The Super Grand Slam event took place from the 25th September – 4th October in an array of conditions, allowing the sailors from all three disciplines a chance to wow the crowds on their given day, and battle it out for both event and World title victory.

This year Sylt will surely go down in the history books as the windiest on record Record #sailingrecord , with the wave sailors competing in gusts of over 50kts during their double elimination showdown.

The organizers couldn’t have planned the weather better themselves. Momentum built throughout the week, allowing head judge Duncan Coombs to schedule the wave final for the second weekend in front of the biggest crowds on record Record #sailingrecord .

Men’s Slalom

Racing super star, Antoine Albeau (JP, NeilPryde) had already claimed the overall slalom crown for 2009 having won the previous five events in a row in a variety of conditions, from Korea to Costa Brava, Gran Canaria to Alaçati, and Fuerteventura as well.

This did however leave the remaining podium positions somewhat open, although Finian Maynard (RRD, NeilPryde) was fairly comfortable in second, and would only loose his position if something extreme occurred. The final place on the podium was wide open with many sailors able to step up if they had their day in Sylt. Four full rounds of slalom were completed during the week giving the racers plenty of opportunity to prove their worth.

2009 Overall Slalom Ranking

Maynard had done enough to secure his spot next to Albeau on the podium for the year, but the third and final place was hard fought for throughout the contest. Buzianis and Kevin Pritchard (Starboard, Gaastra, Dakine) were in contention at the start of play, but failed to get the results needed to stop Dunkerbeck from overtaking them. Dunkerbeck sailed a fairly solid event, and with his final race victory claimed his place on the podium. Buzianis was unfortunate to finish the year in fourth overall on count back.

Men’s Freestyle

Although Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo had dominated the last two events, he still had some work to do in Sylt to be crowned the 2009 World Champion. With only three events scheduled for the year, there would be no discard and therefore no room for error.

Also going into Sylt with high hopes of a podium finish - and all on equal points - was Kiri Thode (Starboard, Gaastra), Everon ‘Tonky’ Frans (F2, Gaastra), and Marcilio ‘Brawzinho’ Browne (Fanatic, North, MFC). Steven Van Broeckhoven (F2, MauiSails) also had a good chance of claiming an end of year podium position if he could secure a good result.

With the points so close, it was always going to be a tough competition, but factor in the difficult North Sea conditions, and it makes for an emotional roller coaster. One full double elimination round was completed and a second single started. Unfortunately due to the ballistic weekend winds the second round was never finished, and therefore the results would not stand.

2009 Overall Men’s Freestyle Ranking

Estredo had a lucky escape. If there hadn’t been time to complete the double elimination, he would have lost the overall title to Thode. Fortunately for him, Sylt delivered the goods. Tonky Frans and Thode had sailed consistently enough to secure their positions on the podium next to Estredo. But Browne had unfortunately lost his battle and therefore has to settle for fourth place for the year.

Men’s Wave

Josh Angulo (Angulo, MauiSails, Dakine) and Kauli Seadi (JP, NeilPryde, MFC, Mormaii) were both in contention for the overall title going into Sylt, which created a tremendous build up for the final showdown of the year. Angulo was just ahead on points, but Seadi could easily still take it.

As is customary with Sylt, the wave sailors competed in ballistic cross onshore winds, with head high shore break, heavy sections, and a strong current. A full double elimination was held in these tough conditions, creating an awesome show for the thousands of spectators and world media.

2009 Overall Men’s Wave Ranking

Angulo had secured his place as the 2009 Overall Wave Champion by finishing in 3rd at Sylt. Seadi had to settle for 2^nd overall having only managed a joint 9th in Sylt. The final podium position for 2009 went to Robby Swift (JP, NeilPryde). His consistent results throughout the year, including his 7th place in Sylt had earned the young Brit his first Overall podium finish since sustaining his foot injury a few years ago.

Women’s Wave

Going into the final event, Daida Ruano Moreno (North) was leading the overall rankings with the first place that she claimed in Gran Canaria. The race for the title was fairly open though, with only two events counting and no discard. This meant there was plenty of pressure still on Daida to perform because her sister Iballa Ruano Moreno (North) could still take the title if she won in Sylt. Single Elimination

The top ranked women all sailed well during their first heats to see off competition from the likes of Laure Treboux (Fanatic, North), Steffi Wahl (F2, Gaastra) and Evi Tsape (Fanatic NeilPryde), but not without a fight. Wahl and Treboux put in excellent performances on the waves, whilst Tsape raised the bar when it came to jumping.

Karin Jaggi (F2, Severne) put in a great performance to beat Nayra Alonso (Fanatic, Severne) in the losers final and claim third place. In the winners final, Daida got plenty of jumps in, but failed to score quite as many high scoring waves as her sister Iballa who got at least six turns on one of her highest scoring waves. This left the crowds wandering who’d taken it, but when the scorecards were counted, Iballa had done enough to secure victory. This left Iballa and Daida neck a neck for the overall title.

2009 Overall Women’s Wave Ranking

Due to a tiebreak situation between Daida and Iballa for 1st and 2^nd, and another tiebreak for 3rd and 4th between Jaggi and Alonso, they all had to have a sail off for their overall positions. Jaggi sailed a great heat and earned her 3rd for the season, whilst Daida took the overall title.