Day 6: Van der Steen claims maiden event victory, whilst Albeau wins battle for the 2014 world title

The last day of the Airwaves Noumea Dream Cup PWA saw a grandstand finale to the 2014 PWA World Tour as the morning showers finally cleared to allow the wind to fill in and the respective titles to be decided. With the racing beginning later than scheduled the title race came down to one final race, which would ultimately decide the title, so there was everything riding on it for both Antoine Albeau and Cyril Moussilmani. Ben van der Steen had been leading the event rankings for the past two days and the flying Dutchman secured his maiden event victory after claiming the final bullet of the week, whilst Albeau completed a famous hat-trick of world titles after finishing second compared to Moussilmani’s fifth place in Elimination 9. Meanwhile, Delphine Cousin ended the year in style as she claimed the final victory of the week to be crowned both the Queen of Noumea and the world.

Men’s Elimination 9 - Winners’ Final

Event leader Ben van der Steen made the best start to the last winners’ final of the event and he continued to look blisteringly quick - as in the previous days - to lead into the opening mark. Behind him all eyes were on the battle between Antoine Albeau and Cyril Moussilmani and at first sight it looked as though Moussilmani held the upper hand. However, Albeau made a smoother exit to the opening jibe to gain second place - as well as control of the title race, whilst Taty Frans moved into third place ahead of Moussilmani. Aiming for his first event victory on the PWA Slalom World Tour, Van der Steen showed no sign of nerves as he produced another flawless performance over the remainder of the course to claim a well deserved victory. Meanwhile, Albeau wobbled his way around the final jibe, but held on to race for the finish line to secure the 2014 PWA Slalom World Title, much to the delight of the cheering local fans. Behind him, Julien Quentel maneuvered his way into third place ahead of Frans, whilst Moussilmani eventually finished in fifth place.

Ben van der Steen on claiming his maiden event victory:

“I’m really stoked to win. I didn’t have the best preparation coming into the event with not much wind in Sylt, no wind in La Torche and also at home we didn’t have too much wind either. Also I had a problem with my neck after some training I did - it just got stuck. So I came here injured and then the physio sorted me out quite well, so thanks to them. I’d also like to thank the organizers for making this event happen it’s been a great event with good wind and conditions and I hope to be back next year."

Björn Dunkerbeck’s final race on the PWA World Tour didn’t end in the fairytale he may have dreamed about, as he was sadly disqualified in the first round after starting in the wrong heat. However, whilst the end to his PWA career on the water may not have gone to plan - he bowed out in style at the closing ceremony as he was presented with a lifetime achievement award for a career spanning 30 years and seen him win an incredible 41 world titles. Everyone from the PWA wishes Dunkerbeck all the best for the future.

Women’s Elimination 13 - Winners’ Final

Thirteen may be unlucky for some, but it proved to be Sarah-Quita Offringa’s lucky number on this occasion as she claimed her fourth bullet of the week. The Aruban gem held the inside line over Delphine Cousin into the first mark and this proved crucial as Offringa steamed away after the first turn to leave Cousin and Lena Erdil in her wake. Océane Lescadieu held third position at the penultimate buoy, but dropped her jibe to allow Valerie Ghibaudo to claim fourth. The top three remained unchanged and Offringa was clearly delighted with the victory and could be heard shouting in celebration from the beach.

Women’s Elimination 14 - Winners’ Final

Delphine Cousin ended the event in the best possible fashion as she claimed an emphatic final victory, which guaranteed her the event title to go alongside her world championship. The now two-time world champion led from start to finish proving exactly why she is the Queen of the world for the second year in a row. Sarah-Quita Offringa was in contention at the second jibe, but suffered a broken outhaul rope - ending her hopes of back-to-back bullets. This meant that Lena Erdil finished second ahead of Valerie Ghibaudo and María Andrés, but more importantly for Erdil, her excellent form over the last four days of sailing sees her finish second overall in the world rankings - her best finish to date.

Delphine Cousin speaks after winning the Airwaves Noumea Dream Cup and the 2014 PWA Women’s Slalom World Championship:

“I feel very happy after this season. I’m delighted to win the last event here [Noumea] in front of Lena [Erdil] and Sarah [Quita Offringa]. My goal at the start of the year was to be world champion again, so this is just the perfect finish for me. The whole week has been very good for me. We’ve had amazing winds - magic conditions really. We had fourteen races for the girls, so I don’t think we could do any better than that.”

