PWA Slalom World Cup

Sarah-Quita Offringa secures incredible 26th world title, while Pierre Mortefon is on verge of winning men’s after claiming back-to-back bullets

21.07.2025 - The penultimate day of the Slalom X in Fuerteventura saw Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) crowned world champion for an incredible 26th time after successfully defending her Slalom X world title. Meanwhile, more carnage ensued in the Men’s with a solid swell combined with the the wind swell, running in a different direction, causing real problems for the world’s best, which has eventually seen Pierre Mortefon (FMX Racing) claim control of the event, but that doesn’t really tell the full story…

Women’s
Sarah-Quita Offringa started the day on the cusp of an incredible 26th world title, however, the Aruban didn’t want to know the maths behind her world title run in and instead chose to focus on taking things race-by-race.

Unbeknown to Offringa, a victory in the opening elimination of the day would secure her the world crown and with Jenna Gibson (Duotone Windsurfing) dropping the tricky last gybe, Offringa would swoop to collect her sixth bullet in a row and with it the 2025 Slalom X PWA world title. At that point, Offringa didn’t know she had won, so there was understandably a lot more emotion once she had also won the next race adding: “It’s insane. I really didn't see this coming at the beginning of the week. I didn't think I could even finish the event, but here we are. It's really cool. I got more determination and motivation as the event progressed and today things started to click. It feels insane to win the event. Now I can relax.”

Justine Lemeteyer (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) walks away from Fuerteventura as the Slalom X vice-world champion after saving her best until last to keep Femke van der Veen (Starboard / Severne Sails) at bay. Lemeteyer started the day with a fifth place, but then claimed a second followed by her only bullet of the event in Elimination 14 to remain in control before surviving a scare at the final gybe in Elimination 15 to secure second just ahead of van der Veen to claim that all important second place.

van der Veen fought valiantly, and aside from the opening day, the 25-year-old also produced her best performance as she claims her place on the overall podium for the first time in her career. The Dutch girl sailed superbly today registering a second and three thirds, but it wasn’t quite enough as she finishes just 0.7 of a point behind Lemeteyer.

For Jenna Gibson (Duotone Windsurfing) it was another day of what could’ve been - as it has been for much of the event for the Brit. After starting the day with a second place, Gibson did briefly jump into the podium positions, but her top three aspirations fizzled out following a fifth, seventh and an eighth. The 27-year-old led the majority of the races at some point with her phenomenal top speed, but couldn’t quite see them out, which ultimately means she has to settle for fourth.

The top five is completed by 15-year-old Bobbi-Lynn De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde), who hit a hot streak of form by finishing fourth in the last three eliminations to pip Blanca Alabau (WeOne / Severne Sails).

Men’s
After being slightly off the pace yesterday, Pierre Mortefon (FMX Racing) made no mistake today as he regains the event lead for the first time since the opening day. The reigning world champion struck twice to claim back-to-back bullets to ensure fate in his own hands tomorrow. As so often seems to be the case, Mortefon is capable of raising his level in these key moments and you’d back him to secure the victory tomorrow. If two races are completed tomorrow then the equivalent of a third and fourth (7 points from two races) would be enough to guarantee him the event title.

Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails / Z Fins) continued his phenomenal level of consistency without being able to land a killer blow as the Italian recorded a fourth and a second today to jump into second place. For the second day running, Iachino did well to stay on his feet in a Winners’ Final - this time managing to avoid Jordy Vonk’s (Duotone Windsurfing) falling mast after a nasty catapult. Iachino is 5.6 points behind Mortefon heading into the final day of racing.

After claiming second place in Elimination 6, Jordy Vonk started Elimination 7 just one point behind Mortefon, however, when prominently placed, the Flying Dutchman, who has been in the form of his life, suffered a nasty catapult on the opening reach, which actually resulted in Vonk being knocked out in the water and the 32-year-old is currently in hospital getting fully checked over. It’s sometimes easy to forget the risks these guys are taking when sailing in these hardcore conditions and everyone from the PWA wishes Jordy all the best.

