Currently 9th overall

Jinha beach continued to enrich its ever growing reputation, by providing five captivating days of racing out of a possible seven. This year’s event truly was a culmination of blood, sweat and tears, as emotions ran high due to upsets and shock exits occurring left, right and centre, as well as seeing the emergence of a rising star in Antoine Questel (Starboard / Loft Sails). The women’s division saw the number one and two seeds battling it out for top honours, ensuring a nail-biting finish to a tantalizingly close contest.

After five full eliminations for both the men and women, Micah Buzianis (JP / MauiSails)proved that consistency is the key as he snatched the event title from under the nose of Antoine Questel, and in doing so denied the young Frenchman his first event title. Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic) claimed victory in the women’s fleet, with just a point between her and her closest adversary, Karin jaggi (Patrik / Severne).

Men’s Eliminations

The first elimination saw two out of last years top three missing from the winner’s final, with Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / Dunkerbeck Eyewear) and Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Loft Sails) missing out. It looked like the door was open for Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) to seize control of the opening elimination, especially since Alberto Menegatti (Tabou / Gaastra) and Josh Angulo (Angulo / Point-7) both false started, however Bora Kozanolgu, in his first full year on tour, had different ideas and the Turk stole the show to claim victory in race one ahead of Albeau in second.

Alberto Cruising

The shocks continued in the second race, as Kozanoglu and Albeau both failed to qualify for the winner’s final. Kozanoglu went down on a gybe in the quarter finals, a mistake he couldn’t recover from, whilst Albeau false started in the semi-final’s along with Menegatti and Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde). Meanwhile Dunkerbeck returned with a vengeance after a disappointing tenth in the first elimination. The terminator just edged a photo finish on the finish line versus Van Der Steen to seal his first bullet of the competition. Third and fourth went to Micah Buzianis and Pieter Bijl (JP / NeilPryde).

In the third elimination, Albeau was dealt a hammer blow to his title chances as he false started for the second time, Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Fanatic / North) made the same mistake to leave just six sailors in heat sixteen by the time it was re-started. Ben Van Der Steen had pushed Dunkerbeck all the way in the previous race, and this time around the Dutch maestro dominated the fleet, delivering a blisteringly fast performance to claim victory and move into first place overall. Micah Buzianis continued to be Mr consistent in second followed by Cedric Bordes (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic). Dunkerbeck on the other hand endured a night mare final as he uncharacteristically crashed at the final mark to drop to sixth place.

Dunkerbeck went through some unfortunate events

In race four Dunkerbeck failed to progress past the quarter-finals in the fourth race due to hitting a piece of debris in the water, which sent him flying. It wasn’t just the current top seed who would be missing from the centre piece though as the current event leader, Van Der Steen, also narrowly missed out having finished fifth in his semi-final. Cue Antoine Questel to step forward and win his first ever elimination. The young Frenchman showed a combination of great composure and killer instinct as he left Ross Williams (Tabou / Gaastra) and Albeau for dead. This result propelled Questel to the forefront of the slalom world as he replaced Van Der Steen as the current event leader.

The fifth elimination was packed with drama, first came the revelation that Bjorn Dunkerbeck would be unable to compete after slicing his foot open in a freak accident whilst preparing for his opening heat of the day. Then came the moment that Questel will want to forget for the rest of his life. When comfortably in the lead of his semi-final, Questel had a meltdown as he started sailing to the wrong mark after turn two, this left him unable to qualify from the semi’s and put his event title dreams in tatters. Micah Buzianis only needed to finish in the top two of the winner’s final, after Questel’s mishap, to secure his first victory in a long time and the American made no mistakes. Buzianis performed impeccably over the duration of the week to claim a well deserved victory. Ludovic Jossin (Loft Sails) won the last elimination, with Williams completing the top three after a remarkable recovery which saw the Brit fight back from seventh place.

Women’s Eliminations

Elimination one saw Karin Jaggi make a massive blunder as she crossed the line early, this meant the number one seed would not be lining up for the first winner’s final of Korea. Valerie Arrighetti took full advantage of her rivals mistake by flying to first place in the opening race. The French woman looked in terrific form and it was obvious she was going to be hard to beat. Cagla Kubat (Starboard / Loft Sails) finished second, followed by Fanny Aubet (JP / NeilPryde). Jaggi, meanwhile, suffered an horrendous start as she finished twelfth and left herself with it all to do.

The second race saw Karin Jaggi return to the winner’s final and with it came a performance we are more accustomed to seeing from the Swiss lady. Jaggi looked in a class of her own as she opened up a comfortable lead to stroll to victory. Arrighetti finished in second place, ensuring that she remained in control of the event, for the time being at least. Completing the top four was Delphine Cousin (JP / NeilPryde) and Aubet.