The day ended with the champions of both the event and the world being crowned in front of a packed out crowd to cap a fantastic week in Noumea, New Caledonia, which has seen four days out of six of exhilarating slalom.

Overall Results Airwaves Noumea Dream Cup PWA - Men’s

1st Ben van der Steen2nd Antoine Albeau3rd Cyril Moussilmani4th Julien Quentel5th Pascal Toselli

Overall Results Airwaves Noumea Dream Cup PWA - Women’s

1st Delphine Cousin2nd Lena Erdil3rd Sarah-Quita Offringa4th Maria Andres5th Valerie Ghibaudo

Overall Results 2014 PWA Slalom World Tour - Men’s

1st Antoine Albeau2nd Cyril Moussilmani3rd Pierre Mortefon4th Ben Van Der Steen5th Pascal Toselli

Overall Results 2014 PWA Slalom World Tour - Women’s

1st Delphine Cousin2nd Lena Erdil3rd Valerie Ghibaudo4th Maria Andres5th Mio Anayama

The wind took a little longer to kick in on the penultimate day of the Airwaves Noumea Dream Cup PWA, but the sun soon burnt through the lingering cloud to allow the wind to build - producing another exhilarating afternoon of racing. A further two races for the men and four races for the women were completed in winds ranging from 14 to 25 knots and at the end of the day Ben van der Steen still heads the event rankings with one day to go, whilst Delphine Cousin can now officially celebrate securing back-to-back world titles, as it is now mathematically impossible for her to finish outside the top four. Meanwhile the men’s title race will go down to the wire between Antoine Albeau and Cyril Moussilmani with just 3.6 points separating the two Frenchman, so there is all still to play for.

Men’s Elimination 7 - Winners’ Final

Taty Frans made the best start of the bunch to Heat 16, but by the first mark Antoine Albeau held the lead ahead of Pascal Toselli, Ben van der Steen, whilst Antoine Questel jibed inside Micah Buzianis to move into the top four. Albeau clearly had the bit between his teeth - with Cyril Moussilmani failing to qualify for the winners’ final - and AA made his title rival pay the maximum price as he secured back-to-back bullets to take a stranglehold over the title race and was clearly delighted with his efforts after crossing the finish line. The top four of Toselli, Van der Steen and Questel remained unchanged over the remainder of the course, despite Taty Frans’ best efforts to fight back.

Men’s Elimination 8 - Winners’ Final

Cyril Moussilmani knew he needed something special to keep the pressure on Antoine Albeau and he responded in the perfect fashion as he crossed the start line in first place, but it was Pascal Toselli who held a narrow lead into the first ahead of Moussilmani, Ben van der Steen and Matteo Iachino. However, Moussilmani dug deep as he fought back to take the lead by the third buoy, before holding his nerve at the final mark to claim a crucial victory, which could yet play a decisive factor in 2014 title race, especially with Albeau finishing in a disappointing seventh place. The victory clearly meant a lot to Moussilmani, who celebrated in style after crossing the finish line - showing that he is still very much in the fight for a maiden world crown. Behind him Toselli secured second place followed by Van der Steen and Iachino, who finished third and fourth respectively.

Women’s Elimination 9 - Winners’ Final

The opening women’s winners’ final of the day saw separate premature starts leading to Sarah-Quita Offringa, Valerie Ghibaudo and Océane Lescadieu - all being disqualified. At the fourth time of asking the final was underway as Sarah Hauser made the best start. The local girl's lead didn’t last long though as Delphine Cousin broke into first place by the opening mark, followed by Lena Erdil, Ayako Suzuki and Mio Anayama. Delphine Cousin continued to fly, both on the straights and through the jibes, and it wasn’t long until she was claiming an emphatic victory. Behind her Erdil claimed second place, whilst María Andrés fought her way back into third place ahead of Suzuki in fourth.