Maciek Rutkowski (JP / NeilPryde) cut a dejected and emotional figure after the wheels all but came off his event title challenge for another year in Fuerteventura. The Pole was leading Elimination 9, but on the penultimate reach he hit a horrible piece of death chop, which instantly ended his chances as he went from first to eventually finish sixth. Rutkowski has been in the top three for the entire event, but heads into the last day just outside the podium positions. It’s not mathematically impossible for Rutkowski to still win, but the odds are not in his favour - stranger things have happened in sport before though…

The top ten after the top four remains unchanged; Taty Frans (Point-7 / Z Fins) - 5th - Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Point-7 / Z Fins) - 6th - Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde) - 7th - Bruno Martini (I-99 / S2Maui) - 8th - Jimmy Thieme (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) - 9th - and Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails) tenth.

The last day of Slalom X will see the conclusion of the men’s fleet and the plan, wind depending, will be two run another two eliminations. The sailors will meet again at 11:30am (GMT+1) on Tuesday morning with the action commencing from 12pm onwards.

Sarah-Quita Offringa on cusp of 26th world title after completing five-timer, while Men’s remains too close to call with just 3.3 points separating first to fourth

20.07.2025 - The third day of the 2025 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam provided some of the most exciting racing thus far with more twists and turns than you could’ve possibly scripted as the form book for some sailors was thrown out the window, while others continued to thrive. Sailors across the two fleets were on anything from 5.6-6.8m and with a swell running, and the sausage being re-implemented, carnage ensued as Slalom X showed itself as the hugely entertaining discipline that it is.

Women’s
Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) is now on the cusp of defending her Slalom X world title, which would extend her tally to 26. The Aruban has gotten better and better over the last three days and after winning all three eliminations today the 33-year-old has now won the last five eliminations, which has put her in complete control of the race for the event and world title. Offringa hasn’t been the fastest over the last three days, but she has managed to avoid a lot of trouble, while being able to stay on her feet at crucial moments to open an almost unassailable 15.8 point advantage at the top of the event rankings.

Justine Lemeteyer (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) leapfrogs Femke van der Veen (Starboard / Severne Sails) into second place, after claiming two second places today, but just 0.6 of a point separate them heading into the last two days. Van der Veen had her worst day on the course so far with a tenth, an eighth and a fourth, but still remains in the hunt for the podium.

Meanwhile, Jenna Gibson (Duotone Windsurfing) will be ruing both her luck and individual errors. The Brit powered to the front in Elimination 9, but then went down hard as she prepared to gybe the opening buoy, which resulted in her finishing seventh. Gibson was then prominently placed in Elimination 10, but was then taken out by Blanca Alabau (WeOne / Severne Sails) at the first gybe. The fastest woman in the world then used her pace to battle back into third place only for Mae Davico (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) to fall in front of her at the last mark, which would eventually lead to a fifth place finish. While in the last elimination of the day, Gibson, once again powered to the front of the pack and opened up a significant lead by the third, only to be scuppered by a piece of swell as she catapulted on the exit, but still managed to finish third. So far, this has been a case of missed opportunities for Gibson, but she now has a shot of the podium with the third discard to come after Elimination 12.

Elsewhere, Bobbi-Lynn De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde) earned her best finish to date on the World Tour - second in Elimination 10 as she managed to avoid the carnage and now just two points separate her and Alabau in fifth and sixth, while 17-year-old Charlotte Philip (Challenger Sails), who is making her debut, claimed her first top four finish in Elimination 9.

Men’s
Things really couldn’t be any closer at the top of the Men’s fleet with just 1.3 points separating first to third, while just 3.3 points separate first to fourth after the latest two races.

