Pozo rulez !

Today, (7th July 1999) the PWA sailors gathered on the famous Pozo Izquierdo Beach, Gran Canaria, to register for the $120,000 Gran Canaria 1999 PWA Grand Slam; marking the beginning of the richest and most intense leg of the 1999 PWA World Tour.

Yes, the Tour is back at Pozo, home of Bjorn Dunkerbeck, the Moreno Twins and the Double Loop! Gran Canaria is famous for its nuclear winds that can blow anywhere from 20-50 knots, offering simply epic cross on-shore port tack conditions.

Last year's event produced one of the biggest surprises in PWA history. 11 times Overall World Champion and local sailor, Bjorn Dunkerbeck, was beaten into second place in the race discipline by Matt Pritchard. Matt recorded 3 wins out of 4 races and with 1 discard allowed, he topped the race leader board with a perfect score of 2.1pts. In contrast, Bjorn made a couple of unforced errors, including missing the finish line on day 4, to leave him in second place in race.

In the waves it was business as usual for Bjorn. Using every bit of local knowledge and strength he saw off a strong challenge form Nik Baker, K-66, who took second and Kevin Pritchard in third, to record an impressive win.

1st in Wave and 2nd in Race was enough for Bjorn to take the overall Gran Canaria Grand Slam title ahead of Kevin and Matt Pritchard.

So What's In Store This Year

Gran Canaria will be the first race event of the 1999 PWA World Tour and all the top sailors have been working hard over the past few months on technique and developing new boards and sails.

The Team - US-10 Matt Pritchard, US-3 Kevin Pritchard, KZ-1 Scott Fenton and KA-7 Phil McGain are all here together with a host of new Gaastra sails hot from the loft. Will 1999 be their year ? Will they go one better than they did last year ? Only time will tell.

E-11, Bjorn Dunkerbeck is sure to be determined not to make the mistakes he did last year, and to make the Canaries mini tour more special, Bjorn will be at home top celebrate his 30th birthday which falls between Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura.

Waves At Gran Canaria

Last year's runner up in the waves, Nik Baker K-66, has dropped racing this year to concentrate on the single discipline and has produced a string of impressive performances this year. He is currently lying in second place behind the twice Wave World Champion KA-111, Jason Polakow.

The competition between these two is set to be as nuclear as the wind.

The Women's Fleet

Last year's overall winner Z-14 Karin Jaggi, will be attempting to retain her title, taking a win in the waves and second in racing last year. Hot on her heels will be H-444, Lucienne Ernst, and the fast improving Tony Frey, GR-1.

Local twins Daida, E-63 and Iballa, E-64 Ruano Moreno are sure to set the standard in the women's wave competition. Watch out for news of their double loops!

World-windsurfing.com

The PWA's website has a totally new look for the Canaries round of the World Tour. Updated graphics and a more user friendly front end make the site quicker to download and easy to navigate.

Keep an eye on www.world-windsurfing.com for the latest event reports and pictures live from Pozo.