Women’s Elimination 10 - Winners’ Final

Lena Erdil and Valerie Ghibaudo led the way in race ten as they jibed side-by-side at the first buoy ahead of Mio Anayama, María Andrés and Ayako Suzuki, whilst Delphine Cousin and Sarah-Quita Offringa both got caught up at the first. By the third jibe though Erdil had built a healthy lead over Ghibaudo, whilst Offringa and Cousin produced great comebacks after navigating their way back through the pack into third and fourth respectively. After the final jibe the top four remain unchanged leaving Erdil to celebrate her second bullet of the week.

Women’s Elimination 11 - Winners’ Final

Delphine Cousin dominated again in race eleven as she built a substantial lead to claim victory number six and all but secure the world championship. Meanwhile, it looked as though Lena Erdil would be finishing in second place, but at the final mark she dropped her jibe, which allowed Sarah-Quita Offringa to move into the top two. Credit where credit is due though as the Turk made a swift recovery to keep Océane Lescadieu at bay to finish third.

Women’s Elimination 12 - Winners’ Final

Sarah-Quita Offringa narrowly led the final heat of the day as the fleet entered the first jibe, but Lena Erdil managed to out maneuver her to lead by the second followed by Delphine Cousin, who managed to move up to second place ahead of Offringa and Valerie Ghibaudo. This time around, Erdil made no mistake at the last as she flew down the final straight to cap a fine day, which saw her win two eliminations. Meanwhile, Cousin finished in second place - meaning that with one day to go there is no way she can be caught in the title race and is officially world champion for the second consecutive year. Just behind her were Offringa and Ghibaudo, who finished third and fourth respectively.

Tomorrow is set to see a grand finale to the 2014 PWA World Tour - with the men’s title race going down to the wire. With a superb looking forecast, tomorrow is a day that simply can’t be missed. Who’s your money on? Antoine Albeau or Cyril Moussilmani? The skippers’ meeting will be held at 10:30 AM - with the action commencing from 11 AM. Don’t miss any of the final day by tuning into www.pwaworldtour.com - here you’ll be able to follow the event as it happens via the PWA live stream and live ticker.

Current Standings After Eight Eliminations - Men’s

1st Ben van der Steen2nd Antoine Albeau3rd Cyril Moussilmani4th Cedric Bordes5th Julien Quentel6th Pascal Toselli7th Taty Frans8th Pierre Mortefon9th Matteo Iachino10th Arnon Dagan

Current Standings After Four Eliminations - Women’s

1st Delphine Cousin2nd Lena Erdil3rd Sarah-Quita Offringa4th Maria Andres5th Valerie Ghibaudo

The wind continued to blow on Day 4 of the Airwaves Noumea Dream Cup PWA to produce another action packed day in New Caledonia, as a further three races for the men and four races for the women were completed in 15 to 25 knot winds. By the end of the day, Ben van der Steen headed to the top of the rankings after a near perfect display, which saw the flying Dutchman win two races and claim second in the other. Meanwhile, Antoine Albeau edged into the lead in the battle for the 2014 title as he took his second bullet of the week in the final elimination of the day, whilst Delphine Cousin edged ever closer to the world title after securing two more victories today.

Men’s Elimination 4 - Winners’ Final

Björn Dunkerbeck made the best start in the opening winners’ final of the day, but it was Ben van der Steen who led after the first jibe ahead of Antoine Albeau and Cyril Moussilmani. By the penultimate jibe, Van der Steen had built a substantial lead and continued to fly over the remainder of the course to claim his first bullet of the week. Julien Quentel showed more impeccable jibing to finish second in front of Albeau and Moussilmani - third and fourth - whilst Dunkerbeck finished fifth.

Men’s Elimination 5 - Winners’ Final

The title race saw the pendulum of momentum swing into Antoine Albeau’s favor in the fifth elimination after Cyril Moussilmani jumped the gun to be disqualified, opening the door for his rival to reduce the deficit. Upon the restart, it was once again Ben van der Steen who broke into an early lead, and just as in the previous race the Dutchman laid down the gauntlet to claim back-to-back bullets after another flawless display. Julien Quentel secured second place, whilst Antoine Albeau was able to burn past Cedric Bordes on the third reach to finish third. AA may have not inflicted the maximum possible damage to Moussilmani’s title challenge, but it greatly reduced his advantage over Albeau - placing even greater importance on the final race of the day, but who would be able to hold their nerve?