Arrighetti continued her scintillating form to rack up another first place. Her latest victory meant she had won three out of last four races when you include Italy, as she laid down the gauntlet that she is a serious contender for the world title. Race three saw the closest finish of the competition as Jaggi tried desperately to reel in her rival on the last reach, Jaggi had far more speed but the damage had been done earlier on in the race, due to Arrighetti’s superior start, despite her best efforts she couldn’t quite recover the gap, leaving her to settle with second. Cousin put in another solid performance to find herself in third place once more, followed by Japan’s Fujiko Onishi.

Race four looked as though it would see Arrighetti wrap up the event victory. The French woman entered the final reach with a huge lead but as we’d seen throughout the week, anything can happen in Korea. Unfortunately Arrighetti caught a piece of sea grass around her fin, this enabled Jaggi to storm down the last reach and steal the victory from her visibly upset rival, who looked in utter disbelief as to what had happened.

Deja Vu struck in the fifth and final race when Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic) made the same mistake as, Antoine Questel, by sailing to the wrong buoy in her heat. The French woman had been leading but she finished in seventh place to miss out on heat four. Things had gone from bad to worse for Arrighetti as it looked like Karin Jaggi would snatch the event title by a cat’s whisker. However lady luck was shining on her side, as the usually lethal Jaggi failed to take full advantage of the opportunity presented to her by finishing third in the winner’s final. This wasn’t enough to dethrone Arrighetti as she was crowned the Queen of Korea. Delphine Cousin capped an excellent event with her best heat as she won the fifth race to secure a spot on the podium.

The 2012 PWA Ulsan World Cup Overall Standings : Men’s Slalom

1st Micah Buzianis (JP / MauiSails)
2nd Antoine Questel (Starboard / Loft Sails)
3rd Ross Williams (Tabou / Gaastra)
4th Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)
5th Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Loft Sails / Mystic)

The 2012 PWA Ulsan World Cup Overall Standings : Women’s Slalom

1st Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic)
2nd Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne)
3rd Delphine Cousin (JP / NeilPryde)
4th Fanny Aubet (JP / NeilPryde)
5th Fujiko Onishi

Day six saw an intense day of racing, as competitors and race officials ground out a marathon ten-hour day on the water, which saw two and a half eliminations completed. By the end of racing this evening there was a new kid on top of the block, in the form of Antoine Questel (Starboard / Loft Sails).

Men’s - Second Elimination
The second semi-final, Heat 14, was the first heat to be completed today. Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North) made the perfect start, but Micah Buzianis (JP / MauiSails) was in hot pursuit. The American had a better line to the first mark, and this proved crucial as he took the lead. Once Buzianis was in first place he never looked like relinquishing it. Following him was Mortefon, Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Loft Sails / Mystic) and Sylvain Moussilmani (Tabou / Simmer). Pieter Bijl (JP / NeilPryde) was close behind in fifth and he turned on the gas to pip Moussilmani into fourth place as they completed the heat.

Loser’s Final
The pressure was on Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) in the loser’s final, as he knew he had to win if he wanted to remain in contention for the event title. The Frenchman held his nerve, as he led from start to finish, showing absolute resolve to keep his hopes alive. It wasn’t plain sailing for the rest of the riders though, as Pascal Toselli (RRD / Point-7) was taken down by Cedric Bordes (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic) at the opening gybe. This cost them both dearly as they finished in seventh and eighth respectively. Alberto Menegatti (Starboard / Gaastra) and Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North) had a close fought battle for fifth and sixth, but the Italian just edged Diaz out by the finish line. The top four was completed by Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde) in second, Sylvain Moussilmani third and Josh Angulo (Angulo / Point-7) in fourth.

Ben van der Steen

Winner’s Final
Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne/ Mystic / Dunkerbeck Eyewear) demonstrated his championship winning qualities once again as he recovered from a poor first elimination, by claiming the first bullet of the day. It was Ross Williams (Tabou / Gaastra) who nailed the start and he led going into the first turn. However the Brit dropped his gybe, allowing Dunkerbeck to sneak through, with Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Loft Sails/ Mystic) and Buzianis also benefitting. Pieter Bijl (JP / NeilPryde) was third for a time, but both Van Der Steen and Buzianis fought back to overtake him. Van Der Steen was absolutely flying as he attempted to hunt down Dunkerbeck and by the finish line it was a photo finish. The results confirmed that the terminator had just about held on, despite a monumental effort from the Dutchman, who claimed second with Buzianis in third followed by Bijl in fourth.

At the end of the second elimination Antoine Questel was the event leader, with Dunkerbeck leaping into second place followed by Albeau in third. Day six in Korea was shaping up to be a real classic, with everyone still in the hunt for those coveted podium positions heading into the third elimination.

