The forecast for the third day of competition at the California Surf Cup Sylt promised light southerly winds, which would increase over the course of the day. We therefore started with foiling and later switched to the fin. In ideal foil conditions with four wind forces sideshore from the left, Vincent Langer secured his third heat win in the fourth race. He was followed in second place by his toughest rival in the title fight, Jonne Heimann, who thus kept his nose in front. Dutchman Koen Hessels secured third place. Alexander Neubert was able to defend his podium ambitions with a fourth place. Anton Richter completed the top five in this race.
The second elimination saw the most exciting finish of the GWA Championship to date. Jonne Heimann led this race for a long time. But after a mediocre start and an unfortunate jibe, Langer started a furious chase to catch up. Heimann continued to lead on the home straight. But Langer tried everything after the last gybe to take victory in this race after all. In the speed duel on the last beat, Heimann was able to take a wafer-thin lead and secure his second race win on the North Sea off Brandenburger Strand. Langer had to make do with second place in this race. Third place again went to Dutchman Koen Hessels. Keno Recke achieved his best race result to date at the GWA Championship on Sylt with fourth place. With a fifth place, Leo Richter kept his chances in the fight for the podium alive.
Gunnar Asmussen wins the light wind race on the Fin
Due to the good forecast and the increasing wind, the regatta organisers then decided to change the discipline. The Fin Slalom racers were also to finally get their chance. Unfortunately, the forecast and wind development proved to be deceptive. Instead of stabilising further, the southerly wind became more and more patchy over the course of the Fin Slalom elimination, making the race a test of endurance for drivers and regatta organisers alike.
Surprisingly, Gunnar Asmussen from Flensburg, who is legendary for his performance in strong winds, coped best with the challenging conditions. In an exciting three-way battle, he was able to prevail over Justus Schott and Anton Richter on the home straight. Florian Bandel was surprisingly strong in fourth place. Leo Richter completed the top five in the Fin Slalom. As the wind continued to drop, there was only one elimination and thus the provisional status of the ranking. The best Youth U19 is Anton Richter ahead of Erik Wehkamp and Jesse Richter. In the Youth U21 classification, Leo Richter leads ahead of Koen Hessels and Keno Recke. In the Junior U17 classification, Jesper Mo Thomsen leads ahead of Paul Regber.
Langer leads ahead of Jonne Heimann and Koen Hessels
In the foiling discipline, there are already five complete eliminations at the end of day three. In five races, each driver can cancel his two worst results. Vincent Langer is still in the lead here with the ideal score of 0.0, as he can cancel his second place in the first race and tenth place after his early start in the final of the opening race. Jonne Heimann follows in second place. He is the only one, apart from Langer, who was also able to win races. With two wins and one second place, he has 2.0 points and is breathing down Langer's neck. Another win would see him close the gap and give him every chance of becoming GWA Foiling Champion 2024.
Dutch rider Koen Hessels follows in third place with a clear lead. His consistently strong performance with one second and two third places secured him 8.0 points. Anton Richter and Alexander Neubert still have hopes of finishing on the podium in fourth and fifth place. Koen Hessels leads the Youth U21 overall standings ahead of Leo Richter and Keno Recke. In the Youth U19 classification, Anton Richter is in the lead ahead of Erik Wehkamp and Jesse Richter. In the Junior U17 category, Paul Regber leads ahead of Jesper Mo Thomsen.
There could be enough wind for more fin races on Friday morning, but the wind is expected to drop again in the afternoon and it looks more like foil races. The California WIndsurf Cup Sylt runs until Sunday afternoon, with the wingfoilers starting next week.