Overnight leader Maciek Rutkowski (JP / NeilPryde) still leads the event, but he had his worst day on the water thus far as he recorded an eighth and a ninth, which he currently discards. The Pole entered the first gybe of the Winners’ Final of Elimination 6 in second place, and with Pierre Mortefon (FMX Racing) failing to qualify for the top eight for the first time this week, it looked as though Rutkowski may cement his place at the top of the rankings, but he went down on the entry. Rutkowski then majorly rode his luck in the quarterfinals of Elimination 7 as he went down hard at the sausage, but fortunately he was in a heat with only six sailors, so he somehow escaped unscathed. Rutkowski did eventually still miss out on a place in the Winners’ Final after a coming together with Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Point-7 / Z Fins) in the semifinals and he’ll now need to reset heading into the last two days.

While Rutkowski endured his worst day so far, Jordy Vonk (Duotone Windsurfing) enjoyed his best as the flying Dutchman won Elimination 6 to secure back-to-back bullets for the first time in his career, while he claimed second place in the next to deservedly jump from fourth to second and is now just a point behind Rutkowski as he hunts for a first event win on the World Tour. Vonk flirted with danger each time his navigated his way over the sausage, but he looked phenomenally quick all day.

Like Rutkowski, Mortefon also didn’t enjoy his best day on the water as he finished outside the top three for the first time this week in both eliminations. The reigning world champion was leading the first semifinal of Elimination 6, but then came a cropper at the sausage as he missed out on the Winners’ Final, while he snatched a place in the top eight of the next race after an untimely poor last gybe by Vrieswijk allowed Mortefon to claim the last qualifying position - eventually finishing fifth. Mortefon also discards both results today and slips one place to third, but remains very much in contention for the title.

Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails / Z Fins) has been Mr. Consistent all week with just one finish outside the top three in the first seven eliminations (6th), so while he may currently be fourth, the Italian does have a trump card up his sleeve as his current second discard is a third, which puts him in a powerful position compared to the top three, who all know any mistake will now cost them to pick up more points. Iachino knows he needs to try and find a little extra on his top speed, but he’s perfectly placed to make an aggressive attack at the top now heading into the last two days after another two third places today.

Taty Frans (Point-7 / Z Fins) remains in fifth place, but the Bonairean has consolidated that position after earning his best result of the event to date in Elimination 6 - second - before backing it up with a fourth in Elimination 7 to cap a fine day. Frans looked like he was revelling in the conditions as he confidently launched into huge jumps as he accelerated towards the sausage, where many other sailors backed off.

Elsewhere, Vrieswijk and Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde) also remain in sixth and seventh respectively from the overnight rankings, while the latter was fortunate to escape unscathed after a nasty coming together with Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails) as the two crossed the start line in the Winners’ Final of Elimination 7 - thankfully both of them were okay.

Bruno Martini (I-99 / S2Maui / Z Fins) continues to climb his way up the leaderboard as everything finally clicked into place for the Italian in Elimination 7 to claim his first bullet of the week, which sees Martini jump from just outside the top 10 (11th) into eighth as he showed tremendous pace throughout the day.

The top 10 is completed by Ingmar Daldorf - 9th - and Jimmy Thieme (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) - 10th - while 19-year-old Sacha Fortune (Duotone Windsurfing) qualified for his second Winners’ Final of the week in Elimination 7 before eventually finishing sixth, which sees the young Frenchman break into the top 16 - currently 14th.

Things couldn’t be hotting up much better than as we head into the final two days of the Slalom X and with the wind expected to continue it promises to provide a pulsating finale to the racing. The sailors will meet again at 11:30am (GMT+1) on Monday morning with the action commencing from 12pm onwards.

With another solid forecast to come the skippers’ meeting has been called for 11:30am (GMT+1) with the action commencing from 12pm onwards - once the wind has properly filled in.

