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With a huge low heading straight for the North Sea, head judge Duncan Coombs, made the excellent call to start the wave heats early on the eighth day of competition at the Colgate World Cup Sylt.

The women hit the water first whilst the conditions looked a little less brutal, but it didn't take long for the wind to increase and the shore break to build, creating an amazing scene for the thousands of spectators gathered on the beach. With a constant 25 knots and gusts of up to 40 knots, it really was an incredible sight, and the women put in a solid performance in the toughest of conditions.

Women

Iballa Ruano Moreno (North) was sitting pretty at the top of the single elimination, so by the time it came to her first heat she had barely sailed. Her sister Daida Ruano Moreno (North) on the other hand was already in tune with the conditions having sailed against Nayra Alonso (Fanatic, Severne) to defend her position. Daida upped the level and actually sailed a better heat than most of the men did in their early rounds, landing huge tweaked push loops to beat her sister. This meant a second final would have to take place to decide the event winner. Second time round, both of the Moreno twins were pushing hard and getting some excellent jumps and riding in. Iballa however pushed the sailing a notch higher and landed a huge push loop followed by a high scoring ride which just edged her out in front, winning her the heat, and the event.

All of the women sailed extremely well in the tough conditions but some better than others. Evi Tsape (Fanatic, NeilPryde) stood out in the early rounds with some great forward loops and an excellent riding style, but she was halted in her tracks by an on form Alonso. Alonso was hitting heaps of sections with plenty of power, and going for some frighteningly high push loops. Laure Treboux (Fanatic, North) also looked more comfortable in the port tack conditions and was unlucky not to progress further.

Men

Alex Mussolini (Tabou) sailed a fantastic final to take the men's wave event in one foul swoop. Klaas Voget (Fanatic, NeilPryde, MFC) put up a strong fight after charging through numerous heats, but the Spaniard was fresh from the wrapper and ready to defend his single elimination victory. Mussolini landed some stylish jumps throughout, and in the final few seconds put the final nail in Voget's coffin by spinning round a sweet taka. Mussolini knew he had won and was celebrating as soon as he touched Sylt's golden sands.

Voget had sailed tremendously well for much of the day, taking down the likes of Kauli Seadi (JP, NeilPryde, Mormaii) with an awesome display of sky-high back loops, fully planing push loops, and incredibly late stalled forwards. Seadi put up a great fight, but the local lad finished him off with the only wave 360 of the contest. And thus handing the 2009 Wave World Title to Josh Angulo (Angulo, MauiSails, Dakine) on a silver platter. Even when Voget met Angulo on his path to second, he wasn't fazed. The newly crowned World Wave Champion almost bowed down to Voget somehow knowing that he would carry on the show in front of his home crowd.

Another amazing performance came from Dany Bruch (Exocet, Serverne), who after failing to get out in his first heat of the single elimination stormed through this round with some of the highest scoring jumps and waves of the day. Bruch was on fire for much of the day until he met Voget, who permanently put a stop to his rampage with his powerful display of aerial antics.

Also worthy of mention, is Jonas Ceballos (Fanatic, Simmer Style, MFC), he arguably landed the biggest back loop of the contest in a heat against Julien Taboulet (F2, Naish), wowing both the judges and the crowd. Thomas Traversa (Tabou, Gaastra) also threw some of the craziest jumps with a huge stalled forward, which helped him on his way to gaining the highest score of the double elimination at that time.

Biggest bailout of the day went to the 2009 Slalom World Champion, Antoine Albeau (JP, NeilPryde). When it was his turn to stop Voget, he rotated around a huge push loop, but unfortunately for him came adrift from his gear at the apex of his jump creating an amazing spectacle for those on the shore, and needless to say, a long swim for himself!

With a double elimination complete for both the men and the women, there will be no more wave competition in Sylt. However, with the second round of the freestyle already underway there could well be more action to come.

