans. Florian Gruber GER was first of the men, Ariane Imbert FRA first of the women. All ranking lists and the reports. Over this weekend, it will be the 'Invited Classes' turn, mostly youth classes as the 29er, the Optimists or the 420s.

Light winds prevail today in Melbourne and most races have already been completed. For the updated rankings check the results of the day by noon UTC.
In the Lasers Standard, it is the ISAF World Ranking number 2 Tom Burton AUS who has taken the command already during the last regattas yesterday, and he confirmed his performance today so far. He replaced the youth sailor Matthew Wearn AUS on top after 9 races. Krystal Weir AUS in the Lasers Radial was not really at ease in the lighter winds today, but nevertheless, she succeeded to clearly keep rank 1 after 9 races. The woman of the day was Manon Luther SUI, finishing 1 and 3 and moving up on rank 2 overall. There is one race left for today. Tomorrow is Medal Race time.
With Brendan Casey AUS in the Finns and Belcher/Ryan AUS in the 470s, the Australian top sailors clearly dominate their classes. First in the big Kite-Boarder fleet is Florian Gruber GER, while in the women kiters, it is Ariane Imbert FRA holding the lead. Strongly on the way up is Astrid Berz SUI with 4 races wins today and advancing on rank 3 overall. All rankings and the daily report.

Moderate conditions prevail today and racing at the first 2013 Worldcup in Melbourne is 'back to normal' again after the 25 kn big breeze day yesterday. The 49ers (10 teams/1 nation) have already completed their program with 4 races with Steven Thomas/Rhys Mara AUS leading. The new Olympic 49erFX skiffs (7 teams/3 nations) sailed the planned races and the leaders are Alex Maloney/Molly Meech AUS. Only one race has been sailed by the Lasers so far today. Matthew Wearn AUS, age 17, winner of all three races yesterday in front of Tom Burton AUS, continues to defend his lead in the Lasers Standard. Eric Bowers USA is 19th. Krystal Weir AUS enjoys her favorite sailing conditions dominating the Lasers Radial and leading clearly ahead of Ashley Stoddard AUS and Elisabeth Yin SIN. All other ranking lists and the daily report.

Yesterday, the wind was partly exceeding 35 kn and only the course races of the Kite-Boarders were completed. Same situation with too breezy conditions this morning and all starts but the ones of the Kite-Boarders have been postponed. After the four semi-final races, Torrin Bright NZL is the clear leader in the men's fleet, followed by Salih Cakir TUR and Dirk Hänel GER on the ranks 2 and 3. In the women's fleet, the dominator is Ariane Imbert FRA. All rankings. Check out the event-website during the day to find out whether some more races have been completed. Here also the video-report of the first two days.

There was enough wind yesterday, but not in an ideal angle for this artificial canal oriented for Mistral conditions, and no attempts were started. The day remained nevertheless busy with a remarkable media attention, among others with Shirley Robertson GBR and her CNN-team. The French Wikibee website presents the canal and the two fastest kiters Rob Douglas USA and Alex Caizergues FRA in a video clip. Here the official event-facebook-pages.

Atypically difficult conditions with an 8 to 15 kn breeze prevailed yesterday in Melbourne. All classes sailed two, the 49ers and Kiters three races. Here the report. Today, thunderstorms and circling winds obstructed racing and only the Kiters completed two heats, according to the official report. Ater the first day, Ryan Palk AUS is on top of the Laser Standard interim rankings, while Ahley Stodard AUS and Krystal Weir AUS share the lead in the Lasers Radial. The Australian Olympian Brendan Casey AUS leads in the Finns with two bullets. Ben Leibowitz USA on rank 4 is the best non-Brit. Two race wins also in the 470s for the Olympic Champion Matthew Belcher AUS with his new crew William Ryan AUS. First in the Kite-Surfern is Florian Gruber GER with 5 race wins, clearly ahead of Torrin Bright NZL and Dirk Hanel GER. The best female kiter is Ariane Imbertz FRA. All ranking lists.

The Mistral filled in sufficiently yesterday afternoon in the Camargue to start the first record attempts on the new 800 meter long and 10 meter large canal prepared for speek kiting. Rob Douglas USA is already near the record with a 53,4 kn run, and also Alexandre Caizergues FRA with 52,45 kn is not far behind. Rob Douglas USA is convinced that the kite world record will be improved in the next days, but the overall record of Sailrocket of 65,45 kn is probably too far away. But who knows, ... with wind speeds of up to 60 kn, the Mistral over the Camargue offers stronger winds than the Walvisbay in Namibia. For Thursday, a 40 kn Mistral has been announced. The report.

Early this morning UCT began the ISAF World Cup season 2013 with the traditional 'Sail Melbourne' Regatta. The complete results of the day will be available by noon UCT. In addition to the Olympic Classes, numerous Youth classes, the Paralympic Skud 18 as well as the Kite-boarders participate. The first results have already been posted: In the Lasers Standard (35 participants, 9 nations), Jared West AUS was the first winner ahead of Ryan Palk AUS and Matthew Wearn AUS. Winner of the first Laser Radial (24 participants, 5 nations) race was Krystal Weir AUS ahead of Ashley Stoddart AUS. Winner of both Kite-boarding races of his group and taking the overall lead was Florian Gruber GER. Adam Vance USA, winner of the only race in the other group, is ranked 2nd overall. On top of the women kiters was Arianne Imbert FRA ahead of Astrid Benz SUI. The result overview and the event-website.

The fastest Board-Kiters have been waiting for wind for over a week at Les-Salin-de-Giraud in the South of France mouth of the Rhone river. With the 'Sailrocket' smashing the previous record of Rob Douglas USA by almost 10 kn, they are under pressure for a successful revenge. A fresher Mistral has been announced for the coming days, but it remains to be seen whether this breeze is strong enough for record attempts. The report and the preview video.

Since two weeks, the windsurfers at the Luderitz/Namibia Speed Challenge have come out with new speed records almost every day, thanks to the new deeper race track. The bay where the kite-boarders established their records last year on flat water with a perfect breeze has been adapted for windsurfer by digging out a deeper channel. The fastest up to now was Antoine Albeau FRA with 52.05 kn. A 10-minutes video summerizes the highlights of the first two weeks. The record attempts continue until end of November.

52,09 kn, established by Antoine Albeau FRA on last Thursday in Walvisbay, is the new windsurfing speed world record, the first windsurfer to have exceeded 52 knots. The 40-45 kn wind allowed for some more national records: Anders Bringdal SWE improved the Swedish record on 51,45 kn and Jurien Van der Noord NED set the new Dutch record on 51,26 kn. The fight for the Swiss record is now a duel, as Patrick Diethelm SUI, who repeated his 50,46 kn record yesterday, has now Björn Dunkerbeck SUI, living at Silvaplana SUI, as an opponent, speeding at 49,53 kn on his first day already. The report.

After the many records of the previous days, especially Friday, with the new windsurf world record of 51,69 kn by Antoine Albeau FRA and the new Swiss record of 50,46 kn by Patrick Diethelm SUI, the windsurfers concentrated on recovering and special trainings to be fit for another record week. The conditions seem to remain ideal, and even more improvements seem possible. By end of November, the kite boarder will join the Speed Weeek. The picture gallery from the Namibia desert gives a good impression about the event. Die Event-Website. See also the event-website.

A number of windsurfing records were beaten yesterday on the new channel at the Walvisbay/Namibia. Antoine Albeau FRA established a new windsurf world record over 500 meters with 51,69 kn and Anders Bringdal SWE was recorded at 51,34 kn and is the fastest on a series board ever. The new Swiss record, established by Patrick Diethelm SUI, is now 50,46 kn. 7 windsurfers exceeded the 50 kn barrier. The report.

Next Saturday begin the official Speed-Record-Weeks 'Salt & Speed' at Salin-de-Giraud in the French Provence. The Speed-Kiter Alex Caizergues FRA found this place in the mouth of the Rhone river, did some tests and decided to organise the event. Among others, the absolute speed record holder Rob Douglas USA has been invited. The Mistral breeze is very often blowing with over 50 kn, and all it needs to improve the record is the technique and strength to master the kite in such wind speeds. The report.

Good wind conditions allowed for more records in Namibia on Saturday. The fastest of the day was Anders Bringdal SWE who improved the Swedish record. The new Swiss record of Patrick Diethelm SUI is now 46.55 kn, while Christian Bornemann GER ameliorated the German record on 44,41 kn. The report and the video of the day, showing the very narrow record-speed channel.

The Supreme Power of ISAF, the quadrennial General Assembly with Delegates of all MNAs superseded the previous Council decisions, and reinstated windsurfing instead of kiteboarding as Olympic event. According to the regulations, a reopening of the case in Council failed to pass on Friday, as the 75% of votes in favour were not reached. With this, the much disputed kiteboarding decision of May 2012 was corrected by the member nations.
The major agenda item of the General Assembly, in addition to approving ISAF's four year business, are the Elections of the Executive Committee, President and Vice Presidents, and noting of the new Council as proposed by the MNAs. Carlo Croce ITA, President of the Italian Sailing Federation FIV, was elected President of ISAF for the coming four years. Already his father, Beppe Croce ITA was ISAF President from 1969-1986. The Italian candidate had the upper hand on Eric Tulla PUR with two votes. David Kellett AUS, who announced major changes in the structure of ISAF in case of an election, had apparently no chance. The report with the names of the seven Vice-Presidents, among them Gary Jobson USA, and the Council Members (representing nation groups). Councillors for Group P, North America, are Gary Bodie (USA), Peter Hall (CAN) and Cory Sertl (USA).

The Luderitz Speed Challenge in Namibia began last week with the first attempts, and thanks to the new somewhat deeper channel for windsurfers, first record speeds were realised: Zara Davies GBR established a new women's record with 44,19 kn, Antoine Albeau FRA increased his previous record of 49,01 kn to 49,41 kn. The report and first videos on the Event-Facebook-page.

The ISAF Council rejected yesterday the proposal to reopen the windsurfing/kiteboarding event's decision case. Two votes were missing to reach the 75% quota. All May 2012 modifications for the 2016 Olympics (women skiff, mixed-multihull and kiteboarding) remain therefore unchanged. In addition, the following events will be considered 'Core Events': single handed dinghy men and women (Laser, Laser Radial) and the double handed skiff (49er, 49erFX). These classes have their ticket until 2020 at least to guarantee stability. The ISAF report.

As expected, the Events Committee of ISAF has voted 17-2 to re-instate Windsurfing for the 2016 Olympic Regatta in Rio de Janeiro instead of Kite Boarding. In May, at its Mid-Year Meeting, the Events Committee voted by a 17-2 majority to retain Windsurfing as an Olympic Event, however that was overturned by the ISAF Council, who decided to insert Kiteboarding into the Olympic program. Among the many submissions received, the Events Committee selected and approved the submission 055-12 of the International Raceboard Association which would see Men's and Women's Windsurfing back in the 2016 Olympics and using the RS:X.
The Council will first have to vote to re-open the issue of the 2016 Olympic Events by a 75% majority. If this threshold will not be reached (rumours say that up to now at least 70% would be in favour to reopen)r, lastest Events Committee recommendation will be of no effect and the decision reached in May will stand. The suspense goes on !
Consult the News-Blog to be updated on the daily activities at the ISAF Annual Conference in Ireland.

Yesterday at the ISAF Annual Meeting, the Event Committee confirmed the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta as Worldcup venue. The low entry figures and the Europe orientation of the previous editions of the Worldcup prompted the responsibles to reduce the program on five events, i.e. Melbourne AUS, Palma ESP, Hyères FRA and now firm Miami USA. The Asian event will take place in China, venue to be decided later. Already on December 2, 2012, the 2013 Worldcup will begin in Melbourne AUS. Except the Lasers and the Kite-Boarders, the entry figures are very low, ... the flops continue. Germany and France delegate Kite-Boarders only ! Why not take Melbourne as last event of the 2013 tour to allow for a careful preparation of the new series and perhaps a date coordination with China? The athletes would probably prefer an attractive Worldcup Winner Prize Giving at a summer party in Melbourne over a proclamation in the dark-rooms of the ISAF Annual Meeting. Another doubtful decision of the ivory-tower Events Committee. The ISAF report.

Until next Friday, the Committees deliberate on the many Submissions sent in by the Sailing Federations (MNA) and Classes, before the Council will decide on the several proposals on the table. As commented several times in our news, it is the decision on the Olympic events, above all the selection of Kiteboarding or Windsurfing, that draws the major attention of the Delegates and the observers. The RS:X windsurfers even threat with a legal case, deploring the unclear, complicated voting procedure, which lead a number of Councillors to vote contrary to their intention, a crucial fact after a 19:17 ballot in favour of Kiteboarding. Up to now, an English Court has denied its competence for this case. The report. The Kite-Surfers support their case with a promoting video: "This is Kite-Racing !"
In one week from today, the new Executive Committee, including the new President, will be elected. Here the official preview with the candidates and an explanation of the Election procedure.

The Maui Makani Classic on its fifth day actually is the final event of the US-American Windsurf Tour. The famous surfs off the Hawaiian coast are again the perfect stage for spectacular photos and videos. The Wave competition continues up to next Saturday. The report with a must-see video.

The 2012 RS:X Youth World Championship in Taiwan ended yesterday with the two Medal Races sailed in a light breeze. Pawel Tarnowski POL had his title in the Boys prematurely. Kieran Martin GBR and Martin Olmeta FRA took Silver and Bronze. U17 Champion is Mattia Camboni ITA. The only North Amercan in the Medal Race, Ignacio Berenguer MEX, remained on the 10th final position. The report.
Naomi Cohen ISR won the Medal Race with the Girls and replaced Saskia Sills GBR on top of the rankings. In her first international season, the English girl, age 15, winner of the ISAF Youth Worlds and Youth Europeans, has now surprisingly 'only' the Silver Medal at the RS:X Youth Worlds, but she has at least Gold in the U17-rankings. Jeanne Dantes FRA took Bronze. The report and the videos.

The Techno 293 Youth European Championship in the South of Spain ended yesterday after two windy days, an ideal setting for the big-breeze specialists. Winner in the U17-Boys was Adam Sosnowski POL followed by Michele Cittadini ITA and Jael Paz ISR. Tom Monnet FRA defended his first place in the Boys' U15-rankings, ahead of Yoav Cohen ISR and Antonia Cangemini ITA. Marta Magetti ITA dominated the U17-Girls fleet in front of Zohar Ben Hayoun ISR, Silver, and Zuzanna Czurylo POL, Bronze. The U15-rankings show Giulia Alagna ITA on top ahead of Lucie Pianazza FRA and Maya Morris ISR. The event-website and the videos.

Low winds on the last day of the qualification heats favored the lighter windsurfers, whereas the leader Pawel Tarnowski POL had difficulties in the RS:X-Boys. Nevertheless, he succeeded to save 14 points of his huge advantage before today's Medal Race. Martin Olmeta FRA and Kieran Martin GBR follow on the ranks 2 and 3.
Saskia Sills GBR extended her lead in the RS:X Girls on 4 points, but Jeanne Dantes FRA, Neomi Cohen ISR and Shahat Tibi ISR have still their chances for the title in today's double points/no discard final race. The report and the videos.

Meanwhile, 11 races have been sailed at the RS:X Youth Worlds in Taiwan. In the men's, Pavel Tornowski POL extended his lead again. New on rank 2 is Martin Olmeta FRA. Ignacio Berenguer MEX remains on the 10th place. Jean-Sébatien Fugère CAN is 36th. The situation is open in the Girls, as the advantage of Saskia Sills GBR has melted to two points only after two mediocre races. Jeanne Dantes FRA and Shahar Tibi ISR share the second place. Today, more qualification heats are on the program before the Medal Races of Saturday. The report.

For three days, the Techno windsurfer Youth European Championship has been running in the South of Spain with a good participation, but rather in light winds. 5 races have been sailed so far. A triple Israeli lead is in the U17-Boys (87 participants, 16 nations) with Ofrek Elmehleh ISR on top. Tom Monnet FRA is first in the Boys' U15-rankings (58 participants, 11 nations).
Italian girls lead in the Girls' categories. Marta Magetti ITA was so far the winner of all In der Girls' U17 rankings (47 participants, 9 nations). Giulia Alagna ITA is on top of the U15-Girls (26 participants, 10 nations). The event website and the video.

The RS:X Youth Worlds 2012 in Taiwan continued yesterday with three races sailed in a 22-25 kn breeze. Both leaders - Pawel Tarnowski POL in the men and Saskia Sills GBR in the women - largely extended their leads with the day ranks 1/1/2, and will hardly be beaten in the remaining two regatta days. The fight for the other medals remains open in both categories. The U-17 leader Mattia Camboni ITA is new on rank 2 of the men relegating Kieran Martin GBR on the 3rd place. Martin Olmeta FRA is new on rank 4. Ignacio Berengue MEX advanced on rank 11. Jean-Sébastien Fugère CAN is 34th.
In the women, the ranks 2 and 3 belong to Anastasya Valkevich BLR and Shahar Tibi ISR with the same number of points, and the 4th-ranked Jeanne Dantes FRA follows only two points behind. Olivia Mew CAN remains 22nd. The report.

