Korea has opened up the show for the 2015 PWA Slalom World Tour action. We left last time Korea in 2013 with our Alberto Menegatti winning the event. Being back to the same beach, after 2 years, and sharing all our memories from Alberto with all our tour friends, was hard and sad.
The action has to go on, pushing the motivation, inspiration and goals that Alberto had started, so we were happy to finally have wind in day 5 and 6, at Jinha beach.
It was a long waiting time for the wind to appear, and patience was needed, but this is part of our sport. No wind, no conditions, no windsurfing, no racing. This what can happen when we decide to go on a windsurfing holiday, or weekend, and no wind shows up…but when it comes, everyone gets paid back!
Only 2 races were ran in the man division which left no space for mistakes. Three from our Black Team riders managed to enter the winner finals, Gonzalo Costa Hoevel and Pascal Toselli finishing the event in 5th and 6th on different boards, proved once again the quality of the AC-ONE Zero15.
In the women division we had 3 riders from the #point7girls team. Lena Erdil, Esther de Geuss and Haruna from Japan on her first PWA experience. Lena was leading after 3 races, but with a fourth final counting, she had to accept still an amazing second place overall with her AC-One #point7girls edition.
Pascal Toselli
What was your best result and the result in Korea before you had?
I finished 5th and this is my best result since coming to Korea.
What Were your expectations before the event?
This is the first event of the year so it was an opportunity to see against the other if the winter work was effective. I am happy to finish fifth and to see that the equipment is more than competitive for the rest of the season. The top 5 was my goal.
Only two races and no discards. Which was your best result out of the two races, and what made the difference entre les 2 results?
My best result was 4th. I did some mistakes and especially in the semi final of the second round as I took a bad start ..and did not qualify for the final.
Which sail and boards mainly did you use?
I used almost all the time my 7.9m AC1 point 7 and my 99 World Cup Slalom Board 115.
What’s you training schedule to next PWA event in Costa Brava?
The material seemed to work well and now I’m really going to focus on my training for jibes and starts.
Maciek Rutkowski
PWA Korea 2015. What was your result and the best result you had in Korea before?
I finished 19th. I only did Korea once before, in 2012, and finished 36th so i guess it’s a bit of an improvement 😉
What were your expectations before the event?
I didn’t really have any. Just wanted to do as good as possible and give it a 100%. I almost managed, but that “almost” cost me probably around 10 places on the ranking haha!
Only 2 races and no discards. Which was your best result out of the 2 races, and what made the difference between the 2 results?
In the first one I went thru the first round and quarter smoothly and after a mediocre start in the semi managed to fight back to 4th, but with Julien on my back and I made the smallest mistake in one jibe and he seized the opportunity sending me to the losers final. There I got 4th so 12th overall. In the second elimination I started at the boat in the quarter and the wind completely shifted making it super pin-biased. Additionally I caught a bit of weed and had to jump to get it off. When I did I was last and only managed to come back one place leaving me with a 26,5. Going out on the quarter from 5th (18.5) or 7th (26.5) makes a huge difference when there is no discard. Unfortunately I got the short end of the stick this time!
Which sail and boards did you mainly use?
I used 8.6 with both 128 and 115, and 7.9 with 115. Everything felt pretty good, but somehow in Jinha beach the big sail that pushes the board down in the gust was always the best combo.
Any highlight?
Probably pulling off a few low-lines on a few fast people – a feat that I was not able to do in the past seasons.
What’s you training schedule to next PWA event in Costa Brava?
4 days in Garda, Euro-Cup Sylt and then most likely joining Gonzalo in Tarifa for some sail testing…
Andrea Cucchi
PWA Korea 2015. What was your result and the best result you had in Korea before?
It was actually my first time in Korea. I had heard stories about the place and conditions. I had actually a positive surprise and enjoyed it. I finished 14th and with only 2 races anything can happen, so it’s ok for myself.
What were your expectations before the event?
I don’t have expectations as I’m quite realistic that I can do good, or very bad according to my focus. I have some races where I can be surprised to do good, and some surprised how bad I can do. I was happy to be with the team at this first PWA event as it was extremely important to understand more our sails for further development. I officially met Gonzalo after we had him signed up, and his and Pascal results were great. I enjoyed seeing Lena racing in Black. She had great speeds and jibing. After race 3 we were celebrating her victory, we were not expecting a fourth race which made her drop in a great second place, so the smiles were little smaller, but now we can still have the motivation to go to attack it, and not defend it!