Results

Men

1^st Alex Mussolini (Tabou)

2^nd Klaas Voget (JP, NeilPryde, MFC)

3^rd Josh Angulo (Angulo, MauiSails, Dakine)

4^th Antoine Albeau (JP, NeilPryde)

5^th John Skye (RRD, Naish, MFC)

Men's Overall Wave Rankings 2009

1^st Josh Angulo (Angulo, MauiSails, Dakine)

2^nd Kauli Seadi (JP, NeilPryde, Mormaii)

3^rd Robby Swift (JP, NeilPryde)

4^th Klaas Voget (Fanatic, NeilPryde, MFC)

5^th Thomas Traversa (Tabou, Gaastra)

Women

1^st Iballa Moreno (North)

2^nd Daida Moreno (North)

3^rd Nayra Alonso (Fanatic, Severne)

4^th Karin Jaggi (F2, Severne)

5^th Evi Tsape (Fanatic, NeilPryde)

Women's Overall Rankings 2009

1^st Daida Ruano Moreno (North)

2^nd Iballa Ruano Moreno (North)

3^rd Karin Jaggi (F2, Severne)

4^th Nayra Alonso (Fanatic, Severne)

5^th Evi Tsape (Fanatic, NeilPryde)

The forecast is predicting more wind tomorrow, so be sure to tune in early to catch up with the action, or in the meantime, for more information on all the entrants, and to keep up to date with every piece of the action, click on www.pwaworldtour.com 



With the skippers' briefing taking place at the crack of dawn, the wave fleet smothered the beach with kit and hit the water from the early hours. The wind was often gusting over 40kts, a strong current was running, and plenty of North Sea growlers were hitting the shoreline, meaning kit choice was critical.

In the early rounds, many fell foul to taking gear which was too small, leaving them struggling to get planing and out past the shore break. Those more experienced with these typical Sylt conditions headed out early and played a tactical game from the word go.

12 minute heats, with 2 wave rides and 2 jumps were the order of the day. With the strong onshore wind with a slight starboard bias, this was going to be a tough call for even the best competitors out there.

Men

With some of the old guard already in the second round, the new guys on tour went out there to show them that getting their automatic place in front, in no way meant they'd stay there. Jason Polakow (JP, NeilPryde) failed to make it through his first heat when an on form Alex Mussolini (Tabou), who was taking no prisoners today, stamped his authority on the contest.

Then came a slight reversal, first with old time racing legend Antoine Albeau (JP, NeilPryde) flying through his first heat to then meet Dany Bruch (Exocet, Severne) in his second. Bruch failed to get out the back throughout his entire heat, giving Albeau an easy ride into the next round. Then came wonder kid Philip Köster (Starboard, NeilPryde, Dakine). Having won in Gran Canaria, we were expecting big things from the youngster. He made it through his first heat, but failed to impress the judges in the same way that he had done earlier in the year and was taken down by tour veteran Peter Volwater (F2, MauiSails) in his second.

Going into the last 16 there was a real mix of old school versus new. Victor Fernandez (Fanatic, North, MFC) upped his game to see off Volwater, whilst Josh Angulo (Angulo, MauiSails, Dakine) notched up some awesome wave scores, which helped him take out Nik Baker (Fanatic, North). Angulo's riding in this heat was some of the finest seen throughout the competition making it near on impossible for Nik to recover, even with his impressive jumps. Ricardo Campello (JP, NeilPryde, MFC) was also putting in some excellent turns on the waves, but these moments of glory were often followed with an absolute pounding which allowed an on form John Skye (RRD, Naish, MFC) to pass. Other notable performances in this round came from UK powerhouse Robby Swift (JP, NeilPryde), who opened his heat with an impressive fully planing push loop, and Albeau, the 2009 Slalom World Champion, who steam rolled ahead with an equally impressive aerial display.