In three weeks from now, the ISAF delegates will reopen the discussion on Olympic events for 2016 at their Annual Meeting. As widely accepted, windsurfing had been eliminated at the last Meeting erroneously, as some delegates did not understand the voting procedure. The windsurfing community is now fighting that this decision be reconsidered, also with the argument on the world wide youth development program in place.
At present, the Youth Windsurfing World Championship takes place in Taiwan. The wind was light during the two races on the opening day, and the defending champion Pawel Tarnowski POL had a difficult day. Yesterday, the breeze filled in with 20 kn and Tarnowksi came back strongly in the three races of the men's fleet, moving up on rank 2, four points behind the first leader Kieran Martin GBR. Mattia Camboni ITA is 3rd and at the same time the best U-17 junior. Ignacio Berengue MEX is 13th among the 25 participants from 12 nations.
In the Girls' fleet, Saskia Sills GBR, btw nominated for the ISAF Women Sailor of 2012, is in the lead overall and U-17. Neomi Cohen ISR and Anastasya Valkevich BLR follow on the ranks 2 and 3. Olivia Mew CAN is 22 among the 23 participants form 12 nations and 4 continents. The daily report.

The latest edition of the ISAF World Ranking List with the new Olympic events contains for the first time data for Kite Surfing after the World and European Championships held in the past weeks. Athletes present at both events hold the top spots, with Adam Koch USA with the men and Steph Bridge GBR with the women. The new calculation system has caused modifications in most of the classes, much to the advantage of the USA Sailing Team, who appears now on position 3 of the nations' rankings, thanks to Adam Koch's first place in Kiteboarding men, Zach Railey, Finn, from rank 5 to 3 and Charlie Buckingham, Laser, from rank 9 to 3. As far as the top ranks are concerned, Matthew Belcher/Malcom Page AUS are back on top in the 470 men, as is Tom Slingsby AUS in the Lasers. The new nbr 1 in the Finns is Brendan Casey AUS. The ISAF report and all ranking lists.

The dominators of these Kiteboard Course Race World Championshiips 2012 - the defending Champion Johnny Heineken USA in the men's fleet and his sister Erika Heineken USA sailing for the first time in the women's fleet - are the winners, but the format with two Medal Races by event made the situation exciting, as both had lost the overall lead after the first final heat. The win of the very last run was necessary for the titles. Adam Koch USA and Julien Kerneur FRA complete the podium with the men, and in the women, the defending Champion Steph Bridge GBR took silver, while Bronze went to Caroline Adrien FRA. The report, the ranking lists as well as the videos.

The PWA-World Tour 2012 ended yesterday on Sylt GER in all disciplines and perfect conditions prevailed for the closing event. Thanks to two race wins on the last day, Antoine Albeau FRA overtook Björn Dunkerbeck SUI and won the Slalom World Cup and World Champion's title in the very last moment. Micah Buzianis USA is 3rd. No change however in the other disciplines: Philipp Köster GER won the Wave-Worlds-title, Scott McKercher USA is 31st. and José Estredo VEN finished as Freestyle World Champion for the 5th time. Philip Soltysiak CAN is 10th, Bryan Metcalf-Perez USA 17th.
In the women's, Valérie Arighetti-Ghibaudo FRA earned the Slalom title ahead of Karin Jaggi SUI, the Freestyle tiitle went to Sarah-Quita Offringa NED ahead of Laure Tréboux SUI, the women Wave Champion is Iballa Moreno ESP ahead of her twin sister Daida. All other details on the always very informative and up-to-date PWA-website.

The final heats in each of the three fleets yesterday decided on the composition of today's Medal Race with 10 drivers. Johnny Heineken USA leads with a considerable advantage and will hardly loose his World Championship title in the Medal Race.
A new winner however in the Women's fleet, where the European Champion Steph Bridge GBR won all three runs for the first time, but Erika Heineken USA remains on top for the moment.
The report and the videos.

Not enough wind and therefore no racing yesterday at the World Cup finals on Sylt GER. The big number of weekend spectators had to content themselves with the Party attractions in the evening. The wind forecast for the last heats today promises up to 30 kn ! The PWA-website.

The men sailed again four qualification heats to determine the Gold-, Silver and Bronzefleet split were sailed again yesterday in a 15-18 kn Scirocco. The women, sailing in one fleet, added also 4 races without any changes on top. Erika Heineken USA won all 4 races followed by Steph Bridge GBR four times on the 2nd place and Caroline Adrien FRA as 3rd. The women's ranking.
Heineken on top also in the men with Erika's brother Johnny Heineken USA on top with 7 wins in 7 runs. Riccardo Lecchese ITA follows on rank 2, Julien Kermeur FRA is 3rd. The windsurf Olympians Zach Plavsic CAn (69th) and Dorian Van Rijsseberge NED (84th) remain in the Silverfleet.
The men's ranking list.
The daily report and the videos.

Rain and unconstant winds made the third Slalom Elimination difficult, and up to now, only some preliminary heats were sailed with all favorites passing to the next round. Later in the evening, the Freestyler night session took place with Ricardo Campello BRA winning the Final against Danny Bruch ESP. The report and the videos on the PWA-website.

The Kite-Surf Course Racing World Championship 2012 - the new Olympic event for 2016 - on Sardinia ITA began yesterday in light winds with three races. 153 men compete in three, the 42 women in one fleet. Erika Heineken USA, sister of the men's defending champion Johnny, won all three heats, with Steph Bridge GBR, European Champion last week, finishing three times on rank 2. Caroline Adrien FRA and Christine Boenninge GER follow on the ranks 3 and 4. The women's rankings.
Johnny Heineken USA and Riccardo Lecchese ITA were the winners of all three heats in their fleets and lead overall. Julien Kerneur FRA follows on rank 3. The windsurf Olympians Zach Plavsic CAN on rank 64 and Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED, Olympic Champion, rank 106, were not at all at ease. The men's rankings and the daily report. See also a first video presenting a training's day.

The Slalom specialists were on the program yesterday, but the breeze did not show up at the season closing event on Sylt GER. Up to now, Antoine Albeau FRA is leading with two race wins, while the Worldcup leader Björn Dunkerbeck SUI flopped, what makes the final outcome in the annual competition again fully open. The Event-Website.

The Kite-Surfing Course Race World Championship 2012 began yesterday in the Bay of Cagliara ITA with the Practice Race sailed in a 15 kn breeze. Almost 200 kiters were at the start of the first competition of the new Olympic event. In the women's category, 34 drivers from 17 nations are at the start, among them the favorites Steph Bridge GBR, Katia Roose NED and Christine Boenninger GER.
In the men's, 153 participants from 35 nations are on the entry list with the USA team - Bryan Lake USA, Johnny Heineken USA and Adam Koch USA as clear favorites. Of interest will be the performance of the Olympic Windsuring Champion Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED. With Zach Plavsic CAN, another Windsurf Olympian is on the starting list.
The preview and the promotion-video.

The Slalom drivers had their first Eliminations yesterday in a 8-20 kn, and the winner in both heats was Antoine Albeau FRA, coming closer and closer to the leading Björn Dunkerbeck SUI in the overall Worldcup ranking. Dunky had a bad day: in the first Elimination, he was out after a flopped gybe, and in the second Elimination, he was lifted by a breaker and destroyed mast and boom while landing. Ross Williams GBR and Ludovic Jossin FRA are on the ranks 2 and 3 in theh interims rankings. Today, more races are on the program, probably in a breeze exceeding 20 kn according to the forecasts. All further details on the PWA-website.

Iballa Moreno ESP defeated her twin sister Daida in the Single Elimination Wave Competion Final taking the Wave World Champion title 2012 prematurely. In the Petit Final, Laure Trouboux SUI had for the first time the upper hand on Karin Jaggi SUI.
The men started with the first round of the Wave Double Elimination and most of the favorites advanced to the next round. At the end of the day, the Freestylers began with their competition without surprises.
The weather forecast for today announces a somewhat lighter breeze on Sylt, where the first Slalom heats will be run. All other details on the PWA-website.

Perfect conditions prevailed yesterday off Sylt GER with a fresh breeze and big surfs for the Single Eliminations of the Wave-specialists. Winner in the men's category was once again Philipp Köster GER defeating Victor Hernandez ESP. In the women's category, the eternal Hispano-Suiza battle went on with Iballa Moreno ESP winning in the semi final against Laure Tréboux SUI (in spite of a broken mast), while her twin sister Daida Moreno ESP had the upper hand on Karin Jaggi SUI. The women's final will be run today as the competition had to be stopped due to darkness. The PWA-website with reports and videos.

The Kitesurfers had little luck with the wind during their 4-days' Europeans off La Baule FRA at the French Atlantic Coast. Only on the first two days, the Course Racers were able to race four qualification heats per day in a 9-12 kn breeze. Over the weekend, the wind was absent. The Freestylers could not compete at all.
The new Course-Race Europaen Champions are Ricardo Lecchese ITA in the men's category and Steph Bridge GBR with the women. Winner of the European Open is Adam Koch USA ahead of Riccardo Lecchese ITA, according to the official report. The ranking lists however show a 5th race with Julien Kermeur FRA in front of Lecchese, meaning that the French kiter would lead in the European rankings. Silver for France in the women's took Caroline Adrien FRA on the 2nd place ahead of Katia Roose NED. 117 Kiters from 20 nations participated.
Tomorrow Tuesday begin the Course Racing World Championships in Cagliari ITA.

The final PWA World Tour Event 2012 on Sylt GER began yesterday with the first Freestyle Single Elimination and a complete first Elimination of the Wave specialists. Jose 'Gollito' Estredo VEN defeated the Dutchman Kiri Thode NED living on the Bonnaire Island, and with this win, Estredo VEN is just about to acquire his 5th World Champion's title. All favorites in the Wave contest advanced to the next Round, among them also the multiple Slalom World Champion Antoine Albeau FRA, who - fo a change - started in another discipline. The report, the video and all results of the day on the PWA-website.

5 qualification heats have been sailed on the first day of the Kite-Surfing European Championship 2012 at La Baule FRA at the French Atlantic coast, but yesterday, the wind was absent. Before the last races today, Adam Koch USA is leading ahead of Riccardo Lecchese ITA and Julien Kermeur FRA in the men's category with 56 athletes from 14 nations. First among the 17 women from 9 nations is Steph Bridge GBR ahead of the tied Caroline Adrien FRA and Katia Rose NED. The results and the report.

The ISAF World Ranking List published two days ago has been modified according to the new Olympic events, i.e. the Women's Skiff, Mixed Multihull and Kite-Surfing, that will be built up during the 2013 season. At the same time, the calculation method has been changed putting more emphasis on the current years.
Major changes occured because of this new system, and only Marit Bouwmeester NED in the Lasers Radial has kept the first position. US athletes are now in the top-10s in five of the six remaining 'old' events with Paige (3rd Radial) and Zach Railey (5th Finn) as best ranked. Greg Douglas CAN on rank 8 in the Finns is the best Canadian. Astonishing the jump of Charlie Buckingham (Laser Standard) from position 26 to 9 thanks to the new system ! The lastest rankings.

Defeating Philipp Köster GER in the super-final, Thomas Traversa FRA could celebrate his first PWA Worldcup victory with the Wave specialists. In his final show, he had - contrary to Köster - an ideal wave pattern and made everything clear with an excellent program. Young Köster GER, age 18, remained the comfort of the Overall Wave World Cup and World Championship, but he is now alerted, that a he will be matched by a direct opponent in the circuit in the 2013 season. All other details on the PWA-website.

Excellent conditions already early in the morning brought a hard 12-hours' working day for the Wave specialists. On top of the Single Elimination was Thomas Traversa FRA, who defeated the German superstar Philipp Köster for the first time after 18 months. But winning the Double Elimination, Köster GER, age 18, is nevertheless on top of the Denmark Worldcup and with this the Wave Tour winner and World Champion 2012. Today, a superfinal between Thomas Traversa FRA and Philipp Köster GER is on the program. The report and the videos on the PWA-website.

Despite the early start at 9 a.m., only two heats of the qualifications could be completed, as the conditions remained unstable during the whole day with too light winds constantly changing directions. More on the PWA-website.

The Wave contest of the PWA professionals began yesterday at Klitmöller DEN on the North-West point of Denmark with not too much breeze, but a good surf. All favorites - among them the Worldcup leader Philipp Köster GER - qualified for the next round after 18 runs. All other details, including a video, can be found on the PWA-website.

The multiple Freestyle World Champion Gollito Estredo VEN used the free weeks on the PWA World Tour Calendar to shoot a new video back home at Adicora VEN. An attractive presentation of Venezuela's beach life and of course a full program of breathtaking tricks. The 5-minutes' video.

The Alcati Slalom Worldcup ended yesterday with a last race, and again, Antoine Albeau FRA and Sarah-Quita Offringa NED (Aruba) had the upper hand, finishing also on top of the overall men and women rankings at the Turkish South coast. Ben van der Steen NED and Björn Dunkerbeck SUI occupy the ranks 2 and 3, and Dunkerbeck defended his first place in the annual Worldcup standings. In the women, Valérie Arighetti FRA and Karin Jaggi SUI are on the positions 2 and 3, and with this, Arighetti FRA replaced Karin Jaggi SUI on top of the annual rankings, i.e. the first place in the Slalom Worldcup, and at the same time taking the World Champion's title. All other details on the PWA-website.

The fresh 'Meltemi' breeze continued yesterday, an ideal setting for Antoine Albeau FRA, who dominated the two races and is now clearly ahead in the overall rankings. Runner-up remains Ben van der Steen NED, while Björn Dunkerbeck SUI stays on rank 3. Sarah-Quita Offringa NED (Aruba) is more and more up to speed and did not leave a chance to her closest opponents winning both heats. In the second run, the former World Champion Karin Jaggi SUI even missed the qualification for the Final. The 'oldies' Valérie Arighetti (-Ghibaudo) FRA and Karin Jaggi SUI remain on the ranks 2 and 3. All other details on the PWA-website.

Two heats were sailed yesterday in a 15 to 25 kn breeze. Antoine Albeau FRA, winning both, extended his overall lead, ahead of Ben Van der Steen NED and Björn Dunkerbeck SUI. Valérie Arighetti FRA came strongly back, as did the Freestyle World Champion Sarah-Quita Offringa NED, and winning a race each, they are now on the positions 1 and 2, while Karin Jaggi SUI is down on rank 3. All other details on the PWA-website.

Two more eleiminations were sailed yesterday in a fresh breeze at the Altcati PWA Slalom Wordcup competition. Antoine Albeau FRA and Peter Volvater NED were on top in the Men's fleet, while in the Women's, Sarah-Quita Offringa NED (Aruba) and Karin Jaggi SUI had a race win each. Karin Jaggi is now on top overall ahead of Valérie Arighetti FRA and Délphine Cousin FRA. Overall leader in the Men's is obviously Antoine Albeau FRA ahead of Ben Van der Steen NED and Micah Buzianis USA on the positions 2 and 3. The report and the video are posted on the PWA-website.

The Alcati PWA Slalom Worldcup at the Turkish South Coast began yesterday with two Single Eliminations for Women and Men each. Some of the favorites had already their first flops, e.g. Karin Jaggi SUI, who, after winning the first Elimination, missed the qualification for the Final in the second round, leaving her on the 4th place. Leader and a strong contender for victory is Valerie Arighetti FRA. In the Men's category, Antoine Albeau FRA is on top ahead of Björn Dunkerbeck SUI. All details on the PWA-website.

No wind on the first day of the PWA-Slalom-Worldcup in Turkey, but until next Sunday, there will be time (and wind) to successully run this event. All other details on the PWA-website.

Three races were sailed by class in the Finals fo the Techno 293 Youth and Masters' Worlds at Medemblik NED. The new leader in the U17-Boys' Goldfleet is Antonio Bonet ESP, and in the U17-Girls' Goldfleet Marta Maggetti ITA is on top with three race wins. Tom Monnet FRA extended his lead in the U15-Boys on 10 points, and also in the U15-Girls, the leader is French with Lucie Bossard FRA. Alex Buchau ESP is on top of the Raceboard-Masters. All ranking lists, the video of the day and the event-website.

Changes happened in the ISAF World Rankings and in three classes, new sailors are on top of the lists. In the RS:X-Windsurfers, Prszymislav Miarcsinski POL replaces his team mate Piotr Myska POL, not qualified for the Olympics. New on top of the 470 women are the Bronze medalists Lisa Westerhof/Lobke Berkhout NED. In the RS:X-women windsurfers, Zofia Klepacka POL reclaimed the lead. All ranking lists.

The Techno windsurfers sailed three races by fleet yesterday on the Ijsselmer. In the U17-Boys, Evgenj Ayvazyzn RUS and Michele Cittadini ITA are jointly on top, in the U17-Girls, Marta Magetti ITA is first with three bullets. In the U15-rankings, Tom Monnet FRA leads with the Boys and Lucie Pianazza FRA with the Girls. The best Raceboard Master is Mark Kay GBR. The event-website with all other ranking lists.

The Windsurfing Techno 293 Youth World Championship 2012 at Medemblik NED began yesterday with two races for the Boys and one race for the Girls. In the U17-Boys, Angel Granda ESP leads with two race wins, the U17-Girls' first is Yuet Yee Chung HKG, in the U15-Boys Tom Monnet FRA, the best U15-Girl is Giorgia Speciale ITA, on top of the Open-ranking is Megumi Iseda JPN. Leader in the Raceboards is Paul Leone GBR. The event-website.

The Techno293-windsurfer World Championship 2012 begins today in Medemblik NED with the first races. The entry lists contain over 200 participants from over 30 nations. The event-website.

