Rene Egli and his team hosted yet another outstanding PWA Grand Slam last week for the very special 25^thAnniversary edition of the event, in which the modern day slalom legend from France, Antoine Albeau (JP, NeilPryde) claimed his fifth consecutive Fuerteventuran crown. And, the three times world freestyle champion from Venezuela, Jose 'Gollito' Estredo (Fanatic, North) claimed not only his fourth title from the windy isle, but also secured the 2010 freestyle world title.

Slalom

The slalom fleet were blessed with five days of world-class conditions off the beautiful white sands of Sotavento, allowing ten full rounds of action packed racing in winds of 10-30 kts. The variety of conditions kept the PWA's elite slalom fleet on their toes with full quivers of sails being rigged throughout the week. 6.2s to 8.0s and small to medium sized boards were the norm guaranteeing an all round champion was crowned.

With so many races, consistency was key, but two discards did allow for a few mistakes. Throughout the week all of the top ten fell victim to their own errors. The mighty Albeau missed his boom, Finian Maynard (RRD, Gaastra) fell foul to sailing on the course with a minute to go, and even former World Champion, Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Starboard, Severne) - who was the only sailor to qualify for every winner's final - went over the start line early.

Tight At The Top

Plenty of mistakes ensured an exciting climax to the racing right up until the very last final. The current world champion, Albeau sailed fairly consistently throughout the week, but an explosive crash on day one forced a discard upon him. However, a perfect day two helped him climb the rankings, and consolidate his position at the top of the podium. And, a mixed bag on day four tightened things up, but the mighty Albeau remained on top. The final race of the event went without drama, or at least it did until Albeau's nearest rival, Fininan Maynard (RRD, Gaastra) who had nothing to lose, handed it to the Frenchman by pushing too hard before the race began gaining himself a PMS in the process.

Maynard sailed extremely consistently throughout the week, rarely finishing out of the top 4, ensuring he was in a strong position to give it his best shot in the final race. And, a win on the penultimate day was the highlight of his week, proving to the world that he's still a true contender.

Despite never finishing outside of the top 8, living legend Bjorn Dunkerbeck had a fairly inconsistent start to the event resulting in him playing catch up right from the word go. By day three he'd returned to form, and a win in the final race was enough to secure his position in third.

Missing out on the podium by just a few points, early event leader Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard, North) was always one to watch. A broken fin box in his medium board lost him his lead, and his return to form in the final race was just too late. A fourth for the Frenchman was fairly disappointing, but it does put him in good stead for a possible end of year podium position.