Men’s Elimination 6 - Winners’ Final

Josh Angulo made the best start of the fleet and held his lead into the opening jibe ahead of Antoine Albeau, Ben van der Steen - who was looking for a hat-trick of elimination victories - and Antoine Questel. However, by the third mark, Albeau had stormed into the lead, clearly looking to capitalize on his momentum, and that’s exactly what the world champion did as he claimed his second bullet of the week. Behind him, Van der Steen was able to climb into second place, which sees him rise to the top of the event rankings at the end of Day 4. Meanwhile, Angulo claimed third place, whilst Questel was able to fend off the challenge of Moussilmani in the battle for fourth and fifth. More importantly for Albeau though, victory in Race 6 sees him take control of the title race with two days to go.

Women’s Elimination 5 - Winners’ Final

Valerie Ghibaudo crossed the start line in first place, but was unable to hold onto the lead as Sarah-Quita Offringa jibed in first place. However, Delphine Cousin executed a perfect jibe to momentarily assume control, before Offringa stepped on the gas again. The duo enjoyed a terrific battle over the remainder of the course, but on this occasion it was Offringa who came out on top. Behind the top two Lena Erdil occupied third as she headed for the final mark, but after dropping her jibe, slipped to seventh place. This saw Océane Lescadieu and María Andrés rise into third and fourth respectively.

Women’s Elimination 6 - Winners’ Final

Valerie Ghibaudo held the top spot as the fleet approached the first buoy, but unfortunately dropped her jibe allowing Lena Erdil to burst into the lead. However, the Turk’s lead didn’t last long as Offringa once again showed her fantastic top speed to race into the top spot by the second mark ahead of Erdil, Delphine Cousin and Océane Lescadieu. Offringa continued to blitz her way across the rest of the course to claim back-to-back victories. Erdil wasn’t far behind in second, whilst Delphine Cousin finished third ahead of María Andrés.

Women’s Elimination 7 - Winners’ Final

Valerie Ghibaudo failed to capitalize on another good start as she catapulted on the opening reach. After the opening jibe it looked for the all the world as though Sarah-Quita Offringa would be celebrating a hat-trick of elimination victories as she raced into the lead, but that isn’t how things panned out. On the final reach, the Aruban gem battled to keep control of her gear, as Delphine Cousin edged into the lead, but just meters before the line suffered a brutal wipe-out. After a few moments of concern, it thankfully turned out that SQ was okay. However, with her chances of victory now gone, it was Delphine Cousin who claimed first place ahead of Lena Erdil, Ghibaudo and Ayako Suzuki.

Women’s Elimination 8 - Winners’ Final

Delphine Cousin cemented her place at the top of the event rankings with her second bullet of the day, which now puts her within touching distance of the 2014 world title. The reigning world champion led from start to finish with an accomplished display as Offringa had to settle for second place, whilst Lena Erdil and Mio Anayama finished third and fourth. After another good day for Erdil, it looks as though she has second place in the overall rankings wrapped up, barring disaster.

Tomorrow promises to be another windy day with a similar looking forecast to the past two days, meaning there should be more warp speed slalom - guaranteeing more enthralling action. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10 AM - with the action commencing from 10:30 AM. Don’t miss any of the action by tuning into www.pwaworldtour.com - here you’ll be able to follow the event as it happens via the PWA live stream and live ticker.

Current Standings After Elimination 6 - Men’s

1st Ben van der Steen2nd Antoine Albeau3rd Cyril Moussilmani4th Cedric Bordes5th Julien Quentel

Current Standings After Elimination 8 - Women’s

1st Delphine Cousin2nd Sarah-Quita Offringa3rd Lena Erdil4th Maria Andres5th Valerie Ghibaudo

As promised the wind arrived on the third day of the Airwaves Noumea Dream Cup PWA to provide an enthralling day of challenging racing in winds ranging from 10 to 25 knots. After almost seven hours of racing, three eliminations have been completed for the men, whilst four races have been completed for the women. Delphine Cousin enjoyed a fine day - keeping her title charge firmly on track - as she scored two bullets, a second and a third. Meanwhile, Cyril Moussilmani continued to show fantastic consistency as he qualified for every winners’ final and finished in the top four or better in each of the three races as he too remains at the top of the rankings.

