PWA IRISH WAVE GRAND PRIX DAY 5

Irish Wave Focus Turns To Final Days Of Event

Tuesday October 8, 2002
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Following a positive forecast for today, Tuesday, judges had high hopes of
finally kicking off The Irish Wave Grand Prix, which is presented by Bord
Fáilte. It had been expected that if winds reached a predicted force
4 in
a south/ southwesterly direction, the final leg of the Wave World Tour
would go ahead today. However, it just wasn t to be.

Having been windless in Sylt, Germany, Josh Angulo admitted today that
expectations are still high for the Irish Wave At venues like Sylt you can
expect to be sitting around the beach for some of the time, but it s a
different story in Ireland. We all expect it to go off here I mean we re
out in the Atlantic here, and that s where all the weather happens! It
sucks to see all these talented surfers just hanging around and waiting
for things to start up. We belong on the water but it can still happen
this year.

So with all the waiting around, everyone has been closely monitoring the
judges and the weather forecasters, who have come up with plenty of
varying predictions for tomorrow. Head Judge Klaus Michel has been on
standby throughout the week; The outlook for tomorrow seems a little
better. We re having our next skippers meeting tomorrow at 08.00 and the
forecast says we should be looking at force 5 south-easterly winds and
that would suit us fine. If that weather happens it s gonna be a good day
s competition.

Of course the competitors continue to concentrate on the looming
surf-action, and Karin Jaggi (Arrows, F2), who is currently number two on
the rankings, remains confident that she can take The Irish Wave Grand
Prix title; I think I have a lot of advantages when competing here in
Ireland and I m hoping for conditions just like last year. Gran Canaria,
where Daida Ruano Moreno (North, Mistral) is unbeatable with home
advantage, just doesn t match the Irish conditions – they re poles apart.
Here it s all about speed and waves – the wind doesn t matter all that
much to me .

In terms of predicting final results Karin was quick to name Francisco
Goya (Arrows, Fanatic) as one of the main contenders. She said; A lot
depends on wind direction whether there will be a lot of jumping or
riding. But I think Francisco is in with a good chance . The women s
competition, she thinks, will come down to herself and Daida Ruano Moreno
(North, Mistral). Daida is definitely my main concern, though overall I
think I have the upper hand. I would also expect Colette Guadagnino (Neil
Pryde, JP) to finish well. I guess we ll just have to wait and see .

Bjorn Dunkerbeck (Neil Pryde, Proof) is perhaps one of the few competitors
who is glad that the competition isn t quite underway yet. I guess the
competition not starting right on time has given my foot that little extra
time to heal, but it s feeling good now. It s been over a month since I
was injured and now is my chance to prove I m back on top form on the water.

So tonight it s back to Spillane s Bar for some good food, Guinness and
entertainment courtesy of an Ultrasport Evening with Nik Baker (North
Sails, Mistral) and Robbie Swift (Neil Pryde, JP). No doubt the weather
and competition predictions will be flying, but it still looks like there
ll be a little more waiting to be done. Till tomorrow anyway&