Highlights: Day 8 at the World Cup Sylt - waiting game for waver and freestyler

An early start for the riders at the Mercedes-Benz Windsurf World Cup Sylt: the skippers' meeting was due to get underway at 7 o'clock on Saturday morning. But because it was still pitch dark and nobody could judge the conditions, it was postponed by 25 minutes.

After a crisp storm had passed over the island during the night, the regatta organisers hoped to be able to use the foothills for a few wave heats before the wind was forecast to die down during the course of the day. As dusk fell, spectators and riders were presented with the typical Sylt picture: lots of current and white water, wind diagonally onshore from the left, windward leeward and wind holes.

The first attempt to start the second round of the double elimination had to be cancelled quickly. The first round was on Monday after the single elimination final . Just under an hour later, it was enough for two four-man heats. Jules Denel won against Antony Ruenes, Takuma Sugi prevailed against Miguel Chapuis. Graham Ezzy was then eliminated by Josep Pons, while Marino Gil Gherardi knocked out his mate and training partner Liam Dunkerbeck.

Click through the highlights of the day:

Gruelling stand-by

Then it was over again, Klaas Voget's heat had to be cancelled again. Every band of rain that passed over the island caused the wind to drop and the few sunny sections were not long enough for fair conditions. In fact, only one jump made it into the rankings because it was a big challenge to find suitable ramps and get enough run-up.

In the early afternoon, the regatta organisers then decided to switch to freestyle. The wind was also at the lower limit for this, but slalom was impossible due to the shore break. The chaotic conditions would have made it almost impossible and very dangerous to get out with foils and large sails.

Lucas Nebelung was up against Nicolas Akgazciyan in the very first heat of the double elimination freestyle. He was narrowly defeated after it had been very close between the two for a long time. In the heat that followed, his brother Niclas then beat Taty Frans by a wafer-thin margin - at least according to the ticker and scoresheet. It remained unclear until the end of the evening why Taty Frans had to compete in the next round.

UPDATE: Apparently there was a scoring error. A move by Taty Frans had been incorrectly categorised, which was subsequently corrected and resulted in the decisive points for Taty.

After this heat, however, there was no more wind and the waiting game continued. The start was moved further back every 15 minutes, not for the faint-hearted or those with cold feet in wet neos.

At around half past five, another attempt was made to complete further freestyle heats. At least four four-man heats could be completed, so that now only the top eight in freestyle are still in the race. Amado Vrieswijk had a clear disadvantage in the light wind at just under 103 kilos and lost to Nicolas Akgazciyan, while Youp Schmit was knocked out by Antony Ruenes. Dieter van der Eyken and Sam Esteve also came out on top. These four will then meet in the next rounds before the best of them enters the race for the top four. That's where Yentel Caers, Jacopo Testa, Steven van Broeckhoven and Adrien Bosson currently stand!

Slalom World Cup in Japan confirmed

On Saturday morning, the PWA announced that the Cup in Japan can take place as planned from 11 to 15 November. This means that the slalom tour will have two fully-fledged events this year. The planned Cup in Tenerife was cancelled at the beginning of the week.

Honour for Klaas Voget

At the last professional event of his career Klaas Voget was honoured once again on the event stage. Birgit Ballhause from organiser Act Agency presented him with a winner's trophy, champagne and a lifetime VIP ticket for the Sylt World Cup. "That was a very nice gesture from the organiser, which touched me. I'm really happy. My family is here, the fans have been watching and even the sun has made an appearance. It was an all-round success. Now I'm hoping for wind for the next two days so that I can compete here again," said Voget. Kristina Herbst, President of the Schleswig-Holstein state parliament, was also there.

The World Cup Sylt continues tomorrow

The outlook is good, with up to 25 knots of wind from the west-south-west forecast for Sunday. This means there is a good chance of being able to ride more freestyle or wave heats and perhaps even complete the double eliminations. So it could be exciting again! Skippers meeting is at 9am!