Once again the day dawned quiet and tranquil here on the magnificent Ballena Alegre campsite. However the morning calm was quickly replaced by a stiff southwest wind, giving testing side shore racing conditions. With gusts up to 20kts and lulls at around the 10kts mark it proved difficult even for the world's best.
Early round highlights and upsets
Women
The standard of the women’s fleet has risen dramatically and this event sees 16 competitors of the highest level. Even more impressive is how low the average age of the competitors are, showing how great the future looks for women’s racing.
First round standout was Alice Arutkin (Starboard/North Sails). She blasted into 1st place ahead of World Champion Karin Jaggi (F2/Severne). At just 17 years old she is definitely a hot tip for the future. Unfortunately for her a timing mistake in the final meant she eventually finished 6th.
The losers final was won by fired up French woman Morane Demont (Starboard/Severne). Demont had an over-early in the first round, but made no mistakes in the losers' final. Cagla Kubat (Starboard/North Sails) looked very comfortable and took 2nd. A winter in Maui, training with Jimmy Diaz (Starboard/North Sails), has clearly paid off. In 3rd position young Turkish hope Lena Erdil (Starboard/Loft Sails) was fuming. She had been leading an earlier heat when it was cancelled and in the re-run things didn’t go the same way. Sometimes racing can be very cruel.
The final was a more traditional affair with Valerie Ghibaudo (Tabou/Loft Sails) and Karin Jaggi blasting into the lead and fighting for the top spot. A poor start from Karin opened the door for Valerie and she made no mistake taking advantage of it. In 3rd place was a surprised Marta Hlavaty (Starboard/MauiSails). More at home on an RSX board, she used her light wind skills to work through the lulls and move into the final podium position.
With four more days to go, it is all still to play for so stay tuned to www.pwaworldtour.com and be sure to check the live event ticker tomorrow. First possible start is at 10.30am.
Women's Results
1st Valerie Ghibaudo (Tabou/Loft Sails)
2nd Karin Jaggi (F2/Severne)
3rd Marta Hlavaty (Starboard/MauiSails)
4th Sarah Hebert (Starboard/Naish)
5th Lise Vidal (Exocet/North Sails
