The 4th edition of the St Barth Fun Cup saw the strongest fleet since the start of this Carribean racing event. The starting list incuded some of the world’s best riders and even Björn Dunkerbeck, who retired from the PWA World Cup tour last year, travelled to the paradise.
After four eliminations, Taty Frans (NB-9), the all-round talent from Bonaire, won the event. Taty showed great speed and left some of the world’s fastest Slalom riders behind: local and 2014 winner Antoine Questel, Slalom Vice-Worldchamp Cyril Moussilmani, world’s number 3 Pierre Mortefon, multiple world champion Björn Dunkerbeck or world’s number 5 Pascal Toselli. We hooked up with the top 4 of the rankings. Read their comments on the first racing clash in the 2015 season.
Saint Barth Fun Cup 2015
Taty Frans (NB-9) – 1st place. He won the St. Barth Fun Cup for the first time in his career.
Wauw, it all came down to the last day as on the two previous days the wind was only 2-4 knots. But I sure did have some fun, enjoying these two days on the SUP riding the waves at the outer reef together with Amado Vrieswijk and Aron Etmon. Getting down to the racing day it was just a bit hard core I would say on the open sea with rough and choppy swells and with the wind blowing at an average of 18 – 20 knots. But at the same time we had some wind gaps. So it was really hard to choose exactly the right equipment.
The course had three jibe marks with pretty long legs and rabbit starts with a powerful boat. I was in doubt which size of board to take for the first race, as for the last 3 years I have been here I always used my big board and medium sized sail. This year I had all my boards so it was hard to choose the boards size. So I did the first race on my Vapor 7.9 and iSonic 120 with 44cm fin. During the first race I felt I had too much board under my feet and I was just fighting to keep the board down instead of concentrating on the course even though there were big wind gaps on the course. I still felt I could use a smaller board.
In the second race I took out my iSonic 107 of the bag, tuned with Zsf 38 S- and kept the Vapor 7.9m. I was feeling better, more relaxed and was just faster compared with the bigger board in the race before and with the 107 handling the 7.9 perfectly. I kept going with that quiver for the remain of the day.
It was hard to have good starts without getting stuck in the waves of the the speed boat when passing the starting line. It was crazy, extreme and insane at the same time. I only had one good start. All three other starts were a disaster slowing down completely. But with good board speed I was always finishing in a good spot.
Saint Barth Fun Cup 2015 – Taty Frans
90+ competitors and above that having the top 2,3 & 5 PWA ranked slalom racers from the 2014 ranking list and also local rider Antoine Questel and legend Björn Dunkerbeck. In my head I was more concentrated on how my gear will work than on anything else. That was my only real issue I had as I received my new sails recently and hadn’t tested them so much yet. In the end 4 complete races where held and I finished in this order: 3,1,2,3. That was pretty good .
Bjorn Dunkerbeck, Antoine Questel, Pierre Mortefon, Cyril Moussilmani and Alex Cousin were fast, but I remember getting ahead of them while reaching. I guess everybody is fast at this stage, but I am more impressed how I am already doing well with the new sails as I just recently changed my sail sponsor. I am not sure about Pascal Toselli. He seems not to be in the zone, but I am sure he’ll be back.
I have been for three years (2012, 2013, 2014) at St.Barth and each time I made it in 2nd place. To me it was a good result but it was getting literally more frustrating for my fans as they wanted to see me leaving this event as a champion. Before coming here this year they told me: “for three years you had the second place, but this year you stop the 2nd and you will win”. While writing these lines, I am on my flight back home to Bonaire and I left St.Barth as the 2015 champion of the 2015 St.Barth Fun Cup. It feels great.
I can’t forget about Amado Vrieswijk, who competed at St. Barth for the first time and he managed to finish 8th overall with his only gear option, what was a 8.6m and his JP 78 wide board. It reminds me of myself coming to events with only one gear option. I just went big, hold on and let it flow. Aron Etmon did great too and left St. Barth as the Junior champion and also finished 16th overall. Happy indeed with a smile from ear to ear.