Antoine pulling away from the veterans

Elimination Three
In the first round of the third elimination several sailors fell victim to both seaweed and stray ropes, which made for some brutal looking crashes. In heat three Taty Frans (Starboard / MauiSails / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) was the first sailor to be unlucky. The boy from Bonaire crossed the line in first place, and he was still qualifying for the second round as he headed round the final mark, however at this point Frans hit something in the water, ending his chances of progressing. Dan Ellis (North) was involved in the same heat and the Brit suffered a similar fate with an even bigger crash. This enabled Poland’s Maciek Rutkowski (Loft Sails / Patrik) to grab the remaining fourth spot. Also qualifying from heat three was; Julien Quentel, Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne / Mystic) and Pierre Mortefon. Other notable names missing from the next round were Steve Allen (Starboard / Severne), who narrowly missed out after finishing fifth, whilst the winner of the first elimination Bora Kozanoglu also failed to make the top four of his heat.

Bora's bad day

The quarter-finals would see further upsets as the twists and turns continued.The ever consistent Jimmy Diaz was the latest sailor to implode. Meaning for once he was missing from the semi’s. Finian Maynard (RRD / Avanti) wasn’t complaining as he finally got a break in his favour, Diaz’s misfortune gifted Maynard fourth. Ross Williams led from start to finish, as he continued to look sharp with on point starts and great speed. Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Fanatic / North) and Micah Buzianis were the other sailors going through. The other big names missing from the semis would be Alberto Menegatti, who false started in heat 11. Josh Angulo (Angulo / Point-7) was also left disappointed as he performed a less than perfect gybe, which saw him drop off the plane and more importantly out of the top four, as Questel, Peter Volwater (Fanatic / Avanti), Patrik Diethelm (Patrik / Loft Sails) and Pieter Bijl all progressed from heat 11.

The first semi-final saw Gonzalo Costa Hoevel time his start perfectly, and the Argentinean looked in the same kind of form that resulted in him finishing second in Italy. He demonstrated great board speed and fluid gybes throughout the heat to book his place in the winner’s final. Second place went to Quentel whilst Buzianis was third. Ben Van Der Steen showed once again today that he is one of the fastest guys on the tour, as he came from behind to blitz past Williams to steal the last spot in the winner’s final. Heat 14 saw Questel continue his fine form as he went on to win the heat. Albeau and Dunkerbeck were second and third respectively, whilst Bordes turned on the after burners to finish fourth ahead of Volwater.

One of the faster guys on the tour, Ben van der Steen

Loser’s Final
Ross Williams delivered a stellar performance to finish win the loser’s final and finish 9th overall in the race three. Cyril Moussilmani also put in a solid display as he held off Volwater to claim second place. Patrik Diethelm was the rider to eventually claim fourth after a battle between himself, Toselli and Ludovic Jossin (Loft Sails). Finian Maynard may have crossed the line first but he had to settle for seventh.

Winner’s Final
Heat 16 was immediately recalled, as disaster struck again for Albeau as he went over the line early, as did Costa Hoevel. At this point all eyes turned to Dunkerbeck, as it looked like he had been presented with the perfect opportunity to take a stronghold at the top. However by the end of the race Dunkerbeck finished in sixth place. The legend made a rare mistake as he dropped his gybe at the fourth mark, meaning he had no time to recover. Ben Van Der Steen didn’t make the best start, but he soon rose from the back of the pack to charge into the lead, from here the Dutchman looked in complete control as he claimed his first victory of the season, and he was visibly delighted as he crossed the line. Buzianis cemented his place in second followed by Bordes and Quentel in fourth.

Elimination Four
The main stories of the first round was that Peter Volwater, who had been so competitive up to now, failed to progress. He was involved in an extremely close battle with Andrea Rosati (RRD / Gaastra) and it was the Italian who prevailed. Jesper Orth (F2 / KA) also made an incredible recovery to still qualify for the next round after catapulting during heat 6. Orth didn’t give up though as he reeled in Sean O’Brien (Starboard / Point-7), and by the finish line he had done enough to overtake his Australian counterpart.

Sean plowing through chopped up waters

Bjorn Dunkerbeck endured a horrific quarter final as he hit a piece of wood at full speed, this sent him flying and the top seed missed out on a place in the semi-final’s. After a great start his day was starting to fall apart. Heat six was a super competitive heat and this resulted in several big names exiting the fourth race in the quarters. Cyril Moussilmani, Alberto Menegatti and Finian Maynard were all knocked out, as Costa Hoevel, Angulo, Buzianis and Frans all made it through.

