Howling wind and a building swell provided all the ingredients for a mind blowing freestyle showdown, on day two of the 2008 PWA Costa Teguise World Cup.  On the agenda was the first double elimination, following the successful completion of the single elimination on day one.

With all the sailors reseeded back into the elimination ladder at the point they were knocked out, Brazil’s Marcilio Browne (Mistral, Gaastra) and Aruba’s Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard, NeilPryde) occupied the top spots. This meant they effectively had to wait until the end of the day to see who would climb the ranks and challenge them for their positions.

Men’s Double Elimination

Kick starting proceeding were the men, who quickly showed what was possible in the outstanding conditions. Many of the heats wouldn’t have looked out of place in a wave event, as the sailors seized the opportunity to launch off the reef break into tweaked pushloops, backloops, double forwards and sky-high freestyle moves. 

Leading the charge on the top stop was Tonky Frans (F2, Gaastra), who’s seemingly unstoppable run cleared him a path to within touching distance of the final. Along the way he toppled formidable freestylers; Nicolas Akgazciyan (Starboard, Gunsails), Andre Paskowski (Fanatic, North Sails) and Normen Gunzlein (JP, NeilPryde), with a barrage of moves which included his trademark shovit spock and some of the biggest ponchs seen all day.

On the other side of the draw, sibling Taty Frans (Starboard, North Sails) looked like he might be planning a similar assault on Browne’s stronghold, however local boy Antxon Otaegui (JP, NeilPryde) showed him otherwise, when he launched into a monumental double forward loop off a huge set. Taty Frans could only stand in awe, and humbly admitted defeat to the stoked Spaniard.

As the heats continued to advance, the level of sailing seemed to rise exponentially, and even the dialled Tonky Frans had to accept defeat at the hands of Kiri Thode’s (Starboard, Gaastra) freestyle wizardry.

Entering the final few heats, Jose Estredo (Fanatic, North Sails) and Thode went head to head in one of the closest heats of the day. Estredo piled on the pressure with a massive tweaked pushloop, only for Thode to reply with a one handed burner and an air funnel. The moves were all off the scale, but Estredo dealt the final blow with a mind blowing triple spock to end Thode’s campaign.

Estredo stood one heat away from the final, however to advance he’d have to outperform Ricardo Campello (JP, NeilPryde). In a heat that saw pushloops, backloops, burners and double forwards, Estredo eventually managed to sway the judges his way, getting his chance to topple the 2007 World Champion, Browne.

The final witnessed a fusion of technical freestyle with mammoth airtime. Browne seized the early lead, pulling a funnel cana brava, one handed burner, a culo and a crazy air chachoo, all within Estredo’s view. Rising to the challenge, Estredo fought back with a puneta-culo combination and a mind boggling shovit spock 900.

As the final scores were tabulated, Browne emerged the victor having successfully defended his first place from the previous day.

Women’s Double Elimination

Japan’s Junko Nagoshi (Simmer, Dakine) pieced together two crippling heats to advance her into the final stages of the women’s elimination. Having found her form she posed a considerable threat to day one’s fourth place finisher, Laure Treboux (Fanatic, North Sails).

Treboux had her work cut out to match Nagoshi’s slick clue first puneta’s, and had to delve deep into her bag of tricks to eventually defeat her rival with some super technical switch moves in the testing conditions.

Advancing to meet Iballa Moreno (North Sails), Treboux again sided with technical moves, over safer lower scoring alternatives. Moreno played a similar game, but struggled to find her rhythm, and was forced to succumb to the Swiss freestyler's superior repertoire.

Continuing on her rampage, next in Treboux’s sights was Daida Moreno (North Sails). The heat served up some big moves, with Treboux pulling clue first punetas, to Moreno’s reply of towering stalled forward loops and fully planning grubbys. Ultimately, Treboux’s more technical routine was rewarded with the win, meaning the final was a battle between Offringa and Treboux.

Offringa fired in with a hefty dose of super technical moves, including flakas, puneta diablos and esliders to name but a few. Treboux replied, but got caught on the downwind side of the sailing area and struggled to find the pace to match Offringa. The final decision was conclusive; Offringa had won hands down, securing a crucial first place victory in the first double elimination.

Tomorrow looks set to see more explosive action in the relentless Canarian wind. The skippers meeting is scheduled for 1pm, with heats starting from 1.30 pm.

Source: PWA World Tour