Antoine Questel (FRA-99) – finished in 2nd
The 4th edition of the Saint Barth Fun Cup was a really nice event. Only one day of racing because on the first two days there was no wind. On the last day we made 4 races. All riders had to show up on the beach at 7am for the first meeting.
On all the days I used for the first time my new Gaastra Vapor 8.6m and my medium sized board iSonic 107. The wind was a bit gusty, between 13-20 knots. I’m really happy about my first feeling, the sails are light, easy at the jibe and the top speed is incredible. I’m also happy that my 8.6m is working well with the iSonic 107. My speed is very close to my opponents and that is a good point for my first feeling. In one month I will go to Tarifa for a hard training with the GA team like Ben Van der Steen and Ludo Jossin.
This year a lot of friends of the PWA tour came to St. Barth. Pascal Toselli and Cyril Moussilmani came to St.Barth for the first time and they told me many times they love the conditions here because it’s choppy like Marseille. Congrats to Taty Frans who won at my home spot.
Cyril Moussilmani and Antoine Questel
Cyril Moussilmani (F-71) – finished in 3rd
It was my first participation at the St. Barth Fun Cup and I really enjoyed it. Like the title of the event says, it was lot of “Fun”. Everybody was friendly and happy to be here. For me it’s different to compete in a Fun event compared to a PWA event, where I am very much focused all week long during the race. In St.Barth I enjoyed meeting with the local kids and the SUP contest by mixed teams by the woman, amateur, kid and Pro. The Saturday night was not 100%, because on Sunday the first meeting was set for 7 am so everyone had a relaxed night. Concerning the race I used the Starboard iSonic 130 for the 4 races and the Severne Reflex6 9.5m in the first race. For the last three races I used the 8.6m, which was not the best option for the board, but by the end of the day I managed to tune a set up I normally never use and my speed was very good.
Taty like always was using small gear with 7.9m Vapor with 107. Antoine Questel used the 107 with 8.6m and Pierre Mortefon 8.4m with the Falcon 111. So I guess my speed is good. Concerning the water conditions it’s very similar to my home spot, so I like it. The place itself is amazingly beautiful. The food is good and the spirit of people, who live on St.Barth is very nice. Arnaud and Antoine, the 2 organizers, made a great job. Everything was well organized.
Saint Barth Fun Cup 2015 – Cyril Moussilmani
Pierre Mortefon (F-14) – finished in 4th
Unfortunately I didn’t finish on the podium. I had some really good races, but I made some mistakes too! We got only one day of racing, but it was a super nice event at a super nice place.
Conditions were pretty solid with 15-20knots wind and really big wave and chop. Not really easy to sail. The fleet had a super high level with a good group of PWA riders and some excellent Caribbean amateurs. I really like my new gear in this kind of conditions and my speed was pretty good. We had some really intense fights. The SBFC is one of the best events I participated. Everything is really well organized by the crew, the spot is completely amazing and the vibe on the beach, too. It is good to participate in this kind of event without pressure and it’s a really good way to check where the other riders are and where you are personally with your sailing.
Saint Barth Fun Cup 2015 – Pierre Mortefon
Delphine Cousin – ladies winner
I love spending my winter time in St.Barth because it’s a hard spot with a lot of swell. During the race we had 13 to 18 Knots with swell. I used my 7,9m GSR Gun Sails and my Starboard iSonic 110. It was a perfect combo and my speed was really good! I had a battle with some guys, who were better than me last year so I am happy to made some progress and have a better speed compared to last year.
The level was higher than last year and I am happy about my result! We were 10 girls this year and it’s a good thing. Several Carribean girls participated this year and I hope it will motivate others for the next edition in 2016!
Saint Barth Fun Cup 2015 – Delphine Cousin
Results
Men
1. Taty Frans
2. Antoine Questel
3. Cyril Moussilmani
4. Pierre Mortefon
5. Alexandre Cousin
6. Björn Dunkerbeck
7. Benoit Moussilmani
8. Amado Vrieswijk
9. Pascal Toselli
etc.
Women
1. Delphine Cousin
MORE ABOUT THE ST. BARTH FUN CUP 2015
©Continentseven 2015