In the first semi-final Josh Angulo got off to a fine start, however as other top riders had found out today, making the finish line was a bit of a lottery. Unfortunately for Angulo, luck wasn’t on his side and he couldn’t make up the ground he had lost. Cedric Bordes took full advantage as he passed into first place, and no-one could catch him. Costa Hoevel was his closest rival as he secured second. Arnon Dagan (Tabou / Gaastra) began to discover his form and he was rewarded with third, whilst Buzianis ensured he would be in his third consecutive winner’s final by claiming the last spot. The winner of the third elimination, Van Der Steen, narrowly missed out on the top four as the upsets continued to occur. The top going through to heat 16 were; Quentel, Questel, Williams and Albeau.

Loser’s Final
Taty Frans had been looking fast all day without making a significant impact. In the loser’s final this all changed as the freestyler turned slalom sailor, dominated the field to claim a clear victory in heat 15. Frans didn’t make the best start, but he took the inside line at the first gybe and leapfrogged past Angulo and Van Der Steen. By the final reach, Spain’s Ludovic Jossin had climbed into second place followed by Sylvain Moussilmani. Despite great starts for Angulo and Van Der Steen, they ended up finishing fourth and eighth respectively. Van Der Steen in particular got caught out in a wind hole, which cost him greatly.

Winner’s Final
Heat 16 provided a moment of glory for Antoine Questel. The young Frenchman had been sailing terrifically all day and he was rewarded with his first ever victory in a winner’s final. His confidence had grown throughout the day and on the final reach he was celebrating 50 yards before the finish, such was his lead. Ross Williams fought his way past Quentel into second and this is where the Brit finished. Quentel had been first over the line but ended up finishing fourth, with Antoine Albeau also overtaking him to secure third.

Questel interview below

Do you feel under pressure being in the lead?

Antoine Questel:
Yesterday after being ranked third with a lot of mistakes.I thought today would be the day that I released the pressure. I had great starts throughout. Going into the final day I feel pretty confident and the pressure isn’t on me. My worst result is fifth from here, this means if I am in the final then I can got full power on the starts but I will remain focused till the end now, tomorrow offers lighter winds and I feel more confident in these conditions.

How does it feel to win your first winner’s final?

Antoine Questel:
Since last season I have been in a couple of winner’s finals. I have been close before so I was sure I could win one. Today I achieved my goal, hopefully it will not be the last one. I didn’t really realize that this was my first victory.

Do you feel under pressure when you are up against Antoine Albeau and Bjorn Dunkerbeck?

Antoine Questel:
No I am confident in my abilities.

Why have you been so fast in Korea?

Antoine Questel:
That is a secret that I cannot reveal.

Women’s - Elimination Two
The second elimination saw two upsets with Alice Arutkin (Starboard / North) and Lena Erdil (Patrik / The Loft / AL360) both missing the winner’s final. The top two seeds; Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne) and Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic) both made the winner’s final.

Winner’s Final

Delphine Cousin (JP / NeilPryde) made the best start but Jaggi soon showed her class with superior speed to everyone. Jaggi soon found herself in the lead, and with all of her experience she was never going to let anyone take it away from her. Arrighetti, who is Jaggi’s biggest rival, managed to pass Cousin to move into second position and this is where they both remained, in second and third respectively. Fourth was another French woman, Fanny Aubet (JP / NeilPryde) as the French dominate the top four.

Elimination Three

The third elimination again saw Arutkin miss out on the winner’s final, but Lena Erdil managed to recover from her poor start in the previous elimination to book her place in the winner’s final. The other sailor of note to miss out was Greta Benvenuti (Patrik / Point-7 / AL360).

Winner’s Final

Lena Erdil made a great start to the final as she timed her start to perfection. However after a great start, Erdil finished in a disappointing sixth place. Jaggi once again demonstrated her greater straight line speed as she came from third place to push Arrighetti all the way to the finish line. On this occasion the gap proved too big for the Swiss lady to close, as Arrighetti hit straight back to claim her second bullet of the contest. Following them in third was Cousin and Japan’s Fujiko Onishi completed the top four..

Elimination Four

As the women returned to the water after a two hour break, you could feel the tension on the beach as the battle between Jaggi and Arrighetti heated up. The result of this winner’s final had the potential to be a pivotal moment in the event.

Winner’s Final

The first blood went to Arrighetti as she was the first sailor over the line. Karin Jaggi hadn’t let her get out of sight though and the Swiss gem held second place. Behind them were Arutkin and Cousin. As the race progressed Arrighetti opened up a big lead and it looked as though she was going to stroll to victory. However the multi-talented and experienced Jaggi had not given up catching her rival, and as they headed down the last leg Jaggi started to gain on the Frenchwoman. Jaggi completed an unbelievable comeback to claim first position, Arrighetti, meanwhile, was devastated and left cursing her luck as she got sea grass caught around her fin. This cost her the chance to take a commanding lead at the top, and now there’s all to play for with Arrighetti and Jaggi being right behind each other. Alice Arutkin finished in an excellent third with Cousin in fourth.

