PURA VIDA BOARDRIDERS/BWA WINTER WAVE SERIES
ROUND 3 – TRECCO BAY
The forecast looked as good as it gets for this spot, and it was even cross-shore 5.0m weather when the first scouts arrived at 9.30am! Then the sun came out, waves were up and the breakfast cooked! As the tide dropped and we prepared to rig the wind went patchy and cross-on….but the first few ventured out on 5.2 to 6.0m sails and soon got going, it wasn’t long before we had about 20 sailors on the water free-sailing and testing boards/sails, then the competition was on….
Over 50 people turned out on the day to see what was going on, 25 entrants and 20 that put up with the gusty conditions and take part in the ‘expression session’. The wind stayed strong for the first 15 minutes but went patchy again so we ran on a little to give everyone a chance to nail a few good waves. Still coming in with occasional head high sets the point had the best waves on offer, with more in the bay.
Everyone got waves and sailed well despite the testing conditions, with standout performances from Kelvin – a big jumping fan who’s riding seems to be going from strength to strength with each comp! Gethin – always rides the waves nicely and today was no exception! Seb Willis – suffering from a lack of power but still managed a few great rides! Beth Sangwine truly expressed her efforts and enthusiasm in the waves all day to become 1st Lady.
There wasn’t much jumping to be had with the gusty wind, but light and efficient youth sailor Alex Mitchell (15 yrs old and just joined our team) was in the air and got his first loop all the way round today, good work! This put him 1st Youth and in joint 4th place with Johnny G, Matt Llewhellin and Mike Jones who all showed us some great riding close in.
2nd place was closely fought between Lewis Merroney and Rob Sheldon with both guys nailing good, solid rides backside and fronside and some great ariels/floaters. In the closing 10 mins Rob just stepped it up a gear and landed some awesome backside ariels back on the wave right in front of the judges, securing 2nd place.
Duncan Sheldon was firing throughout and stood out as favourite right from the start, for everyone on the beach and out sailing he just made it look easy, landing a perfect loop and with constant explosive rides backside and frontside with ariels in both directions time after time…..cruzing into 1st place undisputed!
It truly was great to see so many turn out and support the event on a less than ideal cold winters day, the atmosphere was great all day despite the iffy conditions and cold! A big thanks goes out to the Sea Breeze Cafe at Newton for opening and keeping us a little warmer!
1st Duncan Sheldon, Naish Force, Mistral Twinzer 84 (Pura Vida)
2nd Rob Sheldon. Naish Session, Fanatic New Wave Twin 78 (Pura Vida)
3rd Lewis Merroney, Simmer XD, Mistral Twinzer 92 (Pura Vida)
4th Matt Llewhellin, Simmer Mission X, Exocet U Surf 76 (Pura Vida)
4th John Greatrex, Hot Sails Superfreak, Mistral WaveRD 86 (Pura Vida)
4th Mike Jones, Ezzy Wave SE, Mistral Synchro 82
4th Alex Mitchell, North Duke, Fanatic Allwave 82 (1st Youth) (Pura Vida)
Go to:
http://puravidaboardriders.co.uk/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34&Itemid=45
to keep an eye on the result and how this affects the leaderboard going into round 4!
Our Next event scheduled is Feb 21st/22nd when we will be hosting the Cardiff University Event and Round 4 combined providing the wind delivers the goods! keep an eye on our website for updates closer to the time…. www.puravidaboardriders.co.uk
