Since Gran Canaria disappeared of the PWA tour calendar, its gone a bit quiet as far as high wind slalom goes. Apart from Fuerte with the occasional 40 knot days, nothing so radical has been happening. Until the 2011 PWA CB came along with the biggest wind forecast ever seen for an event at this venue. All the slack we have been giving the event over the years, even nicknaming it 'costa nada', finally must have been ENOUGH! before the wind came down with vengeance and furious anger.

The guru and finder charts went from orange to red to dark purple for the start of the event with 50+knots forecasted. But the wind started late with some questioning: are we gonna get wind at all? On the opening race I happened to arrive in the B-final and here it started; right before the green flag went up massive gusts started to appear while still on 6.5 m2 sails. It was the windiest heat in a long time (since pozo?) and after I arrived 1st at the mark and flipped the sail, no way I could stay upright... All over the place, everything but going in a straight line, finally I manage to re-spritz the others again and cross the finish line 1st to open with a 9th place the event. Soo much for a long 1st race and the wind was dropping through the afternoon, 4 pm I pretty much walked all my gear to safety 100 mtrs up toward the bungalows and news was out; we're doing another round.

As the wind got light indeed, I had to walk all the gear back again, where is a caddy when you need one?! This one was sailed mainly on 7.0 and 7.6 and after the start of all starts in the final, I arrive to the 1st mark in a leading position. But with so much speed approaching the buoy I shot passed the mark and made kind of a wide gybe in Antoine's books, so he smoothly tucked on the inside. At the last mark i also had to let Julien Quentel pass, bummer!! Still with a 3rd in the bag sitting in 3rd place after the first day, it was a good start to the event and it was an early night to prepare for the stormy day ahead to wake up refreshed to try to stay in a podium postion.

The next day we woke up to a howling Tramontana, the beast is unleashed. I see Ross Williams the first one out to test the conditions on a 5.7 truly and well overpowered. This is serious stuff!! 5.5 and 85 liter are getting prepared and 2 rounds are sailed in conditions that will go into history as some of the windiest racing ever.  Just finishing the heat without crashing means you most likely land in the finals; like riding the bull and try not to get thrown off, but in the heaviest gust its almost impossible to gybe. Some heats were worse then other, how come I keep on being in the windy heats?? Just keeping the rig upright is my goal and I sail into a 9th and a 5th place this day. There might have been time for another round, but they call it a day; everyone is tired and for the people on the boat it must have been a nightmare getting smashed around like that. I dropped to 5th with the discard, but hanging in there tight having the lowest discard behind Antoine.

On the 3rd day the wind was already noticeably lighter in the morning, 2 finals 6th and 7th pretty happy with that. 1 more round wind started turning and the cop picks up. I take the wrong equipment, as the wind was shifting it was a tough call. The Tramontana comes to an end, it can't blow like that for ever! It was a long day, starting in the morning I woke up with the worst shin splints. In between the heats I was standing in the water to 'ice' my leg. 

For that reason i wore my shorty and it was effective although seriously painful. I sailed the minimum, no tuning in between heats.  Actually I noticed that I was kind of going slower into the gybes and defending my positions really well, often I ended up passing some there as others didn't pick the increasing chop so well, you had to gybing righton a rolling swell, even if you had to pass the mark a bit you at least always keep planing after the gybe.

On the last couple days, all was left where the wind leftovers and the big sails came out. When I was called over early in the second round, it was really disappointing cause I thought i nailed the start and must have been less then a nose length over starting right by the boat. I could take some risk as I had low discards, and was fired up for a good light wind race where the start is so important.

Final results:
1) Antoine Albeau
2) Bjorn Dunckerbeck
3) Ben vd Steen

Off to the next event in Aruba soon for the next event!

Aloha, Peter Volwater H-24

Photos : PWA/Carter