Aruba disposed of its dark cloak of clouds, and unveiled the glorious conditions that have engraved it on the map as one of the world's finest windsurfing locations. With wall to wall sunshine and crystal clear turquoise water providing the perfect playground for a freestyle frenzy, the Caribbean trade wind's kicked in like clockwork and continued to build throughout the day.

Eager to take advantage of the breeze the PWA crew wasted no time in heading out to sea and putting the sailors into competition sequence. With the gusty wind blowing between 15-20 knots the heats were extended to nine minutes, and it was decided the best three out of six moves in either direction would count toward the sailor's scores.

A turbulent day of competition saw a number of highly ranked sailors lose out unexpectedly in the early heats, as they struggled to dial into the conditions. Andy 'Bubble' Chambers (JP / NeilPryde) fell to the hands of Tilo Eber (JP / NeilPryde). Next up robot Russian Yegor Popretinskiy (JP / NeilPryde / MFC) lost out to young Bonaire go-getter Youp Schmit (JP / NeilPryde / Dakine), and in the same heat consistent Canadian, Phil Soltysiak (Starboard / Dakine) was unable hold his own against the might of Julien Mas (Patrik / Hot Sails).

Mas was charging hard and took the day by storm, destroying his challengers one by one as he worked his way into the top 8 and secured himself 5^th place in the event after the single elimination.

In the semi-finals arch rivals Steven Van Broeckhoven (F2 / Gaastra) and Kiri Thode (Starboard / Gaastra) took to the water. Fuelled by his second place in Bonaire Van Broeckhoven brought a series of outstanding combination moves to the table. Taking advantage of the nine minute heat, he timed each maneuver to perfection securing his way passed a devastated Thode. On the other side of the heat Jose 'Gollito' Estredo (Fanatic / North) faced the style master Tonky Frans (Tabou / Gaastra). Frans fought hard, having just taken down his brother Taty Frans (Starboard / MauiSails / Mystic) in the previous heat he was firing on all cylinders unleashing his biggest moves. It did little to phase the four times world champion Estredo as he sailed a well-planned out heat granting his pass into the winner's final.

Winner's Final

Van Broeckhoven and Estredo entered the final both hungry for victory. Van Broeckhoven opened with a funnel, which was upstaged by Estredo's double. The sailors then embarked on a game of one up man-ship as the opening minutes of the heat flew by. Van Broeckhoven separated the pair with an enormous kono, Estredo took that as his cue to unleash his more ferocious moves, landing an incredible spock culo and a burner 900 in quick succession. Both sailors fought tooth and nail, busting out everything in their armour of tricks but ultimately a 3-2 decision from the judges crowned Van Broeckhoven as the winner.