At the end of an epic day, packed with high octane racing, the final day of Korea is set up to be a nail biting showdown. In the men’s division, the two icons of slalom, Albeau and Dunkerbeck are currently sat outside of the top three, after mixed performances on day six. Antoine Questel leads the way after a breathtaking display to properly announce himself in the slalom world. The women’s division promises to be just as exciting with Jaggi and Arrighetti fighting tooth and nail for the top spot. The forecast for tomorrow is great again, so we should be in for another day of exhilarating racing. The skipper’s meeting has been called for 08:30 tomorrow morning with racing commencing from 9am. Don’t miss a thing by heading over to www.pwaworldtour.com and watching it all unfold before your eyes via the live stream.

Men’s Slalom Standings After Elimination 4

1st Antoine Questel (Starboard / Loft Sails)
2nd Micah Buzianis (JP / MauiSails)
3rd Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Loft Sails / Mystic)
4th Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)
5th Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / Dunkerbeck Eyewear

Women’s Slalom Standings After Elimination 4

1st Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic)
2nd Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne)
3rd Delphine Cousin (JP / NeilPryde)
4th Fanny Aubet (JP / NeilPryde)
5th Cagla Kubat (Starboard / Loft Sails)

And we've got wind again! Day 5 people...

On a day where it looked like no racing would be possible, Jinha beach once again produced the goods out of nowhere with a late show of dramatic slalom, upsets and shock exits. The wind on day five was extremely light until 4pm. At this point the cloud cover increased and the temperature plummeted, resulting in everyone running for their hoodies and coats, but more importantly the wind began to increase. The intense racing action didn’t begin for another hour and a half, with heat four finally starting at 17:40. In the end ten quick fire heats were completed.

Men’s Second Elimination.
When the wind arrived, heat four was the first heat of the day to be sailed. As the green flag was raised it was Arnon Dagan (Tabou / Gaastra) who made the best start, but by the first gybe mark it was Finian Maynard (RRD / Avanti) that had burst into the lead, as he flew down the first reach followed by Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) and Dagan. This heat proved to be extremely competitive with the lead interchanging throughout. By the end though it was Albeau who came out on top, with solid gybing in the choppy waters proving key. Joining him in the next round would be Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde), Maynard and Enes Yilmazer (JP / NeilPryde), after the Turkish man benefitted from Dagan falling victim to sea grass on his fin.

Heat five saw Pieter Bijl (JP / NeilPryde) cruise to victory as he coped well in the tricky conditions. Sylvain Moussilmani (Tabou / Simmer) finished in second place with Turkey’s Ertugrul Icingir (JP / NeilPryde) in third. The real story in this heat though involved Steve Allen (Starboard / Severne), who had been in second place going into the first gybe mark and looked as though he would safely qualify for the next round. However the Australian was super unlucky as he hit an unknown object in the water, which caused him to fall, ending his hopes of progressing. Chris Pressler (Starboard / Severne) was more than happy to take advantage though as he claimed the crucial fourth place.

Chris looking happy with his sail

Into the quarter finals and the major incident was the fact that the winner of the first elimination, Bora Kozanoglu (Starboard / Severne), failed to progress, despite crossing the start line in the lead. At the second gybe mark Kozanoglu fell on his gybe and from this point on the Turk was unable to recover, resulting in a devastating finish to Day 5 for him. Going through to the semi-finals would be Josh Angulo (Angulo / Point-7), who looked in fine form as he made the choppy conditions look extremely easy in comparison to his competitors. Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Loft Sails / Mystic) and Cedric Bordes (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic) safely navigated their way into the next round too. The real battle in heat twelve was for fourth place. This saw an intense battle between Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North) and Peter Volwater (Fanatic / Avanti) develop as they fought tooth and nail from the first gybe mark until the finish line. In the end Mortefon managed to hang onto the remaining spot despite stalling his final turn. Other notable names who missed the cut were; Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Fanatic / North), who finished second in Italy, Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne / Mystic) and finally Finian Maynard, whose torrid run of luck continued as he suffered a broken boom. Maynard will be hoping for an upturn in fortune after a terrible run of luck at start to the season.