Only 2 races and no discards. Which was your best result out of the 2 races, and what made the difference between the 2 results?
I had a 15 and an 18.5. More or less similar. I should have been more awake in the starts to go better, but it’s ok.
Which sail and boards did you mainly use?
7.9 and 8.6 with the middle and bigger board respectively. I needed bigger fins than normal due to the gustier winds.
Any highlight?
When I jumped on my 7.9 just before the heat, as my 8.6 went too big, I realized too late that I had used the same extension and boom to test the AC-K the week before, so nothing was trimmed to the correct setting, and it was terrible to sail. I had no chance to jump in the water and change anything as my heat was starting.
What’s you training schedule to next PWA event in Costa Brava?
I’m leaving to Defi in few days, than to Sri Lanka for checking the production final samples for 2016 sails, and the week before Costa Brava I might be in Sardinia for the Italian championship.
Lena Erdil
PWA Korea 2015. What was your result and the best result you had in Korea before?
Oh I don’t even know Korea has always been somewhat of a shocker event for me I have continuously had my worst results in this place and have taken to deleting all memories of previous Korea events. It is a really tricky place as on top of the really gusty conditions you also have to have luck on your side in terms of seaweed, ropes or other objects staying out of the way of your fin 😉 Taking second in this event this year I am sour stoked!
What were your expectations before the event?
It’s the first event this year and after my change to point 7, I had no real expectations in mind, but i know that i am faster now then last year and i was hoping to be able to do my best. But since Korea is the first event for everyone with most the top girls having also changed sponsors and trained hard over the winter I really didn’t know what to expect, but was super excited to race again.
4 races and one discards. What did the 3rd and 4th final meant for you?
Wow that was an emotional rollercoaster I think, all morning i was focusing so hard on the possibility of racing again and hoping that the wind was going to kick in despite a bad forecast. Needed another race so badly as I was only 0.3 behind first place but ranked 3rd, i knew that finishing just one position in front of Sarah and Fulya would mean overtaking them and claiming victory. When the wind finally did kick in with not much time left till last possible start I couldn’t believe my luck and was determined to make this last race count. I managed to pass Sarah just before we reached the first mark and lead into the first jibe, from there on i managed to keep my lead and finish first. At the finish line I thought that was it for racing in Korea and was already celebrating victory in disbelief that I really did it. About 15 minutes alter the race committee decided to run another race so that we could get a discard, that meant that if Sarah beat me in this next race, she would win the event. I had a bad start to that last race there was a big pile up at the boat and I narrowly managed to squeeze past the starting boat, but unfortunately i lost some speed due to the boats wind shelter, I made it to the mark in 5th position, but luckily managed to pass 2 people on the first jibe, from there on i was chasing Sarah and Delphine for the rest of the race, but despite my best efforts could not overtake them. This meant that I was now ranked second overall, unfortunately missing out on that first event win :(. Overall however i am still pleased with my racing at this first event, it was nice to see everyones speed and I managed to race without any major upsets.
1st was your best result out of the 4 races. What made the difference to get the win in that final?
Just having a good start and going into the first jibe first was the key. Once you are in the lead it is much harder for someone else to overtake as you always have the clean wind and can much more easily defend this position.
Which sail and boards did you mainly use?
7.8 AC One and my 115 Patrik Board, its a great light wind combo for me and i am amazed with the wind range that this combo can cover!
Any highlights?
The highlight of course was winning the 3rd race and believing at least for 10 minutes that i had managed to win my first PWA slalom event! Actually couldn’t quite believe it and then it was already over haha. But yeah great feeling and I hope I can win an event this year!
Gonzalo Costa Hoevel
PWA Korea 2015. What was your result and the best result you had in Korea before?
I was 6th and 7th the other years, but this year 6th counts much more as I took the gear out of the box and got the result with no tuning and by having never used it before.
What were your expectations before the event?
I knew that my gear had a lot of potential and that i could do good with it, I would normally aim for a Top 5 if I would have put all the hours in I always put. But as my sails arrived very late and i only got my boards on my way to Korea, i thought that a top 10 result in tricky Korea would be a great start of the slalom season. Ending up 6th just one point from Team Partner Pascal in 5th, and so close to the podium made me feel that it’s gona be a great year, specially due to the potential of my new sails and boards combo! I went out racing with out of the box stuff..!!! Can’t wait to get into details tuning all!!!!!!
Only 2 races and no discards. Which was your best result out of the 2 races, and what made the difference between the 2 results?
