Maui Aloha Classic Tag 3

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Die letzten Wochen des Europäischen Etappe der PWA World Tour war weitgehend ohne Wind und Wellen, ganz anders als nun beim NoveNove Maui Aloha Classic vor Ho'okipa. Auch am dritten Tag in Folge rollen  über masthohe Wellen am Ho'okipa Beach Park und sorgen für absolut epische Action. Jede Menge Material landete heute auf den berüchtigten Felsen von Ho’okipa, Grund waren relativ leichte Winde und eine  starke Strömung auf der Innenseite.  Wer es dann nach draußen geschafft hatte konnte unglaublich gute Wellen abreiten. Bis zum Ende des Tages wurde die Hälfte der Double Elimination bei den Herren und ein weiterer Heat der Single Elimination bei den Damen  gefahren. For the third day in a row over mast high bombs rolled into Ho’okipa Beach Park to create more epic action. Carnage ensued again today with light winds and a strong rip current on the inside making it difficult to get out, which resulted in several sailors sacrificing their kit to the hungry Ho’okipa rocks. However, the sacrifices made were often rewarded with moments of pure brilliance as the world’s best tore apart the mast and a half high sets — laying it all on the line in order to progress. Inevitably some crashed and burned, but others thrived in the tricky conditions, coming to life in the big pounding surf. By the end of Day 3 we are just over a third of the way through the men’s double elimination, while one more heat of the women’s single elimination was also completed. With a lot more west in the swell the wave face turned from glassy perfection into a terrorising choppy face at times, which led to inadvertent air drops and plenty of boom eating potential as the elite of the wave sailing world tried desperately to stay in control. Double Elimination  Men’s Bernd Roediger (Naish / MFC) and Ferdinando Loffreda (Quatro) essentially received byes through the first round of the double elimination — Heat 24 — with Nicola Terenzi missing his heat and Moritz Mauch (Starboard / Severne / MFC) absent from proceedings due to a family emergency, which meant the young German only arrived in Maui after the completion of his heat. Roediger looked in excellent form nether-the-less — combining a variety of turns and aerials as a warmup to round two. In the next heat Dany Bruch (Starboard / Challenger Sails / AL360) and Jake Miller (Quatro / Goya Windsurfing / MFC) safely dispatched of Freestyle world champion Dieter Van der Eyken (Starboard / Severne) and local boy Harley Stone (Naish). Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD) wasn’t quite in tune with the conditions in the single elimination but he made no mistakes as he started his comeback through the double to advance from Heat 26 — with the highlight seeing the Spaniard boost a monster aerial out into the flats. Boujmaa Guilloul (Starboard / Severne / Mystic / MFC) — who won the AWT pro bracket last year — also looked in good form as he delivered a few critically late hits to also progress.  Heat 27 saw Philip Köster (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) in action and the two-time world champion, who is on the verge of world title number three, was a little unlucky. Köster attempted the most radical move of the day with a sick frontside 360 attempt into a gnarly mast high bomb, but just over rotated which had severe consequences for his gear and ultimately ended his chances of progressing. The twenty-one year old took a no fear approach to the conditions and was rewarded for his efforts on his final wave as he somehow held onto a massive hit into a huge piece of whitewater, before delivering a gouging turn, which we have become accustomed to seeing, on a monster wave, but there was no time for him to add a second wave to his scorecard and he took an early exit. Kai Lenny (Naish / MFC), who arrived just in time for his heat after surfing Jaws in the morning, stole the show as the waterman picked up the biggest wave of the day, which was easily mast and a half high, and he used all of his extensive experience in large waves to tear the wave apart with several fluid, vertical top to bottom turns to earn 8.88 points and advance into Heat 33. Bryan Metcalfe-Perez (JP / NeilPryde) earned himself second place to book his place in round two. John Skye (RRD / RRD / MFC) and Aleix Sanllehy (Tabou / GA Sails) negotiated their way through Heat 28 as they ended the hopes of Sean Aiken (Quatro / Naish Sails) and Filipe Wedeles (Goya Windsurfing) respectively.  