PWA – Fly, ANA Yokosuka, Japan – 2018 – DAY 1

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Published on May 10, 2018 by Windsurfing.TV

May 10, 2018 created by Chris Yates

Day 1: A Day of All Seasons Sees Contest on Hold as Attention Turns to Tomorrow

A total of 25 women and 64 men signed up for this year’s slalom at the 2018 Fly! ANA Yokosuka PWA World Cup, while 46 men also registered for the foil exhibition on day one in Japan, which proved to be a day of all seasons, with sunshine, rain and thunder and lightning all featuring at some point, which either sent the mercury either soaring or plunging.

Unfortunately, both fleets remained land locked on the opening day with light, cyclonic winds not being suitable for either slalom or foil. However, the forecast looks extremely promising for the coming days, starting tomorrow, which currently predicts south-southwest winds up to 20 knots.

Windsurfing Lab – Gullcast – Windsurfing Race Navigation System

This year’s event also features an exciting new app – Gullcast – which will allow you to track the races in realtime via GPS. In order to enjoy the Windsurfing Lab experience, you can download the app on both iOS and Android simply by searching for Gullcast in either the AppStore or from Google Play. You can also view more information about Windsurfing Lab @ windsurfing-lab.com/en/gullcast.html

Earlier in the day, we caught up with Maciek Rutkowski (I-99 / Challenger Sails) for a quick interview:

Hi Maciek, you changed sponsors over the winter in a move which saw you leave Tabou and GA Sails to join I-99 and Challenger Sails… was it a tough choice to change and how is the new gear working for you?

MR: “Yeah sure, you know it’s always a tough decision because you really have to go through all of the pros and cons, and then again, and again, and again, so you can stress over it a bit too much at times, at least I do, but in the end I had the great opportunity to try everything before signing and that made the decision quite east in the end. For me it was clearly the best performing gear out of all the options and it happens to be the best situation as well. They are super supportive and it really feels like they have created a performance culture and there’s a great atmosphere as well. All pros so far.”

Last year you broke back into the World’s top 16 for the first time since 2014 – what are your goals for the coming season?

MR: “I just want to perform. I’m just going to focus on racing well, I know myself if I can do that then results should take care of themselves. Whether that means top 16, top 10, top 5 in some events or whatever I don’t think about that. I just think about starting well, gybing good and keeping my emotions under control.”

Thanks, Maciek. Good luck over the next 5 days and for the course of the season.

With the wind failing to improve all fleets were released at 4:30pm (GMT+9) and all sailors will meet again tomorrow morning at 9am – with the action commencing from 10am onwards.

To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Japan — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.