Sarah-Quita Offringa & Maciek Rutkowski assume control of the lead after another solid day of racing

19.07.2025 - Day two of the 2025 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam didn’t disappointment as the Sotavento wind machine continued, although slightly lighter than yesterday, especially earlier on in the day. The world’s best racers were once again given a stern test as variable winds together with a lumpy sea meant they had to be alert at all times with a new swell also running through the course. By the end of the second day, another four eliminations for women have been completed, while a further three eliminations for the men were finished and things remain incredibly close at the top as we head into the last three days of racing.

Women’s
Having had thoughts about whether to continue racing last night after yesterday’s hardcore conditions, Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins) will no doubt be a much happier campier at the end of day two as she now leads the event after the opening eight eliminations. The Aruban started the day with two solid second places before extending her advantage at the top by securing back-to-back bullets to sign off, which were her first wins since the opening elimination.

Femke van der Veen (Starboard / Severne Sails) couldn’t quite repeat yesterday’s performance, but even so, she enjoyed another decent day on the water as she never finished outside of the top four in today’s racing with a second, third and two fourths and although she has lost pole position the 25-year-old is still Offringa’s closest rival, but now trails by 4.3 points.

Justine Lemeteyer (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) picked up where she left off yesterday to start with as she bagged another two third places in Eliminations 5 and 6, but then she lost a bit of momentum with a fifth and an eleventh place, which sees her lose some valuable ground to the top two.

What a Difference a Day Makes
Having experienced a disastrous start yesterday, Jenna Gibson (Duotone Windsurfing) enjoyed a much better day as she managed to show her true potential. The Brit started the day in eight place, but rises all the way into fourth place at the close of the second day and is now just 0.1 of a point behind Lemeteyer in third. Gibson completed a brilliant hat-trick to start the day before doing brilliantly to battle back in Elimination 7 after round the first buoy in last she managed to battle back into third place, while she then finished the day with an excellent second place to cap a great day on the water and she is now firmly back in the hunt for the podium.

With Gibson flying up the ladder, Blanca Alabau (WeOne / Severne Sails) and Bobbi-Lynn De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde) both slip one place to fifth and sixth respectively and those two are locked in a tight duel with just a point separating the.

Men’s
Maciek Rutkowski (JP / NeilPryde) continues to build on his bright start from yesterday and the Pole currently leads the event after the opening five eliminations by 2.3 points. Rutkowski has raced brilliantly thus far and started the day by securing his second bullet in three races before claiming another solid second place in Elimination 4. Rutkowski then finished outside of the top two for the first time this week in Elimination 5, but he currently discards that result such has been his level of consistency.

Pierre Mortefon (FMX Racing) remains right in the thick of the action in second place, but loses a little bit of ground on Rutkowski after today’s three eliminations. The reigning Foil Slalom and Slalom X world champion is yet to finish outside the top three and would probably normally be leading the ranking with his current performance, but for an on-song Rutkowski and the remaining three days are shaping up to be thrillers with a great battle on our hands.

After finishing sixth in the opening elimination of the day, Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails) knew it was absolutely imperative that he claim a bullet within the next race or two if he wanted to stay in contention and that’s exactly what the Italian managed to do as he claimed a clearcut victory in Elimination 4, but he still loses an extra point from the overnight rankings - now 4.3 points off the top compared to 3.3 points at the start of the day. The defending event champion currently discards the sixth place from Elimination 4, but will need to crack the recipe for more bullets over the next three days as it doesn’t look the top two are going to put a foot wrong at the moment.

Jordy Vonk (Duotone Windsurfing) enjoyed a great day on the water as he secured his first elimination victory since Gran Canaria last year, while incidentally this is the first time the Flying Dutchman has managed to win an elimination in Fuerte. Vonk enjoyed a phenomenal battle with Mortefon in the last elimination of the day, but laid the pedal to the metal heading into the final gybe to power past his French rival to secure the bullet, which he was understandably delighted with. Vonk now has his sights set on more bullets and trying to force his way into the podium positions - currently 4 points off of Iachino in third. As well as his victory, Vonk earned an excellent second place in Elimination 3, while he currently discards his seventh place from the fourth elimination.