The 470 Medal Races in Weymouth were sailed yesterday in a very light breeze, and - in spite of the small points' gaps between the top-2 teams, the positions on top did not change. Matthew Belcher/Malcom Page AUS took Gold in the men's class after an intense fight, already the third sailing Gold for Australia. Luke Patience/Stuart Bithill GBR had to content themselves with Silver. Lucas Calabrese/Juan De la Fuente ARG on rank 3 earned the first sailing medal for Argentina.
Jo Aleh/Olivia Powrie NZL, taking the lead just after the start with a move on the right side, were the superior winners of the Medal Race. Hannah Mills/Saskia Clarke GBR, forced to go left trying an attack, were last on the first mark, and the game was over. Lisa Westerhof/Lobke Berkhout NED defended their Bronze Medal ahead of Camille Lecointre/Mathilde Géron FRA 4th.
The Women's Match Race ended - after a long postponement - just at time-limit with a Best-of-Three instead of the planned Best-of-Five result. Olivia Price AUS defeated Silja Lehtinen FIN after a very intense gybing duel just on the finish line with a few centimeters (from the spinaker) with 2-1, Tamara Echegoyen ESP had the upper hand on Ekaterina Skudina RUS, leading initially, also with 2-1. With this result, the two dominators of the Round Robin will sail the Final today, the loosers meet in the Petit Final. All ranking lists.

The Medal Races of this first edition of the EUROSAF Youth Sailing European Championships 2012, sailed in 10-12 kn breeze, concluded the event, organised in Aarhuus DEN. In the Lasers Radial Girls, Celine Carlsen DEN reclaimed rank 1 from Floridia Joynee ITA in the Medal Race. Line-Flem Höst NOR takes Bronze. Maud Jayet SUI finished the competition on rank 15. Henrik Begby NOR defended his first position in the Lasers Radial Boys, and Joseph Beckett GBR replaced Hemsdorff DEN on rank 2. Jocelyn Keller SUI finished on rank 20. The title in the 29ers went to Fredrik Just/Markus Nielsen DEN. Winning the Medal Race, Sara Piasecka/Marek Kalinowski POL climbed on rank 2 overall. Ole Kuck/Niclas Kath GER are 3rd. In the 420, the titles went to Marella/Rossi ITA in the Boys, and Addari/Perini ITA in the Girls. Saskia Sills GBR took the title in the RS:X windsurfers Girls and Joseph Bennett GBR in the Boys. Winner in the Nations ranking is Italx. The report.

The Olympic Windsurfing competition, the last one if the Kite-Surfing decision for 2016 is not reconsidered, ended with two impressive Medal Race victories of Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED and Marina Alabau ESP, both already clearly ahead after the qualifcation races. With Nick Dempsey GBR on rank 2 and Przemyslav Miarczynski POL as 3rd, no changes happened on the last day. In the Women RS:X fleet however, major changes happened as the World Champion Lee-El Korzits ISR flopped in the Medal Race, allowing Tuuli Petäjä FIN to take Silver, the very first Medal for Finland at these Games. Bronze went to Zofia Klepacka POL. The Women Matchracer started with the Quarter Finals to be concluded today. The 470 men completed the qualification races with Belcher/Page AUS and Patience/Bithell GBR fighting for Gold and Silver. In the 470 women, Aleh/Powrie NZL reclaimed the top with two bullets, but Mills/Clark GBR and Westerhof/Berkhout NED stay close, with two races to go. All results and the report.

Racing continued in a fresher breeze than on the opening day, and all classes sailed three races at the EUROSAF Youth Sailing European Championship 2012, organised for the first time as a continental event in parallel with the ISAF Youth Sailing Worlds.
In the Lasers Radial Boys, Tobias Hemsdorff DEN, winner of three of the five heats so far, is on top, ahead of Robbie Gilmore IRL. In the Radial Girls, Floridia Joyee ITA is first. In the 29ers, Meggendorfer/Spranger GER are in front, followed by Kuck/Kath GER. Marella/Rossi ITA lead in the 420 Boys, Addari/Perini ITA are on position 1 of the 420 Girls, closely followed by Doyen/Riou FRA. The best RS:X-Boy windsurfer is Joseph Bennett GBR followed by Martin Olmeta FRA, and in the RS:X-Girls, the leader is Saskia Skills GBR. The event-website.

The Olympic Champion in the RS:X women windsurfers is Marina Alabau ESP, clearly dominating the competition and adding a Medal Race victory as highlight to the race series. The fight for the other Medals was - as expected - very exciting .. and ended with a surprise. The World Champion Lee-El Korzits ISR finished on rank 9 only and dropped out of the Medals. On her place, it was Tuuli Petäjä FIN taking Silver, and Zofia Klepacka POL is on rank 3, one point behind the 2nd. Olga Maslivets UKR, another point back is on rank 4. The Ukrainian was leading the Medal Race almost to the finish when Alabau overtook her, and relegated her to rank 4 overall. Only 4 points behind the Bronze Medal is Moana Delle GER on rank 5. Nikola Girke CAN finished 10th and is 10th overall. All ranking lists.

A stellar Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED - he had Olmypic Gold already after 8 of the 10 qualification heats - completed his triumph with a victory in the Medal Race, ahead of Julien Bontemps FRA who challenged him during the whole race. The Silver Medal goes to Nick Dempsey GBR, Medalist already four years ago, who finished this last race on rank 3. Przemyslav Miarczynski POL, 4th in the Medal Race, replaced Toni Wilhelm GER (9th) on the Bronze rank. The German is on the 4th position 4 points behind the Medal. Zach Plavsic CAN finished 10th and is on the final rank 8.
All ranking lists.

The RS:X men Medal Race will be started at 14 hrs CET today with the Olympic Champion already known. Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED had such an advantage in points already after 9 races, that he had his Gold Medal assured prematurely. The second-ranked Nick Dempsey GBR has good chances to take Silver this evening, considering his 11 points' lead over Toni Wilhelm GER on 3rd. The German will have to defend the Bronze Medal against Przemyslav Miarczyinski POL who is only 4 points behind.
In the women windsurfers, Marina Alabau ESP is first with a 14 points' advantage. The Gold Medal will be hers, as the direct chasers will be busy protecing their own interests for Silver and Bronze. Involved in this fight are all from rank 2 Lee-El Korzits ISR tied with Tuuli Petäjä FIN, to rank 11 Byrony Shaw GBR, 7 points behind rank 2. Die wind condition will be somewhat fresher with 15-20kn.
The 470 men have their races 9 and 10 on the program and it might well be that some more Medals will be alloted prematurely. The 470 women sail the races 7 and 8.
In the Women Match Race, the Quarter Finals are on the program today after 16 hrs CET as well as tomorrow. Olivia Price AUS meets Renée Groenveld NED, Anna Tunnicliffe USA vs Siljia Lehtinen FIN, Tamara Echegoyen ESP vs Claire Leroy FRA and Ekaterina Skudina vs Lucy McGregor GBR.
We shall - as in the previous days - cover these events continuously during the day on our live-ticker.

The first two sets of Medals were awarded after two exctiting and entertaining Medal Races of the Starboats and the Finn. And in addition, the RS:X windsurfer Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED earned his Gold Medal prematurely with his huge points advantage after 9 qualification races already. The report. In the Starboats, the Gold Medal was a well merited 'revenge' for Freddy Lööf/Max Salminen SWE who descended from rank 1 to 3 in the Medal Race 2008. With a start-to-finish race win, they catched up 12 points and took Gold ahead of Percy/Simpson GBR and Scheidt/Prada BRA. The report.
Hard was the fight for Ben Ainslie GBR in the Finns to become the most successful Olympic Champion of all times with four Gold Medals in a row. Admittedly, he succeeded to control the previous leader Jonas Hoegh-Christensen DEN during the Medal Race, but the third-ranked Pieter-Jan Postma NED looked like the final overall winner until a collision with a penalty turn removed all his chances for a medal. Ainslie GBR earned Gold followed by Hoegh-Christensen DEN on Silver and Jonathan Lobert FRA on Bronze, the first sailing medal 2012 for France. The report. In the 470 women, the gaps remain small after 6 races. Mills/Clarke GBR lead one point ahead of Aleh/Powrie NZL and 3 points on Westerhof/Berkhout NED. As best of the day, Conti/Michol ITA are now only 3 points behind the Dutch team. Nathan Outteridge/Ian Jensen AUS are on the way for a premature Gold Medal, as their advantage on Burling/Tuke NZL before the two last qualification races today is already 20 points. Thrilling is the fight for the Medal Race qualification as the ranks 9-14 are only separated by 12 points. Dorian Van Rijsselberge had his Gold Medal already after race 9 and in the Medal Race of Tuesday, the interest goes therefore on the fight for Silver and Bronze between Nick Dempsey GBR, Toni Wilhelm GER and Przemyslav Miarczyinski POL. In the women RS:X windsurfers, Marina Alabau ESP needs only rank 7 in the Medal Race to become Olympic Champion. During the qualifications, she was only once on a worse position as 7th ! But the ranks 2 -7 are separated by 11 points only ! All ranking lists and the event-website.

The RS:X men just finished their 10th and last qualification race in a decreasing breeze. The light-wind specialist Shahar Zubari ISR was the winner, but the 2008 Olympic medalist was not at ease during the whole competition and finished on the disappointing 19th place, far outside the Medal Race. Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED refrained from starting to race 10, as he has such an advantage that is already the overall winner and Olympic Champion 2012. However, he will be obliged to show up in the Medal Race on next Tuesday. In the fight for Silver and Bronze, Nick Dempsey GBR is favored after his 2nd race rank. He is now 11 points in front of Toni Wilhelm GER. The German will have to fight against Przemyslav Miarczyinski POL, who is only 5 points behind, to take the Bronze Medal. All other drivers are without chances for a medal, including Zach Plavsic CAN on rank 8. All ranking lists.

The RS:X-women windsurfers have finished their second race of the day, the 10th and final qualification heat. The Medal Race will take place next Tuesday.
Tuuli Petäjä FIN was the winner and advances on rank 3 overall. Marina Alabau ESP, 3rd in this race, keeps a solid 14 points' lead, a good plafform for Gold lateron. But the fight for Silver and Bronze will be very tight, as Lee-El Korzits ISR and Tuuli Petäjä FIN are at equal points on the ranks 2 and 3, and only one point behind follows Moana Delle GER, the day's best with the ranks 3 and 2. But with options for medals are also Zofia Klepacka POL (3 points behind Silver) and Olga Maslivets UKR (6 points behind Silver). Nikola Girke CAN defended the 10th overall place inspite of only a rank 18 today. All ranking lists.

Top conditions again in Weymouth yesterday with an 12 to 18 kn breeze. There were the varying currents, gusts and shifts, that made sailing very challenging. No surprise, that the favorites have taken command in all events, such as Belcher/Page AUS 470 men, Outteridge/Jensen AUS 49ers, Tom Slingsby AUS Laser Standard or Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED and Marina Alabau ESP in the RS:X-Surfers. In the 470 women, Jo Aleh/Olivia Powrie NZL lare on top of the 470 women. The most exciting situation will be in the Lasers Radial Medal Race (next Monday), where the first four are separated by one point only. Concerning today's race, the gaps between the teams will probably increase in the forecasted wind conditions. Major changes might occur in the 470 women, where the discard results comes into effect by this evening. All ranking lists and the reports.

The top-3 overall were again on top of the last race of the day, race 8 of the RS:X men windsurfers, with Toni Wilhelm GER winning ahead of Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED and Nick Dempsey GBR. The Dutchman's lead is now 15 points over Dempsey GBR and Wilhelm GER tied on rank 2. Only Przemyslaw Miarczysnki POL, 4th with a 4 points backlog, is within reach of this leading trio. Zach Plavsic CAN finished 7th in the last race and is on position 8 overall, Rob Willis USA, rank 33 in race 8, is 22nd overall. All ranking lists.

Winner of race 8 of the RS:X female windsurfers, sailed in a 16-18 kn breeze, is Lee-El Korzits ISR ahead of Tuuli Peäjä FIN and Olga Maslivets UKR. Marina Alabau ESP remains on top overall, but Lee-El Korzits ISR is now only 3 points behind the Spanish. New on rank 3 is Olga Maslivets UKR 12 points behind Alabau ESP. Nikola Girke CAN finished on the excellent 4th place and is on rank 8 overall. Farrah Hall USA was OCS and remains on the 22nd position overall. Herewith, the Women windsurfers have concluded the program of the second-last qualification day. Races 9 and 10 will be sailed tomorrow Sunday. All ranking lists.

Yesterday, the Finns and Starboats terminated their qualification races, and tomorrow Sunday, the Medal Races are on the program. In the Stars, the same teams as in 2008 will be on the podium this time. Only the final sequence has to be determined in the double-points-no-discard Medal Race. Ian Percy/Andrew Simpson GBR lead 8 points ahead of Robert Scheidt/Bruno Prada BRA, and Freddy Lööf/Max Salminen SWE are 12 points behind the Brits. Jonas Hoegh-Christensen and Ben Ainslie GBR two points behind have a medal for good. Which one will be seen on Sunday.
For the first time, the women 470 were in action yesterday. Mills/Clark GBR took the lead with the day ranks 1 and 6, ahead of Jo Aleh/Powerie AUS and Westerhof/Berkhout NED. Patience/Bithell GBR lead in the 470 men, but the favorites Belcher/Page AUS are on the way up. The surprising Schmid/Reichstädter AUT remained on rank 3. In the 49ers, Nathan Outteridge/Ian Jensen AUS have a clear lead, but, Burling/Tuke NZL reduced the gap on the leaders. The two Laser fleets resumed racing after their lay day. Tom Slingsbx AUS finally succeeded to replace Pavlos Kontides CYP on top of the rankings. In the Radials, Evi Van Acker BEL replaced Annalise Murphy IRL by a small margin. The RS:X-windsurfers and Match Race women had their lay day yesterday, and shall resume racing today. All results and the reports.

Except the Women Matchracers and Windsurfers (men and women), all classes are in action. The 49ers, Finns and Starboat terminate the qualificaitions for the Medal Races. The 470 women sail their first two races. According to the wind forecast, a 15 to 20 kn breeze will prevail again. As in the previous days, we shall continuously report on race after race during the day.

After 8 races sailed in the Finns, the Starboats and 49ers, and 6 races in the RS:X-Windsurfers and Lasers Standard and Radial, some top contenders for medals are clearly visible. While with Percy/Simpson GBR in the Stars, Outteridge/Jensen AUS in the 49ers, Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED and Marina Alabau ESP in the RS:X windsurfers the most mentioned favorites are on top, some surprises happened in other classes, above all in the Lasers. Annalise Murphy IRL leads with the Radials after a brilliant 4-wins-in-a-row series during the first two days, and the young Pavlos Kontides CYP is on top of the Lasers Standard ahead of the dominator of the class and ISAF World Sailor of the Year Tom Slingsby AUS. The superstar Ben Ainslie GBR shooting for his 4th Gold Medal was yesterday for the first time the day's best in the Finns, but he is still behind the top-sailing Jonas Hoegh-Christensen DEN. The Women Match-Race really starts with the Quarterfinals. Up to now, Olivia Powrie AUS, age 20, showed a flawless performance winning all 10 matches in the Round Robin so far. For the first time sailing yesterday were the 470 men, and Patience/Bithell GBR are the firs leaders with the day ranks 1 and 2. Surprisingly on the 2nd place are Schmid/Reichstätter AUT. The only NorAm team with chances for a Medal is Team Anna Tunnicliffe USA, on track for a Quarterfinal qualification. All results and he daily reports.

The RS:X men terminated their program today with race 6, before going to the lay day tomorrow Friday. For a change, the stellar leader Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED left the first place to the local hero Nick Dempsey GBR. The usual names - Przemyslaw Miarczynski POL, Julien Bontemps FRA and Toni Wilhelm GER - occupy the ranks 3 to 5. Zach Plavsic CAN, 17th, could not confirm his top result from the first race of the day, nor could Rob Willis USA, 28th, improve his performance. 11 points behind the superior overall leader Van Rijsselberge NED follows a group of three - Wilhelm GER, Miarczynski POL and Dempsey GBR - within two points. The World Champion Bontemps FRA 5th is another 11 points behind. Plavsic CAN is 8th, Willis USA 18th. All results.

Zofia Klepacka POL is also the winner of the second race of the day, race 6 overall, ahead of Marina Alabau ESP and Olga Maslivets UKR. In the overall rankings, Alabau is still 3 points ahead of Lee-El Korzits ISR. Zofia Klepacka POL is 3rd and still 6 points behind Alabau. Moana Delle GER defended her fourth rank and has still theoretical chances for a medal. Nikola Girke CAN, ranks 8 und 10 today, remains on 9th overall. Farrah Hall USA is 20th. All ranking lists.

High traffic again today on the races courses of Weymouth. The 49ers, Starboats and Finns sail their races 7 and 8, the Match Race Women continue with the Round Robin, and the RS:X windsurfers start to their heats 5 & 6. For the first time, the 470 men will be in action. We shall again update the news ticker continuously from 13 p.m. CET on during the whole afternoon. With up to 25 kn, the forecast predicts the highest wind speed at the 2012 Olympics so far.

Excellent conditions prevailed again on the Olympic waters of Weymouth yesterday with winds between 16 and 18 kn. The two Laser fleets have their lay day today with 6 of the 10 planned races completed each. With Pavlos Kontides CYP in the Lasers Standards and Annalise Murphy IRL in the Lasers Radial, unexpected names are on top of both events. In the 49er however, the favorites Outteridge/Jensen AUS have already a 13 points' lead ahead of Burling/Tuke NZL. Superior leaders are also on top of the RS:X-windsurfers with Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED with the men and Marina Alabau ESP with the women, both having won 3 of the 4 races. The Women Match Race comes to a crucial phase. With an 8-0 score, Olivia Powrie AUS is the first having her quarter final ticket, and Tamara Echegoyen ESP and Ekaterina Skudina RUS are also on a good way. All ranking lists and the reports.