In the quarterfinals the sailing went through the roof, and when Skye met Kauli Seadi (JP, NeilPryde, Mormaii, MFC) everyone thought that it would mark the end of the UK sailor's session. Skye however had other plans and sailed the heat of his life, scoring the highest wave score of the day with an awesome frontside aerial - nigh on impossible in these conditions, and the only one landed by any sailor today - to take down the 2008 Wave World Champion and carry on with his path of destruction. Mussolini also took the sailing to another level with some super high push loops and amazing rides. Even the impressive crowd stopping backside airs of Klaas Voget (Fanatic, NeilPryde, MFC) weren't enough to slow Mussolini's charge down.

The most impressive display of wave sailing was arguably seen in the semi-final. All of the sailors were on fire, which no doubt made it tough for the judges to make their decisions. Angulo had some great waves which put a stop to Skye progressing any further despite the young Brit fyling high and getting some amazing jumping scores. Skye was always looking for the same frontside smack that saw him past Seadi but it never materialised. On the other side, even though he landed the biggest back loop of the contest, Albeau was no match for Mussolini. The stylish wave riding from the Spaniard saw him straight into the winners final.

For the finals, the heat duration was extended to 15 minutes with 3 jumps to count and 2 waves. The wind had dropped slightly making the conditions even more difficult for the World's best. Albeau and Skye played a tactical game, but in the end it was Albeau who managed to impress the judges more with bigger jumps and longer rides. Skye went for his trademark onshore frontside aerial, but got taken down on landing by a mass of North Sea froth.

In the winners final, both riders were finding it more and more difficult to milk the waves from out the back all the way into the beach. And to make things worse, the stunt ramps that were seen in earlier rounds were disappearing. Mussolini was still going at full throttle though, putting his kit and his own neck on the line, attempting gutsy goita's in the teeth of some of the heaviest waves of the day. This style of riding had paid him dividends since the early hours, and it wasn't about to stop now. Mussolini had done enough to secure victory in the first wave elimination of this Super Grand Slam finale.

In the race for the title, it leaves Angulo ahead, but Seadi still has a chance to steal it back if he can find form in the double elimination, charge past Angulo, and beat Mussolini twice! Even if he beats Angulo, Mussolini can still stop him from gaining overall victory - Kauli must win this event if he wants to take home the title.

Women

In the early heats, Evi Tsape (Fanatic, NeilPryde) put together a great repertoire of jumps and wave rides to take down the freestyle legend Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard, NeilPryde), and claim her ticket into the next round. Steffi Wahl (F2, Gaastra) also showed her home crowds how it's done by linking together numerous turns and squeezing every ounce of power out of the tricky onshore waves. On the other side of the draw, Laure Treboux (Fanatic, North) made it through her first heat with ease taming some North Sea monsters on her way.

In the quarterfinals, Iballa Ruano Moreno (North) had an easy ride because neither of her opponents qualified for the round. Nayra Alonso's (Fanatic, Severne) first outing was against Treboux, she managed to stop the Swiss girl dead in her tracks with an impressive display of backward rotating jumps. In the other half, Karin Jaggi (F2, Severne) disappointed the home crowds by seeing off Wahl. And current tour leader Daida Ruano Moreno (North) quickly put a stop to Wahl's plans of progressing any further. Wahl was unlucky to get caught on the inside for much of the heat making Moreno's life that little bit easier.

Jaggi sailed well to beat Alonso in the losers final and claim third place. In the winners final, Daida got plenty of jumps in, but failed to score as many high scoring waves as her sister, Iballa getting at least six turns on one of her highest scoring waves. This left the crowds wandering for quite a while, but when the scorecards were counted, Iballa had done enough to secure victory.

This leaves Iballa and Daida neck a neck for the overall title, with Daida no doubt hoping for a double elimination to take place over the next few days.

Results:

Men

1^st Alex Mussolini (Tabou)

2^nd Josh Angulo (Angulo, MauiSails, Dakine)

3^rd Antoine Albeau (JP, NeilPryde)

4^th John Skye (RRD, Naish, MFC)

Women

1^st Iballa Ruano Moreno (North)

2^nd Daida Ruano Moreno (North)

3^rd Karin Jaggi (F2, Severne)

4^th Nayra Alonso (Fanatic, Severne)

Text and pictures by PWA/Paul Griffiths.