Elsewhere, Taty Frans (Point-7) gains five places from the overnight rankings which sees the Bonairean rise from tenth into fifth place. After a shock quarterfinal exit in yesterday’s second race, Frans was able to discard that today as he qualified for all three Winners’ Finals where he finished fourth, fifth and seventh to cap a fine day.

Fellow Bonairean, Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Point-7), slips one place to sixth after missing out on the Winners’ Finals for the first time this week in Eliminations 3 and 4. Vrieswijk was able to win both b-finals for maximum damage limitation before ending the day with a sixth place as he pipped Frans on the finish line.

Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde) also slips one place to seventh after a slightly mixed bag of results, which started with a 15th, but then got progressively better with a tenth before signing off day two with a fifth place.

Benoit Merceur (Starboard / Severne Sails) started the day in seventh place and the 23-year-old made a bright start to proceedings as he booked his secured his place in the top eight of the two opening eliminations, but unfortunately, during Elimination 4 the Frenchman suffered a significant cut on his arm, which required stitches and a trip to the hospital, which sadly rules him out for the remainder of the event and he now faces a race to be fit in time for Tenerife.

The top ten is completed by Jimmy Thieme (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) - 9th - with the Frenchman earning one of his best finishes to date on the World Tour in Elimination 4 - 4th - while Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails) - 10th - will be ruing his luck that the Elimination 3 b-final had to be cancelled at the death due to the fourth mark drifting when he was winning the heat.

Bruno Martini (I-99 / S2Maui) breaks into he top 16 - 11th - after getting things together in Eliminations 4 and 6 - where he finished 6th and 9th.

The top 16 is completed by Scotty Stallman (Tabou / GA Sails), Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails), Lohan Jules (I-99 / S2Maui), Alexandre Cousin (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) and Pierre Macquaert (JP / NeilPryde), who qualified for his first Winners’ Final of the event in the last elimination.

With another solid forecast to come the skippers’ meeting has been called for 11:30am (GMT+1) with the action commencing from 12pm onwards - once the wind has properly filled in.

Fuerte by name, Fuerte by nature as winds exceed 40 knots to test mettle of world’s best racers as Femke van der Veen and Pierre Mortefon lead overnight rankings

18.07.2025 - Sotavento, Fuerteventura, has built a reputation over the years of being able to test the mettle of the world’s finest sailors, and sure enough, it did exactly that on the opening day of the 2025 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam to provide them with a baptism of fire - consisting of winds in excess of 40 knots and some incredibly choppy waters to try and negotiate at mach speed, and it’s safe to say the death chop claimed more than its fair share of victims.

Women’s
Up until today, Femke van der Veen (Starboard / Severne Sails) had only won one elimination on the World Tour (Gran Canaria 2024), however, by the end of the opening day here the 25-year-old has now tripled that tally to three after enjoying by far her best day on tour to date. Van der Veen started the day off with a solid second place and then reeled off back-to-back bullets in the howling winds to deservedly head up the event rankings at the close of play on a total of just 3.4 points. This is uncharted water for van der Veen, but based on today’s performance she’s a genuine threat.

Defending event champion, Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Maui Ultra Fins), is currently just 1.3 points off the lead after a solid enough first day, which saw her record a bullet in the opener and two solid second places in the second and fourth races and she’s now perfectly poised to pounce in the coming days. What was quite surprising to see though was both Offringa and Jenna Gibson (Duotone Windsurfing), who are two of the fastest sailors in a straight-line, both jump the gun in the third elimination, which featured a speed leg and will leave both of them probably questioning why they chose to push the start quite so hard, when they had so much course to make up water over.

Current vice-world champion, Justine Lemeteyer (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails), enjoyed a solid start to proceedings and is now the only sailor in the fleet to have finished in the top three in every elimination thus far, though she rode her luck at times as she struggled to negotiate the corners, as did many of the world’s best racers, in the unbelievably treacherous water conditions. However, you have to capitalise on your luck and that’s what the 22-year-old did as she recorded a second place together with three thirds to lay herself a sturdy foundation on which to now build upon.