By winning both races of the day Marina Alabau ESP was the queen of the day in women's windsurfing. After only four races she is leading by already 8 points on Lee-El Korzits ISR, who hadn't her best day by posting a 7th and a 2nd. Moana Delle GER improved to 3rd. Tomorrow two more races are scheduled. Nikola Gierke CAN (10/6 today) is now on 9, Farrah Hall USA (18/18) is on 18 overall. All rankings.

The RS:X-male windsurfers have terminated their program of today with the second race, i.e. race 4 overall. For the first time, the winner is not Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED, but Nick Dempsey GBR, the Silver medalist of 2008. Byron Kokalanis GRE and Przemyslav Miarczyinski POL follow on the ranks 2 and 3. Overall, Van Rijsselberge NED remains on top ahead of - new - Miarczynski POL on 2nd and Dempsey GBR on 3rd, replacing Toni Wilhelm GER, who finished only 9th in race 4. A good 6th place brings Zach Plavsic CAN on rank 6 overall, Rob Willis however finished 25th and is down on rank 13. Tomorrow, races 5 and 6 are on the program. All ranking lists.

Racing will resume at noon UCT with two races for each class on the program, i.e. the 49ers, Lasers Standard and Radial as well as the male RS:X-windsurfers. On 14 p.m. UCT, the female RS:X windsurfer join in and the Round Robin Day 4 will start for the Women Matchracers. After 6 of 10 planned races, the Finn nd Starboat sailors can enjoy a lay day,
Our Newsticker will follow the action in Weymouth continuously providing the latest news.

After three days' competitions, the Olympic Regatta has been successfully launched with 6 events on the go. Good sailing conditions prevailed up to now and racing has been thrilling and varied so far.
The outstanding facts so far are the smashing dominance of Annalise Murphy IRL winning all four Laser Radial races so far. See the report). Another highlight is the strong performance of Jonas Hoegh-Christensen DEN in the Finns, controlling the big favorite Ben Ainslie GBR clearly up to now leading with a 10 points' advantage after 6 races. The Bericht. The Finns have their lay day today. The Starboat leading trio after six races is identical with the Olympic Podium 2008 with Percy/Simpson GBR four points ahead of Scheidt/Prada BRA and Lööf/Salminen SWE following on rank 3. The report. Surprising also the performance of the young Pavlos Kontides CYP in the Lasers Standard: After two race wins yesterday, he is only 4 points behind the World Champion and ISAF Sailor of the Year Tom Slingsby AUS. Other Australian leaders are - no surprise - Outteridge/Jensen AUS in the 49ers. See report), and in the Women Match Race, where Olivia Powrie AUS are undefeated at half-time of the Round Robin and on a safe way to the Quarter Finals. In the male windsurfers, Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED is on top winning the first two races. See report). Favorites in front of the female windsurfers as well with Marina Alabau ESP (1/2) and Lee-El Korzits ISR (3/1) in a duel for the lead. All ranking lists and the event-website.

Today is day one for the Men and Women RS:X Windsurfers with two races each. The Finns and Starboats sail their races 5 and 6, the 49ers and Lasers continue with the races 3 and 4, and the Women Matchracers go on with the Round Robin. The wind forecast promises again medium winds between 13 and 16 kn. The Lasers Radial are the first to start racing a at 12 hrs UCT. Please follow the day on are News-Live-Ticker covering the races continuously.

The PWA Fuerteventura Grand Slam ended yesterday with the finals of the Freestyle Double Elimination. Winner in the men's category was again José Estredo VEN defeating Steven Van Broekhoven NED, and in the women's, Sarah-Quita Offringa NED was again better as the Swiss Laure Tréboux SUI. All other details on the PWA-website.

The Freestyle-Worldcup Double Eliminations were on the program on Fuerteventura ESP yesterday. As in the Single Eliminations, the final was between Sarah-Quita Offringa NED (Aruba) and Laure Tréboux SUI, with - again - Offringa having the upper hand. The dying breeze prevented the men from sailing the decisive heats, and the competition was abandoned after the preliminary runs. All other details on the PWA-website.

The seabreeze was absent during the whole day and only in the evening, a little thermal wind allowed the men to sail two heats of the Freestyle Double Elimination. All details on the PWA-website.

The Olympic Games 2012 were launched yesterday evening with the big Opening Celebrations in London. For sailing in Weymouth, the first races are scheduled for Sunday with the Starboats with Flavio Marazzi/Enrico De Maria SUI and the Finns with the Engish super-star and big favorite Ben Ainslie GBR.
As four years ago, www.sailing-news.ch will post continuously all import information on this website. In addition, the Olympia section will contain links to more details, films, interviews as available on the Internet for your convenience. The ISAF Olympia website and the official London 2012 webstie. Teh US Olympic Sailing Team is informing daily on their Olympic blog.

Good conditions prevailed allowing to conclude the first Freestyler Single Elimination. The winners are well known names with José Estredo VEN defeating Tonky Frans NED in the men's final, while Sarah-Quita Offringa NED (Aruba) is once more on top of the women's winning the final over Laure Tréboux SUI. Report, videos and photos as usual on the well-updated PWA-website.

After 5 days with Men's Slaloms, the Freestylers began their competition yesterday with the first eliminations. The wind filled in late and only 15 heats could be completed with the favorites on the winning side. All further details on the PWA-website.

Only for a few moments in the morning, the breeze was sufficient for some more slalom heats, but the competition had to be abandoned without any results. The Tuesday rankings remain therefore unchanged with Finian Maynard BVI on rank 1 ahead of Ben Van der Steen NED and Antoine Albeau FRA as final rankings of the Slalom event. As from today, the Freestylers have their say. More on the PWA-website.

Top conditions prevailed yesterday for the Grand Slam Slalom on Fuerteventura, and the slalom specialist completed three runs. Man of the day was Finian Maynard BVI taking the overall leads with the day ranks 1/1/3. Ben Van der Steen NED, Antoine Albeau FRA and Björn Dunkerbeck SUI follow behind. All further details on the PWA-website.

Difficult light wind conditions prevailed yesterday on the last day of the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships in Ireland, and the last race brought some changes on top of the rankings. Carlos Robles/Florian Trittel ESP had regained their title with the 29ers on Thursday already. Rual/Biton FRA and Lange/Majdalani ARG secured the Silver and Bronze Medal. No change also on the SL-16-catamarans[/URL, where White/Britz GBR took Gold, Darmanin/Copeland AUS Silver and Lowy/Vidal BRA Bronze. While the two top teams from France and the Netherlands were involved in a close duel in the final race of the [url=wxw.isafyouthworlds.com/editions/2012/38606.php]420 Boys, the 3rd-ranked David and Alex Charles ESP finished first and passed on top of the rankings taking the title. Pirouelle/Sipan FRA and Goedhart/Van Stekelenborg NED had to content themselves with Silver and Bronze. In the 420-Girls however, the leaders Illaria Paternoster/Benedetta Disalle ITA defended their first position ahead of Smith/Clark AUS and Vose/Irwin GBR. Howitz/Fuente CHI missed the podium by one point only. Mitchell Kiss USA, the clear leader during a major part of the Laser Radial Boys Championship and starting with an 11 points cushion to the last race lived a disaster final day. Knowing that Kiss had an early start disqualification as discard result, Mark Spearman AUS sailed the American down on the last place in the fleet in a ruthless fight... and the title went to the Australian. Mitchell Kiss USA even dropped out of the Medals ! Silver went to Finn Lynch IRL, Bronze to Herrmann Tomasgaard NOR. Julia Carlsson SWE is the winner in the Laser Radial Girls. Line Höst NOR and Cecilia Zorzi ITA gained the other two Medals. In the RS:X-Windsurfer G
Girls, Saskia Skills GBR remained the clear winner ahead of Naomi Cohen ISR and Veronic Fanciulli ITA. Wonwood Cho KOR defended his title in the RS:X-Windsurfer Boys by a small two points' margin on Mattia Camboni ITA. Maxime Labat climbed on rank 3 on the last day.
The best North American sailors are: in the Laser Radial Boys Mitchell Kiss (USA) 4th, in the Laser Radial Girls Natalia Montemayor (MEX) 15th, in the 420 Boys Barrows/Coyle (ISV) 10th, in the 420 Girls Grapengeter-Rudnick/Rohman (USA) 11th, in the RS:X Boys Ignacio Berenguer (MEX) 10th, in the RS:X Girls Cristina Ortiz (MEX) 19th, in the SL16 Catamarans Herrin/Armington (USA) 8th and in the 29ers Wilson/Wilson (USA) 4th.
The Nations Trophy went to England ahead of France and Italy. The USA are on rank 13. All results and the final report.

Two races were sailed yesterday in moderate conditions. Though there is still one final day of racing scheduled at the 2012 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship on Dublin Bay in Ireland, two class titles have already been decided. In the 29ers, the defending champions Carlos Robles/Florian Trittel ESP have been on top since the first day and cannot be overtaken after 11 races thanks to a 5th place fininsh as discard results. Lucas Rual/Thomas Biton FRA and 5 points behind Klaus Lange/Mateo Majdalani ARG will sail for Silver and Bronze today. Rupert White/Tom Britz GBRin the SL-16-catamarans made everything clear for the title with two race wins. Three teams fight today for the other two medals: Lowy/Vidal BRA are two points ahead of Darmanin/Copeland AUS, and another point back are Demesmaeker/Hendrickx BEL. On a good way to the title are also Pirouelle/Sipan FRA in the 420 Boys with an 11 points' advantage on Goedhart/Van Stekelenborg NED and - another two points behind - Charles/Charles ESP. Fully open however is the situation in the 420 Girls, where the best of the day Paternoster/Disalle ITA are now one point in front of Smith/Clark AUS. 10 points farther back duel Vose/Urman GBR and Horwitz/Fuentes CHI for the Bronze-Medal. Mitchell Kiss USA has a solid 13 points' lead before the last race in the Lasers Radial, and the second-ranked Mark Spearman AUS has a 17 points' advantage over the third Finn Lynch IRL auf, who will be attacked for Bronze by Hermann Tomasgaard NOR one point behind. In the Laser Radial Girls, there is only a small theoretical chance to take the title away from Julia Carlsson SWE who has a 19 points lead on Line Höst NOR. The 3rd-ranked Cecilia Zorzi ITA is only one point in front of Pinar Kaynar TUR. The Gold- and Silvermedals seem to be awarded in the RS:X-female windsurfers, as Saskia Skills GBR on top is 13 points in front of Naomi Cohen ISR, and another 12 points back follow Veronica Fanciulli ITA; Natalia Kapczyk POL and Anastasyia Valkevick BLR separated by 3 points. Tied on top of the RS:X male windsurfers are the defending champion Wonwood Cho KOR and Mattia Camboni ITA, while the Maxime Labat FRA and Aleksander Tugaryev UKR is fighting for Bronze.
The best North American sailors in addition to the outstanding Mitchell Kiss USA 1st in the Laser Boys are in the Laser Radial Girls Natalia Montemayor (MEX) 16th, in the 420 Boys Barrows/Coyle (ISV) 11th, in the 420 Girls Grapengeter-Rudnick/Rohman (USA) 10th, in the RS:X Boys Ignacio Berenguer (MEX) 11th, in the RS:X Girls Cristina Ortiz (MEX) 19th, in the SL16 Catamarans Herrin/Armington (USA) 10th and in the 29ers Wilson/Wilson (USA) 4th.
The daily report and all ranking lists.

The second half of the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship 2012 after the lay day began yesterday with two races sailed in an initial 15 kn breeze, decreasing during the day. In most of the classes, the situation remains fully open, and changes might occur especially as lighter winds have been announced for the last two days of the event.
In the 420-Boys, the leaders Pirouelle/Sipan FRA had their weakest day so far, allowing Goedhard/Van Stekelenborg NED to close the points' gap. As best of the day, the 3rd-ranked Charles/Charles ESP remain only 5 points behind. A five points' separation also for the first three in the 420-Girls with Smith/Clarke AUS ahead of Paternoster/Disalle ITA and Vose/Urwin GBR. The defending champions Robles/Trittel ESP in the 29ers succeeded to extend their lead on 3 points with two bullets yesterday, but Rual/Biton FRA keep on, and these two teams will fight for the title in the two days to come. Lange/Majdalani ARG on 3rd are already 16 points back. In the SL-16-catamarans, White/Britz GBR remain on top with Darmanin/Copeland AUS 4 points behind. Demesmaeker/Hendrickx BEL stays on rank 3. In spite of a premature start, Mitchell Kiss USA keeps a solid 11 points' lead in the Laser Radial-Boys. Marco Zani ITA and Mark Spearman AUS are on the positions 2 and 3. In the Laser Radial Girls, Julia Carlsson SWE has taken the lead for the first time with a 16 points' advantage over Maria-Cristina Boabaid BRA. Line Höst NOR descended on the 3rd rank. Even larger is the advance of Saskia Skills GBR in the RS:X-female windsurfers with 16 points on Naomi Cohen ISR and Anastasiya Valkevich BLR. The RS:X-Boys champion's race will be between the defending champion Wonwood Cho KOR and Mattia Camboni ITA only 2 points behind. Michael Cheng HKG on the 3rd place is over 20 points back.
The best North American sailors in addition to the outstanding Mitchell Kiss USA 1st in the Laser Boys are in the Laser Radial Girls Violet Stafford (CAN) 20th, in the 420 Boys Barrows/Coyle (ISV) 11th, in the 420 Girls Grapengeter-Rudnick/Rohman (USA) 10th, in the RS:X Boys Ignacio Berenguer (MEX) 11th, in the RS:X Girls Cristina Ortiz (MEX) 19th, in the SL16 Catamarans Herrin/Armington (USA) 9th and in the 29ers Wilson/Wilson (USA) 4th.
All ranking lists and the daily report.

The ISAF Youth Worlds sailors had their lay day yesterday in Dublin IRL. From today until Saturday, the races for the title will intensify. Here all interims rankings after 7 races. The wind forecast for today with up to 20 kn predicts another breezy day, but towards the end of the Championship, the wind will become more moderate. The event-website.

Shifty and gusty westerly offshore winds and torrential rain and reduced visibility prevailed again on day three of the Youth Sailing Worlds on Dublin Bay. All classes sailed another two races before the lay day today and three days of competition to go. Results remains closest among the 420-Girls' leaders where, after they sailed "a blinder", scoring two bullets today, Australia's Smith/Clark are now tied on 20 points with yesterday's leaders, Vose/Urwin (GBR), in turn two points ahead of Italy's Paternoster/Disalle. In the 420-Boys, Guillaume Pirouelle/Valentin Sipan FRA could extend their lead on 8 points, and Goedhart/Van Steckelenborg NED are as solid on rank 2. Charles/Charles ESP follow on the 3rd place. The defending champions Carlos Robles/Florian Trittel ESP in the 29ers remained on top, but the first persuers Rual/Biton FRA are now only one point behind. The new 3rd are Lange/Majdalani ARG. No changes in the SL-16-catamarans, where White/Britz GBR extended their lead with another race win. Darmanin/Copeland AUS and Demesmaeker/Hendrickx BEL stayed on the positions 2 and 3. Mitchell Kiss USA is the sole leader in the Lasers Radial Boys with Maksim Nikolaev RUS 3 points back. The best of the day Herrmann Tomasgaard NOR advanced on the 3rd place. Still a close pack is on top of the Laser Radial Girls with Line Höst NOR 3 points ahead of the surprising Pinar Kaydar TUR and 4 points in front of Julia Karlsson SWE. Dominating remains Saskia Skills GBR as first in the RS:X-Girls, as the 2nd Anastasiya Valkevich BLR is already 13 points behind. The new 3rd is Naomi Cohen ISR. In the RS:X-Boys, it is the defending champion Wonwood Cho KOR who keeps the lead followed by Mattia Camboni ITA and Kiran Badloe NED.
Slight down tendency for the best-ranked NorAm teams except solid Mitchell Kiss USA on top and Juanky Perdomo PUR as 6th in the Laser Boys. Wilson/Wilson USA 3rd are now 4th in the 29ers, Grapengeter-Rudnik/Rohman USA 12th in the 420 Girls, Barrows/Coyle ISV 10th in the 420 Boys and Ignacio Berenguer MEX 11th in the RS:X Boys.
Leading the Youth Worlds Nations Cup at halftime of the championship is France, ahead of England and Spain. The USA Team, as the top teams attending all 8 events, is on the 8th position. All ranking lists, the daily report and the videos.

Even more gusty and shifty was the breeze on day two of the ISAF Youth Worlds making sailing pretty difficult. Pitouelle/Sipan FRA perfectly coped with this situation and have already an 11 points' lead in the 420er-Boys ahead of Goedhart/Van Stekelenborg NED 2nd and Charles/Charles ESP 3rd. Superior leaders in the 420er-Girls are Annabel Vose/Kirstie Urwin GBR, finishing 1/2/3 yesterday in front of Smith/Clark AUS and Paternoster/Disalle ITA at equal points. In the 29ers, Robles/Trittel ESP keep the first place, but Rual/Biton FRA are adamant chasers. Wilson/Wilson USA follow on rank 3. In the SL-16-catamarans, White/Copeland GBR are now the single leaders ahead of Darmanin/Copeland AUS and Demesmaeker/Hendrickx BEL. In the fleet of the Lasers Radial Boys, Mitchell Kiss USA and Marco Zani ITA are tied on top, with Mark Spearman AUS on rank 3. Line Höst NOR defended her lead in the Lasers Radial Girls ahead of Pinar Kaynar TUR and Agata Barwinska POL. Outstanding the performance of Saskia Sills GBR in the RS:X-Girls, where her lead on Veronica Fanciulli ITA is now 8 points. Anastasya Valkevich BLR is the new third. The defending champion Wonwood Cho KOR leads in the RS:X-Boys with one point on Mattia Camboni ITA. Kieran Martin GBR follows as 3rd.
25 teams from North America and the Caribbeans participate in these Worlds with mixed success. Brilliant is Mitchell Kiss USA leading in the Lasers Boys. Other top-10 intermediate results have Wilson/Wilson USA 3rd in the 29er, Grapengeter-Rudnik/Rohman USA 9th in the 420 Girls, Barrows/Coyle ISV in the 9th in the 420 Boys, Juanky Perdomo PUR 10th in the Lasers Boys and Ignacio Berenguer MEX 10th in the RS:X Boys.
All results, the daily report and the video of yesterday's sailing.

