The event site has taken on a carnival vibe as swarms of spectators have headed to Ballena Alegra to boogie to the beat, flash some flesh in the weekend sun and witness slalom's finest strut their stuff.

A quiet morning on the wind front put the sailors in a lethargic mood allowing them to catch up on sleep, read books and browse the internet. Caught off-guard at the turn of 12 when the wind switched, pushing above 7 knots.

Four more heat were completed seeing Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde) squeeze through to round 2 with a fourth place finish, even on his 9.5m he struggled to plane down the final straight and over the finish line.

Stealing the top spots Sylvain Moussilmani (Tabou / Simmer), Marco Lang (Fanatic / North), Ludovic Jossin (Loft) and Jules Denel (Exocet) granted their passes into round 2.

Unfortunately the wind swung onshore and failed to play ball for the remainder of the afternoon, leaving the sailors to return to their bases and prepare for this evenings booming beach party.

We took some time out with the world's full throttle sailors to unveil their big secrets to going fast, and how they dealt with the high wind conditions experienced here in Costa Brava.

Jimmy Diaz (Starboard / North)

"I don't want to share my secrets; I was out there on a 6.3, I made all the semi-finals and one final. There were guys falling down on their 5.7's, it's not because I was stronger, I did the maximum I could with my equipment, I tuned it to the best of my ability to keep it under control. I know there are guys that don't think about this, one day they will find out when I stop racing, maybe then I will share my secrets."

Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / North)

"I just take a brand new sail put the mast in and I sail with it. My smallest sail is 5.7m North, I am part of the R+D teams for North and Starboard so I know the gear really well. I am used to sailing in high wind conditions so it is not a problem for me."

"There are two different styles, mine is to stand on the board very upright, and I open the leach to release the wind. Other people like to get down really low in the harness and use their weight. But I like to release the wind and get the flow going fast."

Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde)

"My secret is my secret; I am from the Caribbean and that is the best secret. I was on my 5.5m in the strong winds, I like to have long harness lines and get my weight down really low to absorb all the power, and don't go full speed all the time so that you don't always crash.

Antoine Albeau (JP / NeilPryde)

"There is no secret; just tuning your equipment and being safe on the gear, make sure you are really comfortable. I put my harness lines in the correct location; I put my boom down a little so I can get my weight down really low. I make sure my board is always in the water and I and have maximum control."