The top five is currently completed by Blanca Alabau (WeOne / Severne Sails), who recorded a third and two fourths, while she discards a seventh from the fourth elimination, and Bobbi-Lynn De Jong (Starboard / NeilPryde), who is yet to finish outside the top five.

Jenna Gibson was probably left questioning why she’d even bothered entering here after a disastrous start to the opening three eliminations (11th, 11th, 10th), but the Brit dug deep to end the day on a high as she sealed her first bullet of the event in Elimination 4. Now, it’s obviously a long way back, but if she can start to build a bit of momentum she may still be able to salvage a podium, however, she’ll also be more than aware that there’s no more margin for error. Gibson sits in eighth after the opening day.

Men’s
Pierre Mortefon (FMX Racing) may have a lot going on at the moment away from the racecourse, but the reigning world champion managed to put all of that to the back of his mind to produce another world class display in the howling winds to lead the overnight rankings. The Frenchman said that he was fully overpowered on his 6.0m, but managed to blitz his way to the front of the pack in both Winners’ Finals. The 35-year-old led until the last buoy in the opener before having to settle for second place, but made no mistakes in the next race as he secured his first bullet of the week to lead on countback.

Maciek Rutkowski (JP / NeilPryde) is the sailor equal on 2.7 points with Mortefon after the opening two races. The Pole produced a great last gybe in Elimination 1 to snatch the victory from beneath Mortefon’s nose and strike first blood. Rutkowski also put up a good fight in the second elimination, but couldn’t reel Mortefon in for a second time, but he’ll be more than happy with his start to the event after producing a polished display of sailing.

Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails) is currently 3.3 points adrift of the top two in third, but remains firmly within striking distance. The Italian was always well placed in the opening final, but will perhaps be more pleased with his result in Elimination 2, as he managed to fight his way back from last place after the first gybe all the way back into third, which may yet still prove pivotal. Iachino remains very much in contention, but even at this early stage he’ll be more than aware that he can’t afford to let Mortefon and/or Rutkowski earn too many more bullets before claiming one himself, if he is to defend his event title.

Jordy Vonk (Duotone Windsurfing) is then a further five points back from Iachino on 11 points. The flying Dutchman comfortably qualified for both Winners’ Finals, but couldn’t really land a telling blow in either as he starts the event with a solid fifth and sixth.

Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Point-7) is the fifth and final sailor to have qualified for both Winners’ Finals at the close of the first day. The former Freestyle world champion kicked things off with an excellent fourth place in Elimination 1, but Vrieswijk isn’t one for holding back, and unfortunately, both he and Bruno Martini (I-99 / S2Maui) pushed a little too hard on the run up in the second Winners’ Final and both were disqualified for premature starts - finishing joint 8th respectively.

Meanwhile, Germany’s Nico Prien (JP / NeilPryde) is just a couple of points off in sixth after a fourth and tenth today, while Benoit Merceur (Starboard / Severne Sails) and Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails), 7th and 8th respectively, are currently tied on 17 points.

The top ten is completed by fin aficionados Jimmy Thieme (PATRIK / PATRIK Sails) and Taty Frans (Future Fly / Point-7). The latter will be gutted with his mistake at the third buoy in Elimination 2 as he dropped his gybe when in acres of space and ultimately went from leading Heat 1 to suffering a quarterfinal exit, which slightly undoes his sixth place finish in the opener. Thieme, meanwhile, was very consistent, winning the first b-final before securing eleventh in the next.

Things are then extremely close with only 2.5 points separating 10th-14th, while Takuma Sugi (Tabou / GA Sails), who you are probably more familiar with as a household name from Freestyle and Wave, is then only three points further back in 15th after he managed to qualify for both semifinals today.