The Wave Worldcup on Teneriffa ended yesterday with the Double Elimination finals again in very windy conditions. Philip Köster GER repeated his Single Elimination victory defeating this time Alex Mussolini ESP. The duel of the Moreno twins went in favor of Iballa Moreno ESP, and Karin Jaggi SUI was again successful against her younger compatriot Laure Tréboux SUI for rank 3. The PWA-website.

The Kite Surfing Worldcup at St-Peter-Ording, German North Sea Coast, ended yesterday with 5 Course Races. Bryan Lake USA left no doubts about his overall victory ahead of Riccardo Lucchese COL and the World Champion Johnny Heineken USA. In the women's category, the favorite Katja Roose NED was finally successful to overtake Christine Bösinger GER on the last day of the event. Nuria Goma ESP is on rank 3. The report with results.

Cool weather and a 6-12 kn breeze prevailed on day one of the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship in Dublin IRL, and two races were completed in all eight events. Setting the pace were the defending champions Carlos Robles/Florian Trittel ESP in the 29ers with the day ranks 1 and 2, but only one point behind are Wilson/Wilson USA, while Kohlhoff/Werner GER follow on 3rd. Tougas/Pepin Delhaes CAN are 20th. In the Lasers Radial Boys, Tobias Hemdorff DEN ahead of Maxim Nikolaev RUS and Mark Spearman AUS are the top three. Mitchell Kiss USA is 6th, Hugh Macrae CAN 36th. A convincing first day delivered Line Höst NOR in the Lasers Radial Girls finishing 1 and 2. Oren Jacob ISR and Martina Reino ESP follow behind. Natalia Montemayor MEX is 26th, Violette Stafford CAN 33rd and Nikki Medley USA 36th. In the 420 Boys, Pirouelle/Sipan FRA are first one point in front of Charles/Charles ESP, while Crosbie/Roberts IRL on the 3rd place are farther behind. Flinn/Burns CAN are 13th, Koeppel/Bocklet USA 14th. Five teams (from 3 continents) are tied on top of the 420-Girls: Baram/Shoshan ISR, Paternoster/Disalle ITA, Lim/Siew SIN, Horwitz/Fuentes CHI and Poret/Chevet FRA. Grapengeter-Rudnik/Rohman USA are 7th, Megarry/Ten Hove CAN 18th. Surprising leaders in the SL-16-catamarans are Demesmaeker/Hendricks BEL, tied with Darmann/Copeland AUS on rank 1. Henri Demesmaeker BEL, with age 14 the youngest participant, had the advantage of his light weight in these low wind races. The defending champions Lowy/Vidal BRA follow on rank 3. Herrin/Armington USA are 14th. A flawless score sheet has Saskia Skills GBR with two race wins in the RS:X-Girls ahead of Veronica Fanciulli ITA and Lydia Cahu HKG. Cristina Ortiz MEX is 17th, Margot Samson USA 20th. In the RS:X-Boys, the defending champion Wonwot Cho KOR is already on top again, in front of Bautista Saubidet ARG and Imry Kate ISR. Ignacio Berenguer MEX is 5th, Jean-Sebastien Fugere CAN is 17th, Lucas Gonzalez USA 19th. The official report and the video of the day.

The Kite-Surfing Worldcup continued yesterday in a fresh 12-25 kn breeze at the German North Sea coast of St-Peter-Ording. The Freestylers and the Airstylers completed their Double Eliminations: Gisela Pulido BRA and Youri Zoon NED were the winners among the Freestylers, while Alvaro Onieda ESP and again Gisela Pulido BRA were on top of the new discipline Airstyle. The report with results and the videos.

The fresh breeze of up to 50 kn was back yesterday after a rather light wind Friday, more than enough to complete the Single Eliminations, both with the favorites finishing on top: Philipp Köster GER was the winner in the men's category while Daida Moreno ESP was first with the women. All further details on the PWA-Website.

Today is the first race day at the 2012 ISAF Youth World Championships in the Dublin Bay. Impressive as always are the entry figures: the entry lists contain 350 participants from 63 nations. The boat classes sailed in the different events are Laser Radial, 420, 29er, RS:X-windsurfers an - as the only mixed class - the SL-16-catamarans. The Practice Races yesterday took place in good sailing conditions. See gallery. The official preview and the event-website and a preview of US Sailing.

The breeze arrived late and lasted only for two hours to perform some more qualifier heats at the Wave Worldcup event on Teneriffa ESP. The women were out for the first time, but after two heats, the competition was abandoned due to lack of wind. The report and the video of day one on the PWA-website.

The Wave Worldcup of the Professional Windsurfers continued yesterday on Teneriffa ESP with - initially - a 25 kn breeze decreasing lateron, and good breakers. The men completed already 14 heats in the Single-Elimination, and all favorites are still in the race. More details on the PWA-website.

The Kite-Surf-Worldcup continued yesterday in ideal conditions with a 16-25 kn breeze and good surfs with additional runs of the Freestylers and Airstylers. Alex Pastor ESP, Stefan Spiessberger AUT, Youri Zoon NED and Riccardo Langeree COL are the first quarter finalists. The report with results and the videos.

The Freestylers completed the Elimination Round yesterday in a 20 kn breeze and rain. Gisela Pulido BRA defeated Karolina Winkowska POL in the final run of the women, while Kevin Langeree NED had the upper hand over Youri Zoon NED in the men. Stefan Spiessberger AUT finished 3rd. The report and the videos.

The Kiter Worldcup continued yesterday at the German North Sea coast in a moderate 15 kn breeze. While the Freestylers went on with the eliminations (the favorites start today only), the Course-Racers completed another heat. Race winner after a number of position changes was again Riccardo Lecchese COL extending his lead on Johnny Heineken USA and Bryan Lake USA on the ranks 2 and 3. On top of the women is still Christine Bönniger GER, but the day winner Katja Roose NED has reduced the gap. The report with the ranking lists.

The breeze at the German North Sea Coast was freshening up to 45 kn yesterday, and after some qualification runs of the Freestylers in the morning, even the small 6 square-meter kites were too big for the gusty winds, and the competition had to be abandoned. Scroll down for the results at the end of the report. The presentation video gives a good impression about the new Olympic discipline Kite-Surfing.

Another round of the Kite-Surf-Worldcup of the Course Racers began yesterday at the German North Sea Coast with good conditions. Three runs were completed up to now, with the favorites mostly ahead, but some outsiders succeed also to mark some good results. In the women e.g., Christine Bönninger GER is ahead of the big favorite Katja Roose NED with three race wins. In the men, Riccardo Leccese COL hs taken the overall lead, as the World Champion Johnny Heineken USA and Brian Lake USA made some tactical errors in the third heat. The report with results (scroll down).

Also on the last day of the Pozo Wave Worldcup, the breeze exceeded 50 kn. In the finals of the Double Elimination, the same Wave specialists competed for victory in both genders as two days before. Philipp Köster GER defeated again Victor Fernandez ESP defending his previous year's win. Iballa Morena ESP had the upper hand on her twin sister Daida, and this for the first time since 1999 (!). Winner of the Petit Final was again Karin Jaggi SUI, this time beating Steffi Wahl GER. All details and especially the spectacular videos on the PWA-website.

The qualification phase at the RS:X Youth Europeans in Tallin EST ended yesterday with three races sailed in a 14 kn breeze. Today, the Medal Races are on the program. Pavel Tornowski POL has good chances for the title with a 7 points' lead on Marti Kieran GBR. Veronica Fanciulli ITA is even 11 points ahead of Noemi Cohen ISR. The report.

The breeze was up to 60 kn on the day four of the Wave-Worldcup of Pozo. The eliminations of the surf-pros continues with the small 3.7 sails. First, the final of the Men's Single Elimination was on the program, where Philipp Köster GER defeated Victor Fernandez ESP. Then began the Double Eliminations for both genders, where all favorites reached Round 2. The PWA-website contains aus always the daily report and video takes of day 3 worthwhile seeing.

Pavel Tornowski POL still leads after 9 mostly light wind races in the RS:X-Boys off Tallin EST. The ISAF-Youth World Champion Veronica Fanciulli ITA is on top in the RS:X-Girls. Btw, these two will also represent their countries at the ISAF Youth World Sailing Championship 2012 in Dublin IRL in the coming week. Today, some more fleetraces are on the program, before the Medal Race of the coming Saturday. The report.

Top conditions prevailed at Pozo ESP with a fresh breeze and big surfs on day three of the Wave World Cup. The women sailed the postponed finals, where Iballa Moreno ESP defeated her twin-sister Daida for the overall win, while Karin Jaggi SUI had the upper hand over her compatriote Laure Tréboux SUI in the petit final for rank 3, thanks to her solid landings.
The men surfed another Elimination, and the qualifiers for today's finals are Philipp Köster GER and Victor Fernandez ESP. The PWA-website with reports and videos.

The day before yesterday, the men completed the first part of their Single Eliminations in perfect Pozo-conditions with winds exceeding 30 kn. Yesterday, it was the women's turn, ending with two Spain - Switzerland semi-finals. The supreme Moreno twins ESP had once again the upper hand with Iballa defeating Karin Jaggi SUI and Daida winning against Laure Tréboux SUI. The upcoming high tide erased the waves and the finals had to be postponed to today. All details on the PWA-Website, including the always very spectacular wave contest videos.

The Kite-Surfing World Cup on Sylt, attended by almost 100'000 spectators, ended yesterday in good sailing conditions. The final winner in the Slalom competition - at the same time the Slalom World Championship 2012, were Katja Roose NED and Julien Kerneur FRA. Mario Rodewald GER and Annelouse Lammerts NED were the first Freestylers, while Ralf van der Flugt NED and Caroline Adrien FRA took ranks 1 in Course Racing. The report and the ranking lists.

The Burc TUR World Cup of the Kite-Surfers ended yesterday with two more Course Races and the Finals of the Freestylers. The World Champion Johnny Heineken USA was on top of the Course Racers while Kevin Langeree was first of the Freestylers. The report (scroll down for detailed results) and the videos.

The light breeze on Sylt did not hinder the Kiters to continue with the Slalom and Course Races yesterday. In the mean-time, the event-website contains some ranking lists, but they are not quite updated up to this morning. Leaders in the Course Racings after three runs are Rolf van der Vlugt NED with the men and Caroline Adrien FRA with the women. In the Freestylers, not active yesterday, Mario Rodewald GER and Annelous Lammerts NED are on top. The event-website.

After a show long-distance race over the Bosporus (the Strait was closed for commerical traffic). the top-attended Worldcup of Burc TUR began in a 15 kn breeze with four Course-Races and some more Freestyle runs. Bryan Lake USA is the Course Racing leader ahead of Adam Koch USA and Johnny Heineken USA. In the women's, Nuria Goma ESP is first. The report with the ranking lists (scroll down).

Yesterday began the Kite-Surfing Slalom World Championship on Sylt GER in good sailing conditions. Leaders after two runs are Florian Gruber GER in the men's class and Katja Roose NED in the women's class. The report.

Last Tuesday was day one of the second Kitesurf-Worldcup 2012, organised on Sylt, at the same time the Slalom-Kite-World Championship. Favorable typical Sylt conditions prevailed on day one for the first Single-Elimination of the Freestylers. Wednesday and Thursday remained without wind. Winner of the first Freestyle round was Mario Rodewald GER in the men's class and Annelous Lammert NED in the women's class. The report and the video of day one. As from today, good conditions with a 15-25 kn breeze are expected, and all three disciplines are on the program. 85 kiters from 15 nations participate. Results from day one are not yet on the event-website.

Surprisingly, the new Olympic event Kitesurfing is running Worldcups during the same weekend on Sylt GER and Burc TUR near Istanbul .... At Burc beach, the breeze was rather light (8-12 kn) up to now, and only the Course racers completed five runs so far. The published report does not clearly tell, who the actual leader is, and there is no results list available either. Positive is that the best Course racers, among them the World Champion Johnny Heineken USA seem to participate. The report and the videos.
Kite-Surfing is a great sport, but nevertheless, the responsible ISAF Councillors, including die Executive Committee, acted negligently proposing this kind of sailing prematurely as Olympic event for 2016. There remains much to do globally to get it on track !

Kite-Surfing is above all also a lifestyle and adventure sport as the magnificent half-hour video shot by F-one at the fisherman's place Lavanono in Southern Madagaskar with its unique swell demonstrates. Some of the worlds best kiters discovered this remote village. In addition to wave rides with the kites, some incredible freestyle takes with strap-less boards have been made. The video - a must see !!

The ISAF Olympic Classes Worldcup 2012 ended with the Kiel Week, the seventh and last event. Only the Starboats are still sailing, where Polgar/Koy GER could jump on rank 4 overall with a Kiel victory. Overall winners in the Starboats are Rohart/Ponsot FRA. The other class winners are: Matthew Belcher/Malcom Page AUS 470-men, Amanda Clark/Sarah Lihan USA 470-women, Nathan Outteridge/Iain Jensen AUS 49ers, Caleb Paine USA Finns, Sebastian Wang-Hansen NOR RS:X-men, Flavia Tartaglini ITA RS:X-women and Anna Tunnicliffe USA Women-Match Race.
The other top-20 NorAm teams/sailors are: In the Finns Zach Railey USA 3rd, Greg Douglas CAN 13th and Gordon Lamphere USA 14th, in the 470-women McNay/Biehl USA 5th, in the 49ers Storck/Moore USA 11th, in the RS:X men Rob Willis USA 12th and Zach Plavsic CAN 15th, in the RS:X women Demita Vega MEX 16th.

The format, developped in many 'intensive working party meetings by the ivory-tower ISAF Events Committee' and approved by Council, does not work ! Neither does it attract media, nor the best sailors. Except some European events, the participation was small and class events had even to be cancelled due to lack of entrants ! The ranking lists speak for themselves.
The idea on the table 10 years ago was to make Olympic Sailing the Pinnacle of the Sailing Sport with a potent Title Sponsor, a free-of-charge transport for qualified athletes and their equipment around-the-world, a professional TV coverage and GPS tracking coverage (as the actual America's Cup package; thank you Stan Honey), to have 'heroes' for the general public, the big names of sailing to compete, including the very best of them, the keelboat cracks. A continental feeder event concept would have supported this top circuit, to make it accessible for the best. And of course the necessary world-wide promotion to support this approach to draw the attention of a wider public on the real top-level sailing with a clear annual structure.
With the proliferation of Olympic Sailing due to the re-invention of the sport every four years, adding non proven new start-up-venture events eliminating world-wide organised classes and events and distroying investments of MNAs and Clubs, excluding the very best Pro's, not to speak about format changes such as the unpopular medal race concept, Olympic Sailing will never take off as a competitive package versus spectacular professional and show events like the America's Cup, X-treme Series, World MR Tour, RC44 tour, the Oceanic Races, to name but a few, all commercialised and promoted by independent organisations attracting sponsor money. Cripple Olympic Sailing to pretended requirements of the IOC, just to be in the show-case every four years, cannot be an objective, not for ISAF, and not for potential Olympians sacrifying time and money ... and perhaps miss the selection.
As 'major improvement' ISAF plans to reduce the Worldcup to five events, and in addition to Hyères FRA, Palma ESP, Miami USA and Melbourne AUS, a regatta in Asia shall be added .... hardly a solution to the problem, it seems ..... Be present on 4 continents is fine, but see the poor Olympic campaigner travel around the World on his own. Or shall Olympic Sailing be reduced to some well-funded national teams ?

Björn Dunkerbeck SUI was the clear winner of the PWA Slalom Worldcup at the Costa Brava winning three of the six Eliminations. Julien Quentel FRA finished 2nd, Antoine Albeau FRA had to content himself with the 3rd place. All other details on the PWA-website.

Moderate conditions prevailed yesterday on the first day of the Kiel Week, and all classes sailed 3 races each. Peters/Fitzgerald GBR are the first leaders in the 49ers, followed - with the same number of points - by Zajac/Czajka AUT and Ribaud/Scotto FRA. In the 470 men, Bargehr/Mähr AUT are on top ahead of AutenriethAutenrieth GER and Gerz/Follmann GER. The best 470 women team are Lutz/Beucke GER followed by Szscena/Mrocek POL and Mulder/Marck NED. Two races were sailed in the Finns, where Deniss Karpak EST leads ahead of Brendan Casey AUS and Björn Allanson SWE. The US Finns Caleb Paine, Gordon Lamphere and Joshua Revkin are on the ranks 4, 11 and 25. The 49er team Frederick/Strammer is on position 8. The RS:X-windsurfers male and female, as well as the Matchrace ladies are not competing in Kiel. The Starboats will start next week in the non-Olympic (!) program only. All results and the daily report.

The seabreeze filled in around 3 p.m. only and the last races of the 5th Elimination were all that was sailed. Björn Dunkerbeck SUI took again the lead right from the start, but after some flopped maneuvres, he was down on rank 6. Winner of the day was Julien Quentel FRA, advancing on rank 2 overall behind Dunkerbeck SUI. Today is the crucial day for the overall Roses victory. All details on the PWA-website.