Men’s Elimination 1 - Winners’ Final

There was good news for Cyril Moussilmani in the opening winners’ final as he saw his main rival, Antoine Albeau disqualified for a premature start, whilst Josh Angulo suffered the same fate, opening the door for Moussilmani to make the perfect start to his title charge. However, there was an element of controversy in the opening race as Albeau claimed to have dived downwind of the pin - meaning that he would be reinstated - however with no solid evidence to support this his appeals were turned away. Upon the restart, Pierre Mortefon broke into the lead and the 25-year old continued to turn on the after burners to claim the opening bullet of the week. Meanwhile, Cyril Moussilmani made the next best possible start as he claimed second place ahead of teammates Cedric Bordes and Ben van der Steen.

Men’s Elimination 2 - Winners’ Final

Having been disqualified from the opening winners’ final, Antoine Albeau responded in the perfect fashion as he crossed the start line in first place - together with Josh Angulo. After making a great start, Albeau never looked back as he rounded the first buoy in the lead ahead of Angulo, Pascal Toselli and Matteo Iachino. Over the remainder of the course, Albeau opened up a substantial lead to claim his first victory of the week, but more importantly he struck back immediately to keep the pressure on Moussilmani. Behind him, Iachino, managed to outmaneuver Angulo to take home second place, whilst Moussilmani leapfrogged into third place - having been outside the top four - after Angulo and Antoine Questel both fell at the final mark, which also allowed Cedric Bordes to complete the top four.

Men’s Elimination 3 - Winners’ Final

Taty Frans crossed the start line first in the last winners’ final of the day, but it was all change by the opening buoy. As the fleet raced down the opening reach it was Cyril Moussilmani who held the lead in front of Ben van der Steen, Cedric Bordes and Micah Buzianis. However, at this point it was still very close with both Julien Quentel and Arnon Dagan still firmly in the mix. Moussilmani looked to be taking a huge step towards the title - with Antoine Albeau missing from the winners’ final - but during his second jibe he caught his boom in the water, which cost him dearly as Bordes, Dagan, Van der Steen and Quentel all overtook him by the time they had reached the third mark. The top two remained unchanged from here as Bordes celebrated ending the day, not only with a bullet, but also occupying top spot in the event rankings. Taty Frans in the meantime fought back to third place after coming from nowhere to execute a textbook jibe to overtake several of his rivals, whilst Moussilmani claimed fourth after Van Der Steen fell at the final mark.

Women’s Elimination 1 - Winners' Final

Delphine Cousin couldn’t have made a better start in her bid for the 2014 world title as she timed the start to perfection to break into an early lead. The reigning world champion safely rounded the first mark, as did Valerie Ghibaudo, but the same wasn’t true for either Sarah-Quita Offringa or Lena Erdil, who both fell. By the third mark, Cousin had opened up a substantial lead, which proved unassailable as she claimed the first bullet of the week, whilst eighteen year old Océane Lescadieu made a fine start by claiming second place. Behind the front two, Offringa had managed to battle back into third place, but saw all of her hard work undone as she dropped her final jibe, allowing Erdil and Ghibaudo to pass as they finished third and fourth respectively.

Women’s Elimination 2 - Winners' Final

Valerie Ghibaudo made the best start to Race 2, but couldn’t hold the lead into the first mark as Lena Erdil showed great pace to take the lead. The duo then enjoyed a hard fought battle over the next couple of reaches, but ultimately Erdil had too much in the tank on this occasion as she claimed her first victory of the week. Ghibaudo claimed second with Delphine Cousin in third and local girl Sarah Hauser taking home fourth.

Women’s Elimination 3 - Winners' Final

Delphine Cousin made another fine start to Race 3 and she held top spot as the fleet rounded the first jibe. Behind her, Sarah-Quita Offringa occupied second place followed by Maria Andres and Valerie Ghibaudo. However, unlike the first race, Cousin was unable to hold onto her lead as Offringa burst to the front of the pack to see three different winners in the opening three races. Delphine Cousin eventually claimed second place with Andres in third, before carnage unfolded behind them, which saw a pile up at mark three - allowing Lena Erdil to leapfrog into fourth place - having been sixth, whilst Ghibaudo had to settle for tenth - handing her Turkish rival the upper hand in the battle for second and third in the overall rankings.