Marc Paré (99NoveNove / Simmer / Maui Ultra Fins) deserves a huge amount of credit for the way he approached today. This was only the seventeen year olds second-time ever sailing Ho’okipa and the conditions were not for the faint hearted, but Paré did not let the conditions phase him as he made a strong start to the heat by combining a couple of carving turns on a big face. His confidence grew with every minute and by the end of the heat he was even attempting aerials off of seriously meaty sections. Unfortunately his final aerial attempt resulted in a trip to the rocks and the Ho’okipa rocks showed no mercy as another set of gear was sacrificed. However, Paré, probably won’t be to disappointed as he won the heat ahead of twenty year old Italian Federico Morisio (Quatro / Goya Windsurfing / MFC) as the two young guns caused an upset with Florian Jung (RRD / Gun Sails / Maui Ultra Fins) crashing out in the first round.  Things didn’t go to plan for either Ricardo Campello (Patrik / Point-7 / MFC) or Jules Denel (JP / NeilPryde) in the single elimination, but both made successful starts to their comebacks through the double. Campello looked fired up and he proved that he meant serious business on his first wave as he unleashed a hell turn and a late aerial to earn 8.5 points. The Venezuelan/Brazilian then became the latest sailor to take a trip across the rocks, but he was one of the few lucky ones as his equipment survived. Campello added another fine wave with his final attempt to win the heat. Meanwhile, Denel, consistently delivered powerful turns with an aerial to also progress from Heat 30. The final heat of the first round saw Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / North / MFC) in action for the first time and the pressure was on. The Spaniard knew that failure to advance would hand the title to Köster, but Fernandez more than rose to the occasion to keep his title hopes alive — for now at least. Jaeger Stone (Starboard / Severne) described Heat 31 as the hardest heat of his life, which is testament to just how punishing the conditions were today, but unfortunately for the Australian he was on the wrong end of a tiebreak decision as Russ Faurot (Ezzy) claimed second qualifying place. The two sailors were tied on points come the end of the heat, but Faurot was given the verdict with the American’s highest single wave score proving to be the difference. Sweden’s Markus Rydberg (Simmer) was a little unlucky after making a solid start to the heat with an excellent wave, however he then found himself caught on the inside and was unable to find the second wave he needed before the clock ran out, after spending much of the heat working his way back upwind.  In the first heat of the second round Bernd Roediger and Dany Bruch both continued their comeback through the double. Heat 33 was extended to 25 minutes with the wind beginning to rapidly fade and this turned out to be the final heat of the day. Two of the standout sailors in the opening round — Alex Mussolini and Kai Lenny — were involved and they produced a fitting end to another epic day with a masterclass in wave riding. Mussolini won the heat and was able to come in early after ending up on the rocks having combo’d Jake Miller and Ferdinando Loffreda with a fantastic display, whilst Lenny was clearly loving the conditions and excelled again. Both men will be a major threat moving forward into tomorrow.  Women’s Single Elimination The women kicked off Day 3’s action, but only the opening heat was completed. Current world tour leader — Daida Moreno (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) — was involved in Heat 9 and she made the perfect start as she looks to regain the world title by winning the heat ahead of Vickey Abbot. Daida made a slightly nervous start to the heat, but any nerves were forgotten by the end as she picked up a bomb out the back before unleashing three slashy turns.  Heat 10 featuring — Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins), who currently occupies third place in the overall rankings, Tiffany Ward (Starboard / Ezzy), Nayra Alonso (Fanatic / Severne) and Sarah Hauser (Tabou / Simmer) —  was started, but had to be cancelled with the girls being pinned on the inside by a rapidly increasing swell and it being judged that they did not receive a fair chance to show what they are truly capable of. Heat 10 will now be the first women’s heat on the agenda when the action resumes. The wind and waves look set to continue into Day 4 of the NoveNove Maui Aloha Classic with the only change being with a slight reduction in the swell size from 2.4 metres to 1.9 metres at 14 seconds, which for many will be a welcome relief. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10:30am with the action commencing from 11am. Make sure you tune into the PWA live stream @ www.pwaworldtour.com to see yet more radical action from the home of windsurfing. It promises to be another spectacular day.