The first event of the Grand Prix World Tour has begun today in Sines, Portugal. With the Northern wind blowing cross-shore, between 10 and 12 knots, the beach of Sao Torpes, Sines became the perfect arena for this competition.

The 2008 Portugal-Sines Windsurfing Grand Prix, taking place from 6 to10 May, has brought to this Town the most important sailors from around the globe (9 of the top ten ranked formula racers in the world) not only for the prize money, that has reached € 30,000, but for the excellent organisation to which the competitors of these great international events have been used to from the Overpower Club.

Following the skippers meeting run by Race Director, Claudio Alessandrello, every sailor, who felt relaxed while waiting for the wind to show up, was informed of the schedule for the first day of racing. Around 2:00 p.m., Alessandrello sent all of the FW sailors to the water, and thanks to the big and sophisticated sails of up to 12 m2, managed to complete the first race of the day, with winds between 7 and 10 knots.
The wind failed to show for the next race and after a long wait Claudio Alessandrello, the Race Director, considered the competition finished for this first day.

There followed in the evening an informal ceremony that gathered together the most important sponsors and supporters of the event; with a special highlight the presence of the Mayor of Sines, and the proposal of a long relationship between the sport and the Town of Sines. The target has been set for the sports governing bodies, the representatives of the race sponsors, the competitors and the regatta officials the possibility that the town of Sines may host this event for the next four years.

The media partners responsible for the coverage of the event to a national level are: Navegar, Sport Life, Best Rock FM and SICs Curto Circuito, the portal www.conquilha.com playing a very important role in the promotion and daily reports, very focused on the Portuguese and Brazilian communities.

The TV coverage and image distribution by the main world broadcasters will be made by the United Kingdom companies Red Handed, Television and Sail.TV.

The Event's official website is: http://sineswindsurfgp08.overpower.net/

The 2008 Portugal-Sines Windsurfing Grand Prix report as seen in the water is produced by Wilhelm Schurmann, BRA 999, sponsored by Starboard/Neil Pryde.

During the 2008 Portugal-Sines Windsurfing Grand Prix, there will be available video images packages with broadcasting quality for TV and internet, high resolution pictures and press releases in the most relevant languages.

For further details, please contact:

Marta Mendes :: mob: + 351 919 583 043 :: tel: + 351 213 957 322 :: voIP: overpower.skype
overpower presscenter