Women’s Elimination 4 - Winners' Final

Delphine Cousin continued her fine form in the final race of the day as she led from start to finish to cap a brilliant day. Meanwhile, Valerie Ghibaudo brought herself back into contention with a second place, allowing her to drop the tenth place from Race 3, whilst Maria Andres enjoyed another good race as she claimed back-to-back third places. At the third mark, Sarah Hauser held third place, but unfortunately dropped her jibe, meaning Sarah-Quita Offringa and Lena Erdil rose into fourth and fifth place respectively.

Current Standings After Elimination 3 - Men’s

1st Cedric Bordes2nd Cyril Moussilmani3rd Pierre Mortefon4th Antoine Albeau5th Matteo Iachino6th Taty Frans7th Ben van der Steen8th Pascal Toselli9th Julien Quentel10th Josh Angulo

Current Standings After Elimination 4 - Women’s

1st Delphine Cousin2nd Lena Erdil3rd Valerie Ghibaudo4th Sarah-Quita Offringa5th Maria Andres

The waiting game continued on Day 2 of the Airwaves Noumea Dream Cup PWA event, but the competitors patience wasn’t rewarded on this occasion as the wind remained too light for racing. A few sailors were tempted out onto the water, but apart from a few reaches of sporadic planing, the wind wasn’t enough and soon dropped back after showing promise in the early afternoon. Eventually the competitors were released from the second day at 4 PM.

Earlier in the day we caught up with a few sailors. First up local girl Sarah Hauser:

PWA: What are the normal conditions for New Caledonia?

SH: “November is the beginning of the summer here in New Caledonia, and that start of our windy season. The trades should blow between about 20-25 knots on a good day with the wind from the Southeast.”

PWA: We saw you competing at the recent Starboard Severne PWA Aloha Classic. Do you do much slalom sailing as well?

SH: “I actually started windsurfing on slalom and freestyle gear because the waves here are miles away, so that was the easiest thing to do when learning.”

PWA: Aim for the competition?

SH: “Just to have fun really, I’m not focusing on the overall result.”

Pascal Toselli who currently sits in fifth place in the overall rankings:

“I’ve been here for five days: on the opening couple of days we had great conditions for 7.8m² and 8.6m². The wind here is really steady and it’s a really beautiful place to sail. The forecast looks as though it should be good from Thursday onwards, but it looks as though there might be a big of rain. On the first couple of days we had weather like today [perfect sunshine] and then the wind worked really well.”

Attention now turns to tomorrow which should see the competition begin with a promising looking forecast, which predicts winds of 14 to 16 knots from the East-Southeast. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10 AM with the action commencing from 10:30 AM. Get ready for what should be an action packed day and to find out who takes the initiative in the title race. Don’t miss any of the action by tuning into PWA World Tour - here you’ll be able to follow the event as it happens via the PWA live stream and live ticker.

On the opening day of the Airwaves Noumea Dream Cup PWA, which is the final event on the 2014 PWA World Tour, the competitors registered for the upcoming six days of contest, which will see 57 men and 12 women battling it out over Noumea’s pristine waters. The sun shined all day, but unfortunately the wind didn’t cooperate, meaning the sailors were released at 4:30 PM, before the spectacular official opening ceremony was held at the Chateau Royal Beach Resort and Spa at 6 PM to conclude the first day.

Over the course of the day we caught up with a few of the competitors for a quick chat. Event Ambassador Robert Teriitehau – who last competed on the PWA eleven years ago had this to say:

“I’m feeling good ahead of the event – it’s sunny and it looks like it should be windy. On the first day of the Royal Contest we had wind, so everyone has already been on the water to try their stuff.

I have no idea how I’m feeling about competing again. I just put my feet back in the straps for the first time two days ago and it is not easy at all. I was quite lost, my footstraps weren’t the right positions and my feet the next day were so sore as well as my back and all my muscles. It was super hard work and that wasn’t even racing. That was just sailing up and down - practicing. It was like another world.”