My best result was the 4rth place i took on the second final. On the first semi of the day i missed out from the final and i scored a 3rd on the loosers which is an 11. I was feeling better and better as the day was going by and i felt that my speed was improving after getting use to the equipment. So i think that the main difference of both races was my confidence on the equipment and getting more comfortable on all the trim. In tricky Korea you don’t push too much at the starts as an overealry could mean the end of the event…so i was pretty conservative on all, racing and on my gear tuning…
Which sail and boards did you mainly use?
I sailed most of the time on the 7,9 and 107 Isonic.
Any highlight?
On the second race semifinal I felt confident with all my gear and setup so I manage to have a good start at the boat and roll everybody down the first reach to jybe on first ahead of Antoine, that felt good! Not the highlight? Starting 2 seconds late at the final!!!!!
What’s you training schedule to next PWA event in Costa Brava?
I am on my way back to Tarifa and i will sailing plenty of hs now that i have all my stuff with me, sails, masts, boards, fins!!! So a lot of fun work to do and trim all my stuff.
Kurosh Kiani
PWA Korea 2015. What was your result and the best result you had in Korea before?
I came 25th in this years Korea event. Not the best result, but if you look at it historically, its actually my best result in Korea which I´ve managed so far. Korea has always been the place for me, where I have a hard time doing well. I have yet to find out all of the reasons, but I never feel super comfortable racing there, and I never really manage to get in a high gear.
What were your expectations before the event?
I expected to perform somewhere in the top 20.
Only 2 races and no discards. Which was your best result out of the 2 races, and what made the difference between the 2 results?
My best result was a 22.5. I dont really see a big difference between the two rounds for me. I got equally bad starts in both rounds, and had to fight my way back. I was pretty much the last guy at the first mark in both of the quarter finals I managed to get in, and then had to fight from there.
Which sail and boards did you mainly use?
I used the AC-1 8,6 together with Starboard iSonic130, and AC-1 7,9 together with the Starboard iSonic107.
Any highlight?
I dont know if it was a highlight, but I managed to T-bone a fellow competitor full on at the last gybe mark as I was squeezed between the mark and two guys pushing me from the top. There was no choice, I had to go for it and hope for the best. The most important is, that you keep yourself in the game, and sometimes you go for the risk.
What’s you training schedule to next PWA event in Costa Brava?
I want to stay on the water as much as possible. I still can get faster, and I need really to be more focused on my starts, which at this event really was my weak point.
Jordy Vonk
PWA Korea 2015. What was your result and the best result you had in Korea before?
I had a 26th place during my first time in Korea.
What were your expectations before the event?
I hoped to finish top 20, but in the end I was aiming for more!
Only 2 races and no discards. Which was your best result out of the 2 races, and what made the difference between the 2 results?
The second elimination was definitely better as I managed to make it to the winners final. I almost made my best result ever being in 3rd position for a long time but sadly gave it away by my own mistake. The difference was mainly because of a plastic bag in the first elimination, it made me going from 1st to last on the last reach..
Which sail and boards did you mainly use?
130 + 8.6 during the first elimination and 107 + 7.9 during the second elimination.
Any highlight?
The way to the winners final! Happy about some good racing.
What’s you training schedule to next PWA event in Costa Brava?
Not much actually, a lot of university stuff, but I will sail a lot and do some national events.
Esther de Geuss
PWA Korea 2015. What was your result and the best result you had in Korea before?
This was mine first PWA in Korea and I finished 13th this event.
What were your expectations before the event?
Mine goal for this event was top-10. After the first day I was in the right way for that but I screwed it up the second day with 2 overearlies. Going for it the next events!
4 races and one discards. What did the 3rd and 4th final meant for you?
Actually I was really disappointed about mine 3rd and 4th final. It was really difficult to choose the right equipment the second day. The wind looked the same as the day before so I took my small equipment (6.3 with the 95l ). But the wind dropped completely so decided to start really sharp but ended up with an overearly.
What was your best result out of the 4 races. What made the difference to obtain the best result, against the worse?
Mine best result was a 6th place and my worst one was all the points so a 19th place. I was overearly in that race.
Which sail and boards did you mainly use?
The conditions this event were so gusty that I sailed with 6.3, 7.2 and 7.9. Mainly I was racing with the NoveNove 115 L but I raced also with the Novenove 95 L.
Any highlights?
My first winners final was a highlight finished up 6th there.
Next event?
IFCA World Championship Sylt and the Dutch Nationals
