Despite great surf predictions (offshore wind, big swell, 8ft waves), the wind had other ideas, leaving the surfers with messy, choppy waters next to impossible to paddle in. Today was a challenge to separate the fortunate from the experienced surfers.
Coming as no surprise Matt Chapman came out on top of his heat with a score of 16 in the second round of the men’s competition.
Second favorite Taz Knight had a challenging heat. Taz got caught in a unyielding rip current that saw him drift out to sea, however he managed to catch a sneaky wave at the end that saw him seal his place in the men’s quarter finals.
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The girls had some challenging heats ahead of them today, with most of them struggling to get out the back and scoring an average score of three overall.
Even strong surfers such as Flora Lawton and Ellen Harding struggled in these conditions, but managed to dominate their heats by a long shot. Flora scored nine in the quarter finals with the second place contestant having a score of 3.5.
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“It was really tough today” Flora told us “Getting out the back took a good ten minutes and it was quite messy, the waves were just a little too big”
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With smaller conditions tomorrow, competitors should hopefully have an easier ride, however if one thing can be taken away from today is, those who can surf well can tackle any conditions thrown at them, no matter how impossible the conditions look.
With some good raw talent competing in the final day, the quality of the surfing is only likely to improve, and with the competitors determined to give it their best shot, it looks like we’re in store for a great treat tomorrow.
photo credit: Leanne Priseman