Today begins the Olympic part of the 2012 Kiel Week, the last event of the ISAF Olympic Worldcup, ending next Wednesday. The Women Matchracers are not competing, and it is not certain, whether the RS:X windsurfers, with only a small number on the entrylists, will be allowed to start. The participants enrolled are mostly development teams and amateurs, as the Olympic candidats apparently preferred to prepare their most important competition of the last four years either already in England, or at a 'secret' place. With Andy Maloney NZL in the Lasers, Rohart/Rambeau FRA in the Starboats, Deniss Karpak EST and Brendan Casey AUS in the Finns, as well as Tatjana Droszdowskaja BLR in the Lasers Radial, some top athletes have nevertheless chosen to do their last racing tune-up at the traditional Kiel Week. US participants are Caleb Paine, Gordon Lamphere and Joshua Revkin in the Finn, Chris Barnard Laser, Frederick/Strammer 49er, Beigel-Vosbury Star. For Canada, Martin Robitaille Finn is on the entry list.
Today and tomorrow, fresh westerly winds will prevail. The lists of participants and the event-website.

The Second Single Elimination was completed yesterday at the Costa Brava in a 14-20 kn breeze. Winner of the day was Antoine Albeau FRA, followed by Björn Dunkerbeck SUI who maintains the interims lead in front of Albeau and Steve Allen AUS on 3rd. Josh Angulo ISV finished 4th in the Losers' Final, while Mic Buzianis USA was out in the initial heat after a collision. The daily report and the video as always on the PWA-website.

Only during the afternoon, the breeze filled in sufficiently to allow to complete the first Single Elimination with the final. Björn Dunkerbeck SUI was the fastest taking the victory ahead of Steve Allen AUS and Peter Bijl NED. The World Champion Antoine Albeau FRA had to content himself with the 4th place. Micah Buzianis USA finished 2nd of th Losers' Final. The forecast for Thursday offers considerable promise with stronger winds than yesterday being predicted for the afternoon. The PWA-website with a report and videos.

A good thermal breeze prevailed at yesterday afternoon at the Costa Brava ESP where another Men's Slalom event of the PWA World Tour 2012 began with eight Single Elimination heats. All favorites, including Micah Buzianis USA and Josh Angulo ISV, qualified for the next Round. In the 9th and last race of the day, Björn Dunkerbeck SUI and Josh Angula ISV were among the first first four qualify for the Quarter-Finals. All details on the PWA-website.

The latest updates of the Olympic Classes Worldcup have been published by ISAF after last week's 'Sail for Gold' Regatta (we reported daily, see also the final report posted last Saturday). Premature Worldcup winners are already now Anna Tunnicliffe/Molly Vandemoer/Debbie Capozzi USA in the Women Match Race. The Kiel Week, as last of the 7 Worldcup events, begins on the coming weekend. Most probably, not many Olympic hopefuls will participate, as most teams are already heading for England, where the Olympic Regattas begin in 5 week's time. The ISAF report with all ranking lists.

The Medal Races deciding on the final outcome of this tune-up regatta to the Olympics taking place in five weeks from now, were sailed in an initial 15 kn breeze, increasing during the day to 22 kn. Some classes were dominated by the known favorites such as in the 470, where Matthew Belcher/Malcom Page AUS confirmed their superiority winning the Medal Race as well. Patience/Bithell GBR and Snow-Hansen/Saunders NZL took Silver and Bronze. Nathan Outteridge/Ian Jensen AUS collected as planned the Gold Medal in the 49ers, but Emmanuel Dyen/Stéphane Christidis FRA winning the Medal Race were finally only two points behind. Bronze went to Fletcher/Sign GBR. Rather unusual is the situation in the Finns, where Giles Scott GBR, not selected for the Olympics, was the superior winner in 5 of the 7 races and even added a clear victory in the Medal Race. while his compatriot Ben Ainslie GBR on rank two, selected for the Olympics, is not only clearly behind, but even finished the Medal Race as last after a capsize. Pieter-Jan Postma NED took Bronze after a close fight with Zach Railey USA on the 4th position. Peter O'Leary/David Burrows IRL were the profiteers of the eternal duel between Scheidt/Prada BRA and Percy/Simpson GBR. As already last year, the young Irish earned Gold ahead of the tied Scheidt/Prada BRA and Percy/Simpson GBR. Winners of the Medal Race were Rohart/Ponsot FRA moving up on rank 5. Clark/Björn CAN did not finish the race and dropped on rank 7 overall. A leader change happened in the RS:X windsurfers, where Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED climbed on top with a victory in the Medal Race. Julien Bontemps FRA had to content himself with Silver. Bronze went to Nick Dempsey GBR. Zofia Klepacka POL had an outstanding week and crowned her performance with the Medal Race victory. Clear winner of the Silver Medal was Marina Alabau ESP, while Lee Korzits ISR ended the close fight for Bronze in her favour. The 470 women top sailors were Jo Aleh/Olivia Powrie NZL confirming their reputation as big-breeze specialists winning with a big advantage. Amanda Clark/Sarah Lihan USA on rank two delivered their best result this year, while the World Champions Hanna Mills/Saskia Clark GBR took Bronze. The Women Matchrace final between Olivia Price AUS and Claire Leroy FRA went in favor of the Australian winning 2-1. Anna Tunnicliffe USA earned the Bronze Medal in the Petite Final against Ekarterina Skudina RUS. All results, the official final report and the videos.

In the night on Friday, the storm blasted in excess of fifty knots, and by Friday morning, the wind had not abated calling an early end to the Paralympic regatta. The other classes had longer to wait, but at 14:30 racing was called off for the day for everyone, ending the Sail for Gold event for most sailors. Today, the top ten in each Olympic class will race for gold, silver and bronze. In Women Matchrace, the Quarter- and Semi-Finals and the Finals are on the program.
For once, nothing has been decided prematurely. Only Zofia Klepacka POL in the RS:X women windsurfer with a 17 points lead will hardly loose the first place. The 12 points advance of Giles Scott GBR on Ben Ainslie GBR in the Finns seems also insurmountable. All results, the daily report and the video of the day.

The weather poured onto the Weymouth and Portland Bay's race courses - rain and 15 to 25 kn winds - causing cancellations, postponements and some full on racing for those classes that did get out there, except the Starboats and Silverfleets.
Jo Aleh/Olivia Powrie NZL in the 470 women seemed to like these conditions booking two race wins and taking a 9 points' lead over Camille Lecointre/Mathilde Geron FRA. The multiple Brazilian Olympic Medalist Torben Grael's daughter Martine with Isabel Swan BRA as crew moved up on rank 3. Belcher/Page AUS maintain their lead in the 470 men, but the second-ranked Patience/Bithell GBR are one point closer. Snow-Hansen/Saunders NZL are now 3rd. The 470 report. An Australian lead also in the 49ers with the favorites Outteridge/Jensen AUS, winner of the only race yesterday, on top. Dyen/Christidis FRA follow 7 points behind on rank 2. Fletcher/Sign GBR are the new 3rd. Giles Scott GBR continues his winning straight in the Finn and his advance on Ben Ainslie GBR is now already 12 points. Zach Railey USA, who had to abandon the race after a unindepted collision, follows on rank 3. The Finn report. Julien Bontemps FRA defended the first place in the RS:X men windsurfers with two 3rd race ranks ahead of Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED and Nick Dempsey GBR on the positions 2 and 3. In spite of her worst result so far - a 4th place - there is no doubt that Zofia Klepacka POL controls the RS:X women windsurfers. Marina Alabau ESP follows on rank 2 with Olga Maslivets UKR and Lee Korzits ISR jointly on rank 3. In the Women Matchrace, the Quarter Finals are on the program today with the pairings Skudina RUS-Echegoyen ESP, Leroy FRA- Hazard NZL, Tunnicliffe USA-Lehtinen FIN and Price AUS-McGregor GBR. The Starboats - leaders Percy/Simpson GBR only one point ahead of Scheidt/Prada BRA - did not sail yesterday. 20 years ago, it was not uncommon that races were started in winds around 30 kn, but apparently, already 25 kn are too much for today's fragile, expensive racing machines ! And according to the meteo previsions, there may be more wind to come today on the last day of the qualifications. Saturday, the Medal Races are on the program. All ranking lists, the daily report and the video of the day.

The announced low pressure system from the West filled in yesterday with winds exceeding 20 kn, and in all classes, the big-breeze specialists took the command even more as the discard result came into effect. Nathan Outteridge/Ian Jensen AUS are for the first time on top of the 49ers, thanks to two race wins. Dyen/Christidis FRA, winning the heats of the other 49er group advanced on position 2, while Evans/Powys GBR remains on the 3rd place. As from today, racing will take place in a Gold- and Silverfleeet. In the 470 men, Matthew Belcher/Malcom Page AUS lost the first place to Snow-Hansen/Saunders NZL at equal points. Patience/Bithell GBR follow on rank 3. Leader change also in the 470 women, where Lecointre/Geron FRA took the lead, with Aleh/Powrie NZL new on 2nd and Mills/Clarke GBR now on 3rd. In the Finns, the discarded result and the positions 1 and 2 yesterday increased Giles Scott's GBR lead over the English 2012 Olympian Ben Ainslie GBR to 6 points. Zach Railey USA is 3rd. No changes in the rankings of the windsurfers: Julien Bontemps FRA leads in the RS:X men, followed by Nick Dempsey GBR and Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED on the positions 2 and 3, while Zofia Klepacka POL continues to dominate the RS:X women, adding two more race wins, extending her lead on Marina Alabau ESP to 13 points. The new 3rd is Lee Korzits ISR. The Women Matchrace Goldfleet is now complete, as after Skudina RUS, McGregor GBR, Powrie AUS and Leroy FRA, Silja Lehtinen FIN and Anna Tunnicliffe USA have qualified directly for the next round. Fighting for the remaining two quarter-final places in the Repechage will probably be between Renee Groenveld NED, Tamara Echegoyen ESP and Stephanie Hazard NZL all with a 3-1 score sheet. In the Starboats, Percy/Simpson GBR took the lead just one point ahead of Scheidt/Prada BRA. O'Leary/Burrows IRL are down on 3rd. All results, the report and the video of the day.

Pouring rain, temperatures under 10°C and refreshening winds made day two on the Olympic waters very unaccommodating. In the 49ers, Evans/Powys GBR defended their first place but watch out for the World Champions Outteridge/Jensen AUS advancing on rank 2 despite of a capsize, and the best team of the day, Moore/Stork USA, moving up on 3rd now. An Australian lead still in the 470s with Belcher/Page AUS, but Snow-Hansen/Saunders NZL moved up on the 2nd place with two race wins. The new 3rd-ranked Calabrese/De La Fuente ARG had also a good day with the day ranks 1 and 2. Considerable gaps between the leading women 470s where Mills/Clarke GBR are now 14 points ahead of Lecointre/Geron FRA. The day's best Clarke/Lihan USA advanced on the 3rd place. Three bullets are on the day's record of Giles Scott GBR in the Finns, but for the moment, the Brit still has the 21st of the first day on his account sheet. Ben Ainslie GBR is at present 5 points ahead of Zach Railey USA, followed closely by Scott on 3rd. Julien Bontemps FRA defended his lead in the RS:X-windsurfers. Nick Dempsey GBR progressed on the 2nd rank, Toni Wilhelm GER follows on the 3rd position. A class of her own is Zofia Klepacka POL in the RS:X-women windsurfers with a 16 points lead on Marina Alabau ESP after four races. The veteran Alessandra Sensini ITA follows on rank 3. In the Starboats, O'Leary/Burrows IRL, winners of 2011 already, took the lead in front of Scheidt/Prada BRA and Clarke/Bjorn CAN. The Round Robin of the Women Matchracers is not yet completed, but the first Quarter finalists are known: Ekaterina Skudina RUS (9-2), Olivia Price AUS and Lucy McGregor GBR (je 8-2) as well as Claire Leroy FRA (8-3) are through. Today, the last two direct-qualifiers will be determined. The other teams will sail for for the remaining two slots in a Repechage. The 2012 overflyer Anna Tunnicliffe USA and her team are far away from their normal performance and - with a 5-5 score - will have to fight hard in the two matches today, or then in the Repechage to make the knock-out Quarter-Finals.

All results, the daily report and the video of the day.

The 6th 2012 Worldcup began yesterday at the Olympic site in Weymouth with unusually light conditions. Almost all Olympic Teams are present at this rehearsal of the Olympic Regattas taking place at the same venue in about seven weeks from now, over 700 athletes from 58 nations. Only one race was sailed by the Starboats and Finns, sailing on the offshore course late in the afternoon. Hestbaek/Oleson DEN were the winners in the Stars ahead of Clarke/Björn CAN. The surprise winner in the Finns was Caleb Paine USA (not selected for the Olympics) ahead of Aleksej Selivanov RUS. On the inshore courses, sailing was also possible in the morning but with a 5-8 kn only accompanied by a strong current. Later in the afternoon, a second race was completed, resp. a 3rd for the 49ers. Evans/Powys GBR clearly dominated the 49ers with the day ranks 1/1/3, while Delle-Karth/Resch AUT lead the closely packed persuers. Once more outstanding the World Champions Belcher/Page AUS wining both heats of their group in the 470 ahead of Asher/Willis GBR back after a long absence due to injury. More and more up to speed are the Australian 470 women Rechichi/Stowell AUS on rank 2 with the same number of points as the leading Mills/Clarke GBR. In the windsurfers, Julien Bontemps FRA is on top, one point ahead of Toni Wilhelm GER, while the rest of the fleet is 10 points and more behind. Two of the favorites are also already on top in the women windsurfers with Zofia Klepacka POL ahead of Bryony Shaw GBR. Leading in the Women Matchrace Round Robin is Olivia Price AUS with a 6-0 score ahead of Siljia Lehtinen FIN 4-0. Surprisingly weak the first day of the key favorite Anna Tunnicliffe USA on rank 7 only with a disappointing 2-4 record. All results and the daily report.

As usual at the end of the month, the updated ISAF Olympic Classes World Ranking Lists were published yesterday. Some changes occurred on top of the listings after the April/May World Championships. The new number one in the 49ers are Norregaard/Lang DEN. In the Finns, Deniss Karpak EST took the lead for the first time. In the Lasers Radial, Marit Bouwmeester NED is back on top. Thanks to two double leads in the Windsurfing Classes, Poland remains on top of the nations rankings.
The top North American positions are held by Americans Amanda Clark/ Sarah Lihan 3rd, 470 women, Zach Railey 6th, Finn and Paige Railey 3rd, Laser Radial. With two thirds, USA is now on position 6 of the nations' rankings. On May 16th, Americans Anna Tunnicliffe, Molly Vandemoer, and Debbie Capozzi were recognized as the top ranked women's match racing team. Canada's best are Clarke/Björn 8th in the Starboat, while the top Mexican sailor is Tania Elias Calles 24th, Laser Radial.
The ISAF report and all ranking lists.

The Young European Sailing 2012 off Kiel GER ended yesterday in an intial 7 kn, increasing to 15 kn breeze. With two race wins, Paulina Rothlauf/Madlen Geiser GER made everything clear in the 420 winning two points ahead of Sebastiano Baranzini/Matteo Colombo SUI. In the 470, Masilge/Klingenberg GER were first. The best women's team were Annika Bochmann/Elisabeth Panuschka GER. In the 5o5s, Hunger/Kleinert GER were on top. The best Laser Standard sailor was Fabian Gielen GER. All ranking lists - 14 classes in total participated - as well as the event-website.

Leader changes and some thrilling initial situations for today's Medal Races are the result of the races of Friday completed in a good 15 kn breeze. Snow-Hansen/Saunders NZL remain the leaders in the 470 with a 4 points' advantage on Ger/Flannigan IRL. The new leader in the Finns is Caleb Paine USA with Aleksej Selivanov RUS 3 points behind. No news with the RS:X windsurfers where Shahar Zubari ISR is the dominating athlete with 7 wins in 10 races taking the Israeli Olympic ticket with this outstanding performance. Zubari was the Olympic Bronze Medal winner at the 2008 Games in Qingdao. Omer Safer ISR and Louis-Benoit Hug FRA follow on the positions 2 and 3. In the female windsurfers, the duo Jannicke Stalstrom NOR and Victoria Chan HKG shares the lead, Solvig Sayre USA remains 17th. In the Paralympic 2.4 mR, two sailors on top have the same number of points: Thierry Schmitter NED and Megan Pascoe GBR. Third is Helena Lucas GBR three points behind. Paul Tingley CAN remains 5th, Mark Le Blanc USA 6th. In the Sonars, Bruno Jourdren FRA is on the first place 4 points ahead of the day's best Colin Harrison AUS.Bruce Millar CAN and his team stay on the 5th rank. The results, the reports and the video-interviews.

The Medemblik ISAF Worldcup continued yesterday afternoon after some waiting on the Ijssel Meer with light winds. A 470 Open fleet, as well as the Finns have now joined the competition. Leaders in the 470 are Snow-Hanson/Saunders NZL in front of Ger/Flannigan IRL. 17 teams racing. Pieter-Jan Postma NED, in a brand-new Finn, leads in the Finns with a small margin over Matt Coutts NZL. Caleb Paine USA is 4th, Martin Robitaille CAN 18th (blackflag in last race). Shahar Zubari ISR remains the clear leader in the RS:X-Windsurfers ahead of - new - Omer Safer ISR, closely followed by Louis-Benoít Hug FRA. On the first place in the RS:X-female windsurfers is again Jannicke Stalstroem NOR ahead of Victoria Chan HKG and Flavia Tartaglini. Solvig Sayre USA is 17th. On top of the two Paralymp classes racing are Bruno Jourdren FRA and his team in the Sonars, Bruce Millar CAN and his team are 5th, and Megan Pascoe GBR in the 2.4 mR, replacing the local Thierry Schmitter NED on rank 1. Paul Tingley CAN on the 5th place has switched ranks with Mark Le Blanc USA now 6th. All results, the daily report and the videos.