Bad day for Bora

The semi-finals started in dramatic fashion, with a total of three general recalls in heat thirteen. First of all disaster struck for Antoine Albeau, as the big Frenchman was a tad too eager to cross the line, he will now have to settle for a place in the loser’s final, knowing he has opened the door for his nemesis Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / Dunkerbeck Eyewear) to place himself right back in contention for the final two days. Julien Quentel then made the same mistake. With only 6 sailors left in the heat there was a chance that the remaining men would hold back on their starts, knowing that they had less competition to beat in order to qualify for the winner’s final, but Alberto Menegatti (Starboard / Gaastra) demonstrated how important the start is considered as he false started too. On the fourth time of asking the race was eventually underway. Ludovic Jossin (Patrik / Loft Sails) made the best start of the bunch but he couldn’t hold onto his lead. Dunkerbeck had overtaken Jossin by the first mark, and the terminator looked as though he had rediscovered the speed he had shown in Italy. From this point on he never looked back, and by the time he reached the final mark he had opened up a substantial lead. The wind had begun to drop and this cost Pascal Toselli (RRD / Point-7) dearly as he dropped off the plane, enabling Jossin, Ross Williams (Tabou / Gaastra) and Antoine Questel (Starboard / Loft Sails) to race clear and book their place in the winner’s final. Heat fourteen, was started but it had to be abandoned due to the wind becoming increasingly patchy and decreasing in strength.

Antoine with his tool for the final

At the end of day five there’s all to play for as we enter the final two days of the competition. With the top two from the first elimination, Kozanoglu and Albeau, missing from the winner’s final, it is shaping up to be an exhilarating climax. Anyone of the top guys could still plausibly be crowned the champion, whilst the women’s division is still up for grabs too. With a great forecast for Thursday and Friday it looks as though the action should go right down to the wire in Korea. Expect tempers to flare and emotions to run high as we head towards a nerve jangling finale.

DAY 2: Kozanoglu wins the first race of the PWA Ulsan World Cup

The second day of the competition started in much the same fashion as the opening day, with winds coming from almost every direction as the wind failed to establish itself. However at 2pm the wind swung cross shore and picked up to 15 to 18 knots, ensuring an action packed afternoon, which saw both the men and women’s first elimination’s completed. The men’s second elimination was started, but after three heats the wind faded, bringing the conclusion to an exciting day of racing.

Leading the pack

Men
Single Elimination - Heat 4 opened up the day’s proceedings, and it was Australian Steve Allen (Starboard / Severne) that was first to book his place in the second round. Also joining him was Ross Williams (Tabou / Gaastra), Damien Le Guen (Exocet) and Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Fanatic / North). The main casualty of the first round was Finian Maynard (RRD / Avanti), who suffered a broken fin just metres after crossing the start line, putting an end to his hopes of progressing in the first elimination.

Steve Allen leading

Semi-Finals
The semi-finals included the majority of the top seeds, as the top sailors managed to survive the opening rounds unscathed. The first semi-final saw Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) cross the start line in the lead, and the Frenchman looked in confident mood as he made the most of the gusty conditions to win heat 13, and secure his place in the winner’s final. Alberto Menegatti (Starboard / Gaastra) wasn’t far behind Albeau, as the Italian maintained his excellent form to progress. Steven Allen finished in third place, whilst Antoine Questel (Starboard / Loft Sails) pipped Micah Buzianis (JP / MauiSails) to the remaining place in the winner’s final. The second semi-final was cancelled as the wind was deemed too fluky for the heat to be completed. This was unfortunate for Peter Volwater (Fanatic / Avanti) as he got off to a brilliant start and had built a healthy lead. When the heat was restarted the Dutchman had to settle for a place in the loser’s final as he finished sixth. First over the line in the rerun was Pascal Toselli (RRD / Point-7), followed by Bora Kozanoglu (Starboard / Severne). As the race progressed it was Kozanoglu who asserted his dominance to win the heat followed by Toselli and Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North). The final place up for grabs resulted in a photo finish as either one out of; Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne / Mystic), Peter Volwater and Josh Angulo (Angulo / Point-7) could’ve claimed fourth place. After a tense wait it emerged that Angulo had snatched the last spot. Meanwhile Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / Dunkerbeck Eyewear) endured his worst heat for several events as he finished in seventh place. For once the terminator would be missing from the winner’s final.

Bora showing Antoine his tailpipes

Loser’s Final
Ben Van Der Steen (Starboard / Loft Sails / Mystic) sailed a terrific race, coming from behind to win the heat and finish ninth overall in the first elimination. Buzianis got off to the best start, but he dropped his gybe on the third mark, opening the door for the rest of the chasing pack. As the race headed into the final reach, the top three of Van Der Steen, Dunkerbeck and Williams remained unchanged. Buzianis on the other hand was battling to move into fourth place but Sylvain Moussilmani (Tabou / Simmer) fought off the challenge, meaning the American had to settle for fifth.