Territehau on the title race:

“Do you know what? I’ve only seen a bit of the result, but it looks pretty close between the three remaining guys, so I think either of them has a good shot at it.

I think even for the young guy [Mortefon] who is slightly further behind, I think it would be really good thing for him and the sport if he could win. It would give a new name at the top, which I think would be a boost for windsurfing and giving the young guys on the tour more motivation to make it. I think the title will be decided by whoever is seeing the start line more clearly and who is able to keep their concentration for the whole time.”

We also caught up with Björn Dunkerbeck who will be participating in his final event here in New Caledonia, bringing down the curtain on a star studded career:

PWA: How are you feeling ahead of your final event on the PWA World Tour?

BD: “I’ve been here a couple of times 20 to 25 years ago, so I’ve had many hours on the water here and when the trade wind blows it’s a really nice slalom venue. The weather forecast looks good too, so I think we’re going to windsurf more here this week than the whole year. I’m looking forward to it and it should be a good one.”

PWA: Are you pleased to be back here?

BD: “Absolutely pleased to be back in New Caledonia, it’s a shame it’s been twenty years since the last one, but hopefully the forecast will come through and you guys will be back for many years to come.”

PWA: Thanks, Björn and good luck in your final contest.

The forecast for tomorrow looks similar today, so there may be one more day to wait before the racing begins. However, the forecast from Thursday onwards looks as though the trades will return guaranteeing plenty of warp speed slalom. Skippers’ meeting will be held at 10 AM tomorrow morning with the action commencing from 10:30 AM. Don’t miss any of the action by tuning into PWA World Tour where you’ll be able to follow the event as it happens via the PWA live stream and live ticker.

The crystal blue waters of Noumea’s AnseVata Bay, where over the next few days the exciting final chapter of PWA racing for 2014 will see a champion decided, and a legend make his final event under PWA conditions. Far from the European regions, New Caledonia is a Pacific jewel in the French territories and the host location for the final chapter of the 2014 series. Massive local enthusiasm and support has gone into making this event a great one, and the coming days will provide some excellent racing in one of the most idyllic locations possible.

Looking Forward

As one chapter ends, another begins. The PWA's most awarded competitor arrives in New Caledonia with a positive spirit and has been an absolute hero with the crowds at the beach, especially the large and enthusiastic group of young watermen (and women!) in Noumea. Bjorn Dunkerbeck last competed in Noumea in World Cup events around 1995, and was impressed to see the conditions, location and atmosphere every bit as good as it was back then.

The powerhouse behind the powerhouse, Bjorn’s caddy and friend Victor Couto has for so long been a part of the PWA race scene in his own right he has almost developed legend status in his own right. Place won't quite be the same without the Terminator and his team, but they won’t be far away either. Watch out for them in the long distance classics and Dunkerbeck Speed Series.

Quietly Confident

Cyril Moussilmani maintains a positive and focused outlook, enjoying some great warm up sailing ahead of his biggest ever title showdown. The conditions forecast in New Caledonia for this year don’t present any disadvantage to him and his speed and smoothness are apparent. Can this be the year Cyril claims the crown?

No Sitting Down on the Job

Antoine Albeau arrives with a powerhouse of style and carrying the legendary status of a French sporting hero in the very French province. The opening long distance race of the Chateau Royale Cup pre-event was the perfect warm up and Antoine lost no time in showing his class in overpowered offshore conditions. But those blue boards?

Well of course, those blue boards are the weapons of Fred Morin, not only the hot local racer but also Noumea's regular PWA tour representative and the number one windsurf dealer in New Caledonia. Fred’s father Patrice is a sensational surf photographer and responsible for so many of the excellent windsurf pictures and videos from New Caledonia in recent years...

No one really knows what to make of Julien Ventalon, as French as they come and originally Remi Vila’s [Starboard's R&D manager] neighbor from Martinique, who now calls Australia home but knows his way round New Caledonia like a local… He might then be an odd identity for this super popular guy but one thing is for sure, here’s here fitter than ever and really committed to giving it his best shot… Wanna lay down gibe expose? Check this guy when he’s on fire!

- Text and pictures are courtesy of John Carter & Ian Fox / PWA World Tour & Starboard Windsurfing -