| Double mast-high waves at the 2011 Fuerteventura Wave Classic |
| Friday, 18 February 2011 10:04 |
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Big waves greeted windsurfers of the 2011 Fuerteventura Wave Classic, at Puertito. The huge Northwesterly swell, the biggest so far, welcomed riders, organizers and spectators. The wind was pretty light in the morning hours, but already blew from a good direction. Mikey Clancy, from Ireland, reckoned waves are double mast high breaking into the bay. Alex Mussolini and Jonas Ceballos had already decided to leave the island and travel back home, because of the bad wind forecast for the last day. The wind picked up at noon and was blowing around 9-to-15 knots, with an average of 12 knots close to the water. Several sailors decided to hit the water. The tide went down and the waves came. The side shore to side-offshore gusts blew a lot of white water off the waves, just before they started to break. Yannick Anton and Mikey Clancy drove up the beach. Thomas Traversa decided to enter the ocean by jumping in from the cliffs, next to the harbour wall. Tom Hartmann assisted him by getting the gear down over the cliff. Yannick Anton failed to sail out in his first attempt, but Mikey made it out without the help of a jet ski. He had some super nice rights, next to Thomas Traversa, who really scored big. Yannick also made it out in his second attempt and could ride double mast high monsters. JB Caste, Tom Hartmann, Eleazar Alonso, Aleix Sanllehy and Stephane Etienne made it out with the help of the jet ski. They started from the little harbour of Cotillo and had to pass the little entrance. It was tricky to find the right timing with the massive white water and strong current. Thomas Traversa, Yannick Anton, Mikey Clancy and Stephane Etienne made most out of it and had awesome rides. Yannick crashed twice in a critical situation, but was back on his gear quickly. He stayed out till the end and proved again that he likes and knows Puertito. It was an 8-hour long day at the beach but the waiting paid off and some of the participants sailed the biggest waves of the whole event.
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