A terrific race by Ben van der Steen

Winner’s Final
The winner’s final had to be restarted due to both Josh Angulo and Alberto Menegatti jumping the gun. In the end the showpiece of the day didn’t disappoint as it provided one of the most exciting finishes of the day. From the outset, Bora Kozanoglu burst to the front with a perfect start and he made the most of the clean wind to open up a commanding lead over his closest rival Antoine Albeau. As the Turk rounded the final gybe mark it looked as though he was going to cruise to victory, however Albeau looked like a man on a mission as he gave chase, eating into Kozanoglu’s lead at an alarming rate of knots. By the finish line there was only a few metres in it, but to the relief of Kozanoglu he had held on to claim the victory in the first race. It was later revealed that the Turk had caught some sea grass around his fin, explaining why Albeau was able to catch him at such an astonishing rate. Third and fourth place went to Questel and Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North) respectively.

Double Elimination
The men’s double elimination was started but the wind dropped shortly afterwards, meaning that only three heats were completed. In the first heat, Ross Williams, Pascal Toselli, Patrik Diethelm (Patrik / Loft Sails) and Andrea Rosati (RRD / Gaastra) all qualified for the second round. Going through from heat two was; Antoine Questel, Kurosh Kiani (Fanatic / Simmer), Ludovic Jossin (Patrik / Loft Sails) and Matteo Iachino (F2 / Challenger / Mystic / AL360). The third heat saw competitors well spread out as Menegatti won the heat with ease, followed by Maciek Rutkowski (Patrik / Loft Sails / Maui Ultra Fins), Costa Hoevel and finally Dunkerbeck. When the action begins tomorrow, heat 4 will be the first heat to be sailed.

Women
The first semi-final of the day saw second seed Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic) safely navigate her way to the winner’s final, behind Delphine Cousin (JP / NeilPryde) who put in a very confident display. Joining the two other women would be; Fanny Aubet (JP / NeilPryde) and Japan’s Ayako Suzuki (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic). The major story of the day though was that the current world number one, Karin Jaggi (Patrik / Severne), made an uncharacteristic mistake as she false started, meaning that for the first time in a long time the Swiss gem would be missing from the winner’s final. Lise Vidal (Fanatic / North) rose to the forefront putting in a flawless performance to secure first place. In second was Cagla Kubat (Starboard / Loft Sails) followed by Greta Benvenuti (Patrik / Point-7 / Al 360) and Melek Toraman (Starboard / Loft Sails).

Second place for Cagla

Loser’s Final
Lena Erdil (Patrik / The Loft / AL360) put the disappointment of missing out on the winner’s final behind her as she cruised to victory in the loser’s final. Meanwhile Marion Mortefon (Starboard / Severne) was able to keep her cool and hold off Alice Arutkin (Starboard / North) to finish second with Arutkin in third. An out of sorts Karin Jaggi finished in fourth place, with a performance well below her normal standards.

Winner’s Final
With Jaggi absent from the final, Arrighetti seized the moment to win the opening race of Korea. The win means she has now won back to back races, proving that she is a real contender for the overall title this year. Cagla Kubat performed brilliantly today and she was rewarded with second place after gybing beautifully to separate herself from the rest of the group. After a tight battle between Arutkin and Benvenuti, it was the French woman who came out on top as she claimed third leaving the Italian in fourth.

The forecast for tomorrow predicts lighter winds than today, but with the wind in the correct direction, we are expecting the thermal wind to kick in to allow more racing in the afternoon. The skippers meeting will be at 10:30am tomorrow morning, with the first possible start at 11am.

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

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

DAY 1 : KOREA BEGINS WITH A BANG

The first day of the PWA Ulsan World Cup Korea saw registration take place between 10am and 12pm. Weather conditions remained changeable throughout the morning and early afternoon with cyclonic winds also occurring. At around 15:00, Korea showed its true unpredictability as the wind swung cross shore and picked up in an instant. Cue a whole host of sailors head out onto the water to check out the conditions. After a further forty five minutes, the wind stabilized sufficiently, and the first heats of the event were underway.

Jimmy Diaz speaking at the event opening

Men
Heat one had to be immediately restarted as Taty Frans (Starboard / MauiSails / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) was a little too eager to cross the start line and was thus disqualified. When the race was restarted it was Alberto Menegatti (Starboard / Gaastra) who crossed the line in first place. The Italian sailed a commanding heat as he led from start to finish, showing both a great top speed and fluid gybes. Jesper Orth (F2 / KA) was second going into the third gybe mark, but he couldn’t hold off Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North) as the Frenchman burst clear of Orth and Chris Pressler (Starboard / Severne) to claim second place. In the end Orth and Pressler secured their place in the second round, finishing third and fourth respectively.