The Medemblik ISAF Worldcup continued yesterday with three races by class. Shahar Zubari ISR came back in strength and took the overall lead in the RS:X-Windsurfers with two race wins. Pierre Le Coq FRA is on rank 2. No USA or CAN participation. In the RS:X-women windsurfers, Victoria Chan HKG is on the first place ahead of Flavia Tartaglini ITA. Solvig Sayre USA is 17th. On top of the 2.4mR Paralympics keelboats is Thierry Schmitter NED closely followed by Megan Pascoe GBR. Mark Le Blanc USA is 5th, Paul Tingley CAN 6th. The best Sonar team after 5 races is Bruno Jourdren's FRA. Bruce Millar CAN and his team are 5th. All results, the report and the video of the day.

During the last 12 years, the ISAF Council and the Events Committee made several strange decisions in selecting Olympic events and equipment. While in earlier days, classes were chosen based on their world-wide spreading, btw a requirement of the IOC Olympic Charter, and established class organisation - the Laser was chosen 20 years after its launching - the delegates (most of them without any international racing experience, and some with language difficulties) become more and more 'creative', making strange decisions and inventing new events .... The latest low-point according to some reports seems to be the selection of Kiteboarding at the 2012 ISAF Midyear Meeting, where Delegates voted erroneously because of language difficulties. The close 19-17 decision in favor of Kiteboarding and against Windsurfing would apparently not have happened, if the voting had been correct. More .... .

Micah Buzianis USA and Valérie Arighetti Ghibaudo FRA are the winners of the Ulsan/ Korea PWA Worldcup Slalom. The leading Björn Dunkerbeck SUI had to abandon the competition with a foot injury. Karin Jaggi SUi missed the overall victory in the last final heat and remained on rank 2. The report/url] and the [url=wxw.pwaworldtour.com/index.php?id=920]video.

Good conditions yesterday allowed to complete the full slalom program. In the men's category, Antoine Questel FRA leads in front of Micah Buzianis USA and Ben Van der Steen BEL after four eliminations, in the women's, Karin Jaggi SUI realised two race wins and reduced the gap on the leading Valérie Arighetti Ghibaudo FRA. The report.

Racing resumed last around 6 p.m. only when the breeze finally filled in enough to start some more runs allowing the men to complete the Double-Elimination up to the semi-finals. Still in the race is Björn Dunkerbeck SUI while the World Champion Antoine Albeau FRA was out after a premature start. The women with Valérie Arighetti Ghibaudo FRA and Karin Jaggi SUI take up the competition today only. The wind forecasts for today and tomorrow are favorable. The report and the videos.

Circling winds interrupted the PWA Slalom Worldcup competitions yesterday in Korea. One heat has been completed so far with Bora Kozanoglu TUR defeating the World Champion Antoine Albeau FRA. In the Women's category, Valéry Arighetti-Ghibodo FRA was first. Karin Jaggi SUI missed the finals after a premature start. The report and the event-website.

The ISAF Midyear Meeting having taken place at Stresa near Milano ITA during the last few days decided in favor of Kiteboarding instead of Windsurfing as the new Olympic event. At the same time, the Nacra 17 catamaran will be the equipment for the new 'Mixed-Multihull' event and the Mackay FX (a 49er with a smaller rig) will be in use in the new 'Women-Skiff' event. These decisions come into effect during the next 2013-16 Olympiad leading to the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. The Windsurfing and Kiteboarding Commission is now responsible to present the race format to be used in this new event at the ISAF Annual Meeting in November this year. The official ISAF report.

Some minor changes in the ISAF World Rankings happened after the Hyères Worldcup event. The new number 1 in the Starboats are Eidvind Melleby/Pettar Pedersen NOR, Outteridge/Jensen AUS regained the first place of the 49ers. In the Windsurfers, the Polish athletes extended their leads, occupying the first two positions in both the men's and women's categories. Poland remains therefore on top of the nations rankings, where 17 nations are represented with top-3 ranked sailors.
NorAm sailors in the top-10 ranks are: Women Matchrace Anna Tunnicliffe 1st, Sally Barkow 6th, 4th places have McNay/Biehl 470m, Clark/Lihan 470w, Clarke/Björn CAN Starboat, and a 6th position has Paige Railey Laser Radial. USA, CAN, MEX are not represented in nations' rankings.
The ISAF report and all ranking lists.

Today is the first day of the 2012 ISAF Midyear Meeting with the highly awaited selection of the equipment for the new Olympic events Women Skiff and Mixed Multihull on the Agenda. Furthermore, the decision whether Windsurfing will be replaced by Kite-Surfing will be taken. We have informed earlier about the trials held in Spain end of March. According to some comments from the test drivers, the Nacra 17-Katamaran and the RS800 or Mackay FX skiffs are favorites. But the ISAF decisions are never predictable, as politics and self-interest play an important role. The Midyear-Meeting lasts until Sunday. The ISAF preview.

Another beautiful sailing day with a 15-20 kn Easterly wind, sun and big waves yesterday for the Medal Races of the Hyères SOF Worldcup Regatta. Only the 49ers could not sail as the waves were too big. Some leader changes happened after the double-point/no-discard final races. Moana Delle GER won the Medal Race in the RS:X-woman windsurfers and took the overall victory ahead of Maya Dziarnowska POL and Charline Picon FRA. The top place in the RS:X-men went to Julien Bontemps FRA winning the Medal Race and the overall classification as Piotr Myszka POL was penalised with a disqualification. Przsemyslav Miarcynski POL and Toni Wilhelm GER completed the podium. Brendan Casey AUS was the final winner in the Finns with a 0.5 point advantage on Rafael Trujillo ESP 2nd and Vasilij Zbogar SLO 3rd. The results after the qualification series in the 49ers remains with Dyen/Christidis FRa in front of Outteridge/Jensen AUS and Kruger/Thorsell DEN. The 470 winner were known already before the last race. Belcher/Page AUS in the 470 men and Lisa Westerhof/Lobke Berkhout NED in the 470 women were the clear winners. Amanda Clark/Sarah Lihan USA advanced on rank 2 overall with a 2nd place in the last race ahead of Lecointre/Géron FRA 3rd. Percy/Simpson GBR came back strongly winning the Medal Race an dthe overall rankings in the Starboats after the dismasting of Thursday. Rohart/Ponsot FRA and Lööf/Salminen SWE complete the podium. A one/two victory celebrated the US matchracers with Anna Tunnicliffe USA and Sally Barkow USA in the Women Match Race. All results, the final report and the videos.

Perfect sailing conditions yesterday with sun, a 25 kn breeze and big waves, a dream day for the 650 participants at the SOF in the Bay of Hyères. However, for some classes ist was too much. The Paralympic 2.4mR and Skud 18 as well as the 49ers had to stay ahore. Some final decisions are already made on the penultimate day: With a 26 points lead, Lisa Westerhof/Lobke Berkhout NED cannot be passed in today's Medal Race of the 470 women. Lecointre/Geron FRA, Kondo/Tabata JPN and Clarke/Lihan USA will fight for the remaining two medals. 18 points is the advance of Matthews Belcher/Malcom Page AUS in the 470 men and they are practically on the safe side as well. The ranks 2 to 5 however are separated by 4 points only, i.e. two places in the double-points Medal Race. In the 49er, Dyen/Christidis FRA are one point ahead of Outteridge/Jensen AUS. Rafael Trujillo ESP is now two points ahead on Deniss Karpak EST in the Finns. Brendan Casey AUS moved up on rank 3 with a race win yesterday. Percy/Simpson GBR remain ahead inspite of the dismasting in the Starboote. Lööf/Salminen SWE and Clarke/Bjorn CAN follow tied four points behind on the rank two. The Woman-Match-Race is in delay. The Round Robin will be terminated today only, and the semi-finals and finals will follow immediately. Anna Tunnicliffe USA leads now with a smashing 14-0 score ! Piotr Myszka POL in the RS:X-men and Maja Dziarnowska POL in the RS:X-women lead the windsurfing fleets in today's Medal Races, that will be sailed in a fresh Easterly breeze again.
The best NorAm results: RS:X men Rob Willis USA 25th; RS:X women Farrah Hall USA 29th; Finn Caleb Paine 13th; 49er Ladha/Inkpen CAN 31st, Storck/Moore USA 40th (with a race win), Murrieta/Murrieta MEX 45th; 470 men McNay/Biehl USA 14th, Ramsay/Leigh CAN 21st; 470 women Clark/Lihan USA 4th, Archibald/Dexter 31st; Star Clarke/Björn CAN 3rd, Szabo USA/Hagin SUI 13th; Women Matchrace Anna Tunnicliffe USA 1st, Sally Barrow USA 3nd, Genny Tulloch USA 8th - read the daily reports/tweets of the US Sailing Team.
The daily report and the videos.

For the first time some lighter winds prevailed in the Bay of Hyères after the very windy initial days. After some waiting time, all classes sailed the maximally planned races, because as from today, the breeze will be back again. An easterly wind with big waves will fill in until the coming weekend.
Piotr Myszka POL defended the first position in the RS:X-windsurfers with Shahar Zubari ISR now on rank 2. Ton Wilhelm GER and Przemyslav Miarczyinski POL share the 3rd place. Charline Picon FRA has taken the command in the RS:X-women with the day ranks 2/1/1. The big-breeze specialist Maja Dziarnowska POL is now on rank 2. Moana Delle GER moved up on rank 3 again with two 2nd-place finishes. The new leader in the Finns is Rafael Trujillo ESP, replacing Deniss Karpak EST on top by a small margin. Vasilij Zbogar SLO is now 3rd. The 49ers completed four races with the favorites moving up: Outteridge/Jensen AUS on the 2nd place are now only one point behind Dyen/Christidis FRA, Krüger/Thorsell DEN and Morrison/Rhodes GBR share the 3rd place. Belcher/Page AUS kept the top position in the first two Goldfleet heats of the 470 men followed by Coster/Coster NED and Mantis/Kagialis GRE. Lisa Westerhof/Lobke Berkhout NED increased the advantage in the 470 women and have now a 23 points lead over Pacheco/Betanzos ESP. Lecointre/Geron FRA follow on rank 3. The new leader in the Starboats are the Olympic Champions Percy/Simpson GBR with Clark/Björn CAN and Lööf/Salminen SWE now on the positions 2 and 3. The Round Robin of the Women-Match-Race will be terminated today with the best eight moving to the next Round. The favorites are all on track with a stellar Anna Tunnicliffe USA dominating the scene wit a 13-0 score.
The best NorAm results: RS:X men Rob Willis USA 26th; RS:X women Farrah Hall USA 29th; Finn Caleb Paine 18th; 49er Ladha/Inkpen CAN 31st, Storck/Moore USA 30th (with a race win), Murrieta/Murrieta MEX 38th; 470 men McNay/Biehl USA 11th, Ramsay/Leigh CAN 18th; 470 women Clark/Lihan USA 4th (worst day with 26/21), Archibald/Dexter 30th; Star Clarke/Björn CAN 2nd, Szabo USA/Hagin SUI 14th; Women Matchrace Anna Tunnicliffe USA 1st, Sally Barrow USA 3nd, Genny Tulloch USA 8th - read the daily report of the US Sailing Team.
All results, the daily report and the videos.

The wind increased - as predicted - to over 30 kn during the day, but thanks to early morning starts, most of the classes could terminate the qualifiers. 470s, Lasers (Standard & Radial), Windsurfers and 49ers sail in Gold- and Silverfleets as from today. Obviously, the big-breeze specialists had the upperhand up to now: Piotr Myszka POL leads in the RS:X-Windsurfers one point ahead of Julien Bontemps FRA, Maja Dziarnowska POL is first in the RS:X-females with a 12 points lead on Olga Maslivets UKR and Charline Picon FRA. Morrison/Rhodes GBR have passed the French 49ers and have now a close advantage on Dyen/Christidis FRA and D'Ortoli/Delpech FRA. With the discard in effect, Matthew Belcher/Malcom Page AUS have a clear lead in the 470-men in front of Fantela/Marencic CRO and Coster/Coster NED. Extending their lead in the 470 women were Lisa Westerhof/Lobke Berkhout NED with Kondo/Tabata JPN and Clark/Lihan USA still on the ranks 2 and 3. No changes also in the Starboats where Clarke/Björn CAN hold the top position in front of Percy/Simpson GBR and Rohart/Ponsot FRA. Anna Tunnicliffe USA remains undefeated in the Women Match Race, leading 8-0 ahead of Sally Barkow USA (8-1) and Ekaterina Skudina RUS (7-2).
Today is the last day of the Round Robin. The only class not sailing were the Finns, where Deniss Karpak EST has a clear lead with 3 wins in 4 races.
The best NorAm results: RS:X men Rob Willis USA 27th; RS:X women Farrah Hall USA 36th; Finn Caleb Paine 9th; 49er Ladha/Inkpen CAN 27th, Storck/Moore UA 35th, Murrieta/Murrieta MEX 38th; 470 men McNay/Biehl USA 14th, Ramsay/Leigh CAN 16th; 470 women Clark/Lihan USA 3rd, Archibald/Dexter 25th; Star Clarke/Björn CAN 1st, Szabo USA/Hagin SUI 16th; Women Matchrace Anna Tunnicliffe USA 1st, Sally Barrow USA 2nd - read the daily report of the US Sailing Team.
All results, the daily report and the videos. A moderate breeze has been announced for today Wednesday.

The last heats of the Slalom Worldcup in Southern Italy were sailed late in the afternoon only. With Björn Dunkerbeck SUI sailing for Switzerland in the men's and Karin Jaggi SUI in the women's category, two Swiss victories were to note. The report.

The SOF continued according to program yesterday in a 15-20 kn breeze, decreasing during the afternoon. The Starboats and 49ers caught up the cancelled races from day one. The new leader in the RS:X-windsurfers is Piotr Myszka POL with two race wins. Toni Wilhelm GER and Julien Bontemps FRA follow on the ranks 2 and 3. A Polish leader also in the RS:X-women with Maja Dziarnowska POL ahead of Moana Delle GER and Olga Maslivets UKR. In absence of the British armada, it is Deniss Karpak EST who clearly dominates the scene in the Finns with Rafael Trujillo ESP and Dan Slater NZL on the ranks 2 and 3. After four races in all skiff fleets, it is the Marseille Mistral-proven team D'Ortoli/Delpech FRA who leads the interims' rankings of the 49ers in front of Morrison/Rhodes GBR and Outteridge/Jensen AUS an. Leaders of the 470 men are for the time being Mantis/Kagialis GRE ahead of Zandona/Zucchetti ITA and Coster/Coster NED, but Belcher/Page AUS will move up on top when the discard comes into effect today. Apart from a 2/1/1 score, they have a 24th rank on their result sheet coming from a race finish under jury rig ! As mostly in strong wind, Lisa Westerhof/Lobke Berkhout NED dominate the activity in the 470 women in front of Ai Kondo/Wakako Tabata JPN and Amanda Clark/Sarah Lihan USA. After a victory in race one of the Starboats, Robert Scheidt BRA left Hyères and the competition for family reasons. Clarke/Björn CAN are now leading ahead of Percy/Simpson GBR, Rohart/Ponsot FRA and Polgar/Koy GER. Anna Tunnicliffe USA remains on top of the Women Match Race undefeated with a 6-0 score, followed by Sally Barkow USA (6-1) and Claire Leroy FRA (5-1).
The best NorAm results: RS:X men Rob Willis USA 26th; RS:X women Farrah Hall USA 31st; Finn Caleb Paine 9th; 49er Ladha/Inkpen CAN 21st, Murrieta/Murrieta MEX 35th, Storck/Moore CAN 39th; 470 men Ramsay/Leigh CAN 20th, McNay/Biehl USA 25th; 470 women Clark/Lihan USA 3rd, Archibald/Dexter 26th; Star Clarke/Björn CAN 1st, Szabo USA/Hagin SUI 11th; Women Matchrace Anna Tunnicliffe USA 1st, Sally Barrow USA 2nd.
The official report, all ranking lists and the videos of the day.

Sun and a fresh breeze - exceeding 30 kn in the afternoon - prevailed on the first day of the 44th SOF on the Bay of Hyères FRA. All classes, except the Starboats scheduled for the afternoon (gusts of over 40 kn), sailed two races (49ers one). In the RS:X-windsurfers, the World Champion Julien Bontemps FRA and Toni Wilhelm GER were the winners of both races in their groups and are jointly on top overall. In the RS:X-female windsurfers, the winner in was twice Li Ling CHN in her group, followed by Moana Delle GER. In both fleets - men and women - a number of top performers are not present at the SOF, such as the World Champion Lee Korzits ISR, Zofia Klepacka POL or the strong Spanish women. In the Finns, Deniss Karpak EST took rank 1 in both races, and is the clear overall leader ahead of Rafael Trujillo ESP. The only 49er heat - with only half of the fleet finishing - saw D'Ortoli/Delpech FRA on top ahead of Dyen/Christidis FRA. Fantela/Marencic CRO are first overall in the 470 men with two race wins, followed by Mantis/ Kagialis GRE on rank 2. In the 470 women, the joint leaders are Westerhof/Berkhout NED and Kondo/Tabata JPN. The only undefeated Women Match Race team after only three flights (too much breeze) was once more Anna Tunnicliffe's USA.
The best ranked NorAm teams are: 470 men McNay/Biehl USA 4th, Ramsey/Leigh CAN 19th; 470 women Clark/Lihan USA 6th, Archibald/Dexter CAN 20th; Laser Standard Robert Crane USA 17th; Laser Radial Marie-Pier Alary CAN 57th; Finn Caleb Paine USA 14th; RS:X men Robert Willis USA 26th, RS:X women Farrah Hall USA 31st; 49er Storck/Moore USA dnf, Gooderham/Hogan CAN dnf; Woman Matchrace Anna Tunnicliffe USA 3-0 wins, Sally Barkow USA 2-0 wins.
The official report, the videos of the day and all ranking lists.

