Best of Westerland at PWA Colgate World Cup

Björn Dunkerbeck can’t seem to break his habit of winning, even 20 years after his first World Championship title. The series winner had his most recent success at the season finals in Sylt.

Tennis has got Wimbledon; cycling, Alpe d’Huez, Formula 1, Monte Carlo. The mecca for surfers is Sylt. This year the World Cup event held on the beach of Westerland, Germany, took place for the 25th time; attracted 200,000 fans and inspired the stars of the scene to produce unusual achievements. At the jubilee event each one of them wanted to get on the podium, and, as it was the final event of the season, some hoped to get important points for the overall table.

Star line-up

The list of contestants of the nine-day PWA Colgate World Cup elicited fittingly broad grins from the fans. Australian Jason Polakow was there; the Dutch cheered on their own Kevin Mevissen; the Israelis, their Arnon Dagan; the Slovenians, their Tine Slabe and the Americans, their Kai Lenny. Robby Naish made an appearance; and Björn Dunkerbeck celebrated his – roughly estimated – millionth World Cup victory.

Dunkerbeck vs. Albeau

Although the winner of the slalom title had already been established before Sylt, the 39-year-old Dutchman once again put up a plucky fight against World Champion, Frenchman Antoine Albeau. Rain, fresh temperatures and wind forces between 7 and 35 knots accompanied runner-up champion Dunki as he checkmated his favorite rival and celebrated a successful World Championship revenge, winning the slalom event ahead of Albeau. Along the way, both windsurfers helped Starboard to garner the constructor’s title.

Title just out of reach

"It was a great experience because it was the event’s 25th anniversary. And one of the most amazing windsurfing shows on the planet," Dunkerbeck said, elatedly. "But even better was the fact that I won the slalom category." Which helped him to forget that he only missed out on winning his 37th World Championship title by a mere 66 points.