Alberto leading the pack

Into heat two, and a general recall was required again. This time it was Thomas Malina (Fanatic / Simmer) who jumped the gun. Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde), who is the third seed coming into Korea, was the first man across the start line and he put in a dominating performance as he cruised to victory, building a sizable lead in the process. The race for second and third place was a much more interesting battle, Matteo Iachino (F2 / Challenger / Mystic / Al 360) led Arnon Dagan (Tabou / Gaastra) going into the final reach, but Dagan came storming out of the final gybe mark to appear right on the tail of Iachino. Dagan didn’t quite have enough in tank to steal second place but it was certainly the most exciting finish of the day. The final place in the next round went to Japan’s Kouichiro Kaku (Starboard / Gaastra).

Heat three was the final heat of the day to be completed, and the wind slowly deteriorated throughout its duration. After a tight start it was Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde) who rose to the top of the pack to book his place in the second round. Accompanying him would be Antoine Questel (Starboard / Loft Sails), Kurosh Kiani (Fanatic / Simmer) and Micah Buzianis (JP / MauiSails), who had to pump almost all the way from the third gybe mark to the finish line due to the fading wind.

Hurrying back to the shore for an interview

Earlier today we had a quick chat with the reigning world champion Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / Dunkerbeck Eyewear):

PWA: You won the event here last year, how are you feeling about retaining the event title?

Bjorn Dunkerbeck: “After Italy and all the practice I’ve been getting in the last month combined with my new equipment, both my iSonics are going really well and my Severne Reflex III are working even better than last year, the acceleration has improved especially as has the rotation of the sail. Both are aspects that I think are very important for the competition here on Jinha beach because the wind is quite gusty. “

PWA: Who do you think your biggest rivals are for the coming year?

Bjorn Dunkerbeck:: “I’m sure Antoine Albeau and Ben Van Der Steen will be the two toughest ones because they have showed already in the last few years that they are good in a variety of conditions. But in different wind conditions I think there will be different people posing a threat.”

PWA: You are still at the top of your game, do you have any timeframe in mind for how long you want to continue to compete?

Bjorn Dunkerbeck: “As long as I’m still enjoying doing it and as long as my body permits. My switch to Starboard and Severne has really paid off, it’s been a big challenge but also a big motivation for me. I’m still windsurfing a lot and when I’m not I’m usually stand up paddling, surfing or mountain biking, so I’m still very active. The competition side of things is important to me because it keeps me focused and in line, so as long as I stay successful at it and I’m having fun doing it I will continue. Even if I stop slalom I could do the speed sailing or it would give me time to compete in the long distance races.”

PWA: Are there any stops in particular that you look forward to?

Bjorn Dunkerbeck: “I enjoy the Canary Islands, because we compete everyday. Turkey is also a good place for the wind and Jinha beach has been having good years as well. The variation of conditions is what keeps it interesting for me.”

The forecast for tomorrow looks as though it should deliver an exciting day, full of intense racing. You’ll be able to see it all unfold live via the live stream on the PWA website. The skippers' meeting has been called for 10am tomorrow morning with racing commencing from 10:30. Make sure you tune in.

Official Opening Race
At 5pm Mayor of Ulsan started the “Official Opening Race”. This saw all the contestants going to head-to-head for a share of the $5000 prize money. The race started when the wind had began to drop already, but it was quite a sight to see the top windsurfers in the world racing straight off the beach. Sadly the wind dropped to almost nothing so the majority of the race was non-planing. The race saw the top ten men and top five women receiving a share of the prize money, which was split $3500 to men and $1500 to women. After a long drawn out race it was eventually Pieter Bijl (JP / NeilPryde) who claimed the victory in the men’s division, followed by Korea’s very own Hyung-Kwon Kim in second. whilst the first woman to finish the race was Japan’s Fujiko Onishi.

Results From The Opening Race (Not Counting Towards PWA)

Men’s

1st Pieter Bijl (JP / NeilPryde)
2nd Hyung-Kwon Kim
3rd Ross Williams (Tabou / Gaastra)
4th Peter Volwater (Fanatic / Avanti)
5th Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Fanatic / North)
6th Cedric Bordes (Tabou / Gaastra / Mystic)
7th Julien Quentel (JP / NeilPryde)
8th Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North)
9th Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)
10th Steve Allen (Starboard / Severne)

Women’s

1st Fujiko Onishi
2nd Lise Vidal (Fanatic / North)
3rd Mio Anayama (Starboard / NeilPryde)
4th Ayako Suzuki (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic)
5th Greta Benvenuti (Patrik / Point-7 / Al 360)

Join our TikiNews mailing list for weekly news, tuning tips, product releases and much much more...