Tomorrow Sunday is day one of the 4th 2012 ISAF Worldcup of the Olympic and Paralympic Classes at Hyères FRA. As every year, the SOF is for most classes the best-attended event of the year, especially in an Olympic year, as the entry lists reveal. See the official US Sailing Team report for the US participation in 8 Olympic and 3 Paralympic event. Strange the US engagement in the Starboat, where US sailors team up with Swiss, i.e. George Szabo with the Swiss Sailing President Vincent Hagin as crew, and Mark Strube, crewing for Michel Niklaus. Canada is represented in the 470, 49er, Star, Laser Radial and all Paralympic classes. According to the wind forecasts, this year's races will be on the windy side, even though the Mistral prevail during the past days will decrease somewhat during the coming week to about 15-20 kn. The event-website.

Another big breeze day with 35-40 kn for the last three heats of the Mondial du Vent ProAm-Speed-Crossings. Maxime Rocher FRA, youth world champion, age 18, succeeded to control the American speed world-record holder Rob Douglas USA, winning the Mondial du Vent for the first time. The final report and the videos.

Four more heats were driven yesterday at the ProAm Speed Crossing in good conditions. With the kiters, Maxime Nocher FRA in now in the lead in front of Rob Doulas USA. The best windsurfer is still Antoine Albeau FRA. The report and the videos.

Four races of the ProAm-Speed-Tour - long-distance races with mass starts - were on the program yesterday, and this in a Tramontana breeze of up to 35 kn. The only three windsurfers in the fleet dominated the race, with Antoine Albeau FRA as dominator winning all for heats. Rob Douglas USA as the best of the kiters finished on rank 4 in all races. The report and the videos.

Thousands of fans were present at Leucate again enjoying the fun at the Race Village, in spite of lacking winds. The Freestyle Kite Professionals terminated their competition yesterday with Alex Pastor ESP (men) and Gisela Pulido ESP (women) as winners. The event website contains again some more videos and an interview with Rob Douglas USA, winner of the Speed-Contest over 500 meters with 43,2 kn.

Updated ISAF World Ranking lists have been published after the Palma Worldcup event and - for the first time - Poland is the nation with most top rankings with Piotr Myszka POL and Przemylav Miarczyinski POL as numbers 1 and 3 in the RS:X-windsurfers and with Zofia Klepacka POL as number 2 in the RS:X-women windsurfers. A new number 1 shows up in the 470 women where Ai Kondo/Wakako Tabata JPN replaced the Spanish Tara Pacheco/Berta Betanzos ESP on top. The ISAF report
and all ranking lists.

Mistral or Tramontana back at the South of France, respectively the Western Mediterranean coasts yesterday. Speed surfers and Kite freestyler were on their boards again. The overall World record holder Rob Douglas USA was again a class of his own with 39,5 kn over 500 meters. The fastest board sailor Antoine Albeau FRA reached 33,5 kn. The Freestyle-worldcup of the kiters was at its crucial stage with Alex Pastor ESP defeating Alberto Rondina ESP in the men's final. Youri Zoom NED advanced on rank 3 after a row of good performances. Gisela Pulido ESP was once more unbeatable in the women's contest, defeating Karolina Winkowska POL clearly in the final. The report with video, presenting the most acrobat freestylers, and again a number of TV reports.

Yesterday should have been day one of the Olympic Garda Regatta. But in the tight regatta program of this spring, not too many teams decided to attend this traditional event, and a cancellation due to the lack of enough competitors was inevitable. Next year, this event will take place from May 8 - 1 and be be part of the relaunched Eurolymp-Circuit consisting of four series. The short report.

Some position changes can be noticed after the third of seven Worldcup events, the Trofeo Princesa Sofia in Palma. Some top teams/athletes have joined the 2012 circuit only now. Here all ranking lists and the report by ISAF.

After the fresh breeze from the shore during the last three days, the wind direction changed and the incoming seabreeze built up a wave pattern that made the long-distance race quite hard especially for the kite-surfers. Winner of this first long-run was the multiple windsurf course racing and slalom World Champion Antoine Albeau FRA. The best three windsurfers distanced the kiters by 3 minutes and more. The report (f) and the videos, including a number of film reports by French TV Channels presenting the sport to the general sports audience in an attractive way.

The 'Tramontane' wind did not blow as strongly as on the days before yesterday off Leucate FRA. The Freestyle-Kite-Surfer finished 7 heats at their Worldcup Double Elimination. Three runs have been completed up to now in the speed contest. With 43,32 kn (over 80 km/h), the Overall World record-holder Rob Douglas USA is in the lead ahead of the two Windsurfers Anders Bringdal SWE (41,3 kn) and Cedric Bordes FRA. The fastest women so far was the Kite-Surfer Charlotte Consorti FRA with 36,54 kn. The loosers of day one were given the opportunitiy to come back for the next round in the Double Elimination. But during the afternoon, the wind faded away and it is not yet known, whether Yuri Zoom NED, World Champion 2011 qualifies for the finals. He was eliminated on Sunday by the surprising Liam Whealy GBR, age 15. The report (f).

The Tramontane was blowing with 45 kn plus on the opening day of the Mondial du Vent at Leucate. The Kite- and Windsurfers started the event with a speed contest over 500 meters. Best of the day was the world-record holder Rob Douglas USA with 42 kn (78 kmh). The fastest windsurfer Anders Bringdahl SWE realised 38,62 kn. The Kite-Surf-Freestylers started their Worldcup competition as well. Winners of the first single elimination were Alex Pastor ESP with the men and Gisela Pulido ESP with the women. The report (f) and the videos of the previous year of this always very well attended happening, not only with high-level competition but also with parties and concerts.

The breeze hesitated to fill in also on the last day of the competition, but finally the last rides of the Double Elimination could be completed. Youri Zoon NED in the men's category and Bruna Kajiya BRA with the women' were taking winners' trophies and price money. See also the video of the Single Elimination of Thursday and Friday, as well as the official final report.

The Double Elimination at the Freestyle Kite Worldcup in Morocco began yesterday in light winds, allowing to use the larger 11m2 kites. Today, the eliminations will be concluded. Yesterday, the riders qualified for the next round were Christophe Tack BEL, Eudazio Da Silva BRA, Stefan Spiessberger AUT and Liam Whaley ESP. The report.

A good breeze and flat water allowed to complete the first Single Elimination of the Kite-Freestylers at the Moroccan Atlantic coast yesterday. Alex Pastor ESP with the men and Bruna Kayija BRA with the women finished on the top positions. The report with the results, but unfortunately, the nations cannot be identified on the lists. Today and tomorow, the Double Elimination is on the program. The presentation video.

Lee Korzits ISR and Julien Bontemps FRA are the RS:X World Champions 2012. The breeze exceeded once more the 40 kn barrier on the last day of the event, and the Medal Races could not be sailed. In a close decision, Julien Bontemps FRA took the Worlds title (and the 6'500 US$ price money) of the RS:X men ahead of Nick Dempsey GBR and JP Tobin NZL.
The women's winner Lee Korzits ISR is adding the Worlds title to her European Champion's title. Zofia Klepacka POL and Alessandra Sensini ITA with Silver and Bronze completed the podium.
The video of the day and the event-website with all other information.

40-50 kn was the breeze again yesterday morning in the Bay of Cádiz and racing was cancelled for the day very early in the morning. Instead, a speed-contest over 500 meters was launched to keep the athletes busy. The normal RS:X boards were used, and this in wind speeds around 50 kn ! The price money was $ 1'000 $ for both categories. Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED with 31,86 kn and Hanna Zembruska POL with 25,92 kn were the winners. According to the weather forecast, the strong Levante breeze will stay and it remains to be seen whether the Medal Races planned for noon (CET) will take place. The two leaders Julien Bontemps FRA in the RS:X men and Lee Korzits ISR RS:X women have only small advantages of 2, respectively 4 points.
The North Americans: Nikola Girke CAN 10th, Farrah Hall USA 40th, Demita Vega de Lille MEX 55th, Zach Plavsic CAN 16, Robert Willis USA 45th.
The report of the day and the videos.

The Gold Fleets completed three races yesterday. The Silver did not race. The speeds of the Levante hammering from the East through the Strait of Gibraltar were solidly in the mid 20s and topping out over 30. This world championship is turning into a war of attrition. Attrition on the sailors. And attrition on the equipment. The forecast is for it to pick up further.
With three race wins, the veteran Alessandra Sensini ITA was outstanding in the RS:X women, reducing the gap on the still leading Lee Korzits ISR to 10 points. Zofia Klepacka POL is 6 points ahead of the Italian Olympic Champion.
A leader change happened in the RS:X men, where Julien Bontemps FRA reclaimed the top with the day ranks 1/1/2, followed by Nick Dempsey GBR and JP Tobin NZL. Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED and Byron Kokkalanis GRE are only one point behind. The report of the day and the videos.

The fleet, now split in a Gold- and Silverfleet, sailed three races yesterday again in a very fresh breeze. Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED is now leading in the RS:X men, but the outcome of a pending protest is not yet known. Julien Bontemps FRA remains on the 2nd place, Byron Kokkalanis GRE is 3rd. Back in the fleet, the fight for the remaining Olympic berths goes on. Having made the Goldfleet, the windsurfers from BLR, BUL, THA, COL and CZE have already secured their places.
In the RS:X women, Lee Korzits ISR kept the lead ahead of Zofia Klepacka POL. As best of the day, Alessandra Sensini ITA, age 40, advanced on rank 6.
Apparently, the official website was overloaded this morning and no further information or ranking lists were available.

The Olympic Equipment Evaluation ended yesterday off Santandér in light winds. Based on the experiences of the test drivers, a report will be established on behalf of the ISAF Committees, and the Event Committee will submit a proposal to the ISAF Council for decision. According to some first reactions, it seems that the Kites can be used as from a 6-8 kn breeze, the Women Skiffs have their upper limit at 20 kn already, the 29erXX, almost chosen as Olympic skiff four years ago, had not much support, and that the only 18 foot multihull meriting the Olympic status is probably the Tornado. But which way will the politics go ? The report by ISAF. Anyhow, it remains a fact, that the keelboats, the widest-spread kind of boat world-wide, with the World's best sailors, have been banned from the Olympics !

The necessary last race to conclude the qualification phase of the RS:X Worlds was sailed yesterday, and thanks to their race wins in their groups, Nimrod Mashiah ISR and Nick Dempsey GBR have moved on top of the men's rankings, The former leader Julien Bontemps FRA is on the 2nd place tied with Dempsey and Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED. Best ranked northamerican is Zach Plavsic CAN on 18th. In the women's rankings, Lee Korsitz ISR and Zofia Klepacka POL are jointly on top, followed by Olga Maslivets UKR. Blanca Manchon ESP is now on 4th, Nikola Gierke CAN follows on 18th. The videos and the event-website.

The Skiff, Mixed-Multihull and Kite equipment and fromat tests continued only in the afternoon, when a light breeze finally filled in. The ISAF President Göran Petersson SWE was present to get a personal feeling about the trials for the 2016 Olympic classes. The report.

A Levante breeze exceeding 40 kn was blowing through the Strait of Gibraltar, too much to continue racing at the RS:X Windsurfing Worlds yesterday. Instead of the rest day, more qualification races are planned for today, to continue tomorrow Sunday with the finals in Gold- and Silverfleets. Julien Bontemps FRA is the leader after the three races of the opening day in the male category followed by Byron Kokkalanis GRE and Toni Wilhelm GER with the same number of points. Zach Plavsic CAN is on rank 17, Rob Willis USA on the 30th place.
In the female category, Lee Korsitz ISR, Zofia Klepacka POL and Blanca Mancon ESP are on top with the same number of points. Nicola Girke CAN is on rank 22. Demita Vega de Lille MEX and Farrah Hall USA are on the positions 46 and 47.The report of the day and the video of day one.

The World Championships of the Olympic RS:X windsurfers began yesterday with three races. The favorites Lee Korsitz ISR, Zofia Klepacka POL and Blanca Manchon ESP are already in the lead of the RS:X women at equal points with a 6 points' lead on the rest of the fleet The best North American is Nicola Girke CAN on rank 22. Demita Vega de Lille MEX and Farrah Hall USA are on the positions 46 and 47.
Julien Bontemps FRA, winning both races of his group is on top of the RS:X men, followed by Byron Kokkalanis GRE and Toni Wilhelm GER. The favorites Nimrod Masihiah ISR, Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED nd Nick Dempsey GBR are not far behind. Zach Plavsic CAN is on rank 17, Rob Willis USA on the 30th place.
After the extremely varying breeze between 8 and 18 kn yesterday, a strong Levante wind has been announced for today and it remains to be seen whether the races can take place at all under the expected stormy conditions. The report of the day and the World Championship video-presentation.

Good sailing conditions around 10 kn prevailed yesterday for the Olympic Event Equipment and Format Evaluations off the Spanish northern coast, and the test teams on the women skiffs, the mixed multihulls and kites could resume their work. The report and the report by Nathalie Keller SUI. By the way: These are not the first trials to select Olympic equipment ... with more or less success. Already in 1967, a first catamaran evaluation took place. The video !

No wind again off Santandér, and the equipment selection for the new Olympic events went on ashore on a 'theoretical basis'. The report. Today, the skiff and multihull trials will be complemented with the kite-surfers testing all kind of race formats in order to become Olympic regatta compatible. The report.

The World Championship of the Olympic RS:X windsurfers begins today off Cádiz with the Practice Race. 120 mal competitors from 49 nations and 80 female competitors from 39 nations participate. In addition to the Polish windsurfers, favorites in both fleets, it will be Nimrod Masiah ISR, Nick Dempsey GBR, JP Tobin NZL and Tom Ashley NZL to name a few who will be favorites for the title. Zach Plavsic and David Hayes represent Canada, Federico Ortiz Vivas Mexico and Rob Willis the USA.
Blanca Manchon ESP, Marina Alabau ESP, Charline Picon FRA or Bryony Shaw GBR will probably rule the show in the woman windsurfers.
Nicola Girke, Dominique Vallée and Laurence Bonneau-Charland represent Canada. Demita Vega de Lille MEX and Farrah Hall USA still fight for an Olympic nations berth.
For the first time, a prize money of 45'000 US$ will be at stake. The preview. After a rather moderate first day, the famous Cádiz breeze is supposed to fill in for the rest of the Championship. The event-website.

Challenging conditions on the third day of the Split Olympic Sailing Week with winds exceeding 20 kn. In most of the classes, the winners are known before the last races today Sunday. In the 470s, Sime Fantela/Igor Marencic CRO added two more race wins to their immaculate score line. Not in danger are also the first places of Ivan Klijakovic CRO in the Finns and Tina Mihelic CRO in the Lasers Radial. Open remains however is the situation in the Lasers Standard, where admittedly Andreas Geritzer AUT took the overall lead yesterday with an 8 point lead, but Pavlos Kontides CYP and the tied Jean-Baptiste Bernaz FRA and Tonci Stipanovic CRO will still have a say in this hard-fighting top group. All other results, the reports and interviews as well as the video of the day.

The Split Olympic Week continued yesterday in fresh winds with the full program according to the Notice of Race. Fantela/Marencic CRO in the 470s, Ivan Klijakovic-Gaspic CRO in the Finns and Tina Mihelic CRO in the Lasers Radial continued their winning straight. In the Lasers Standard however, the ranking is very close. The new leader Tonci Stipanovic CRO is only one point ahead of the tied Pavlos Kontides CYP and Rutger Van Schaardenburg NED, and only one point behind is Berecz Zsombor HUN. Even Andreas Geritzer AUT and Jean-Baptiste Bernaz FRA on the ranks 5 and 6 remain in the race for the overall win. All other results, the report of the day and the video of the day.

The Split Olympic Sailing Week began yesterday in a 8 to 12 kn light to moderate breeze. Two races were sailed in the Finns and the 470, where the favorites Ivan klijakovic CRO respectively Fantela/Marencic CRO are already the clear leaders with two race wins each. The Lasers have the largest fleets. Ivan Taritas CRO was the winner in the only race of the Lasers Standard, followed by Berecz Zsombor HUN and Marco Galli ITA. The favorites Pavlos Kontides CYP (rank 10), Tonci Stipanovic CRO (13th), Rutger Van Schaardenburg (16th), Andreas Geritzer AUT (24th) and Jean-Baptiste Bernaz FRA (25th) had their difficulties. Tina Mihelic (CRO) was first in the Lasers Radial. Mate Arapov/Ante Sitic CRO are on the first position in the Starboats. The report of the day and the video of the day.

The Athens Olympic Week ended yesterday with the Medal Races. The local sailors with a proven international record dominated in most of the classes. Byron Kokkalanis GRE is first in the (RS:X-windsurfers), Vangelis Cheimonas GRE is on top of the (Lasers Standard) and Mantis/Kagialis GRE are on rank 1 in the (470). Adrien and Olivier Gremaud SUI lost one position in the 470 Medal Race and finish on the 7th place. The event-website with all other results and the videos.