After one of the most incredible days of competition, Victor Fernandez wins a very worthy second world title. Check out the video from day 5 and reports from the PWA & AWT of day 6.
PWA REPORT DAY 6 – All time Ho’okipa makes for one of the most memorable days in recent history.
The opening three days of pro competition at the 2016 NoveNove Maui Aloha Classic have seen unbelievable conditions, but today Ho’okipa was at its all-time greatest as winds of 30-35 knots and waves of mast to double mast high provided a day of windsurfing at its ultimate best — with many considering today as one of the finest days ever witnessed on the world tour, such was the world class level of the conditions and action on offer.
Men’s Double Elimination
Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Sunglasses), who has just finished 3rd overall in the slalom, staged one of the comebacks of the double elimination. The Brit used to be a regular in the top 10 on the wave tour and he showed his prowess in the waves today with critically late hits, aerials and powerful, carving turns to win four heats on the spin and also played a pivotal part in deciding the title race as he and Ricardo Campello (Patrik / Point-7 / MFC) eliminated Alex Mussolini (RRD / RRD Sails) in Heat 41.
Ross Williams
Mussolini was the only man who could deny Fernandez, but in order to do so would have to stage a colossal comeback and win the event. The Spaniard made his intentions clear in Heat 38, that he had not yet given up hope of winning the title with a superb display to win the heat, but couldn’t quite find the scores he needed in Heat 41 as he missed out by just 0.16 of a point — meaning Victor Fernandez (Fanatic / NorthSails / MFC / Shamal Sunglasses) is officially the 2016 Men’s PWA Wave World Champion.
A step too far for Mussolini
Fernandez was a cut above in the opening two events of the year in Pozo, Gran Canaria, and El Medano, Tenerife, where he comprehensively dispatched of his rivals and after a long and agonising wait he deservedly collects his second world title — adding to his previous title from 2010.
Victor Fernandez
Over the course of a simply epic day of action, there were so many outstanding performances it’s almost impossible to list them all.
However, having said that Kai Lenny (Naish / Naish Sails / MFC) stole the show with the performance of the day. Lenny is the complete waterman and he drew upon all of his local knowledge and supreme talent to produce a simply outstanding heat — with local Rob Funk classing Lenny’s performance in Heat 42 as the best he’s ever seen at Ho’okipa, which saw Lenny earn the first 10. The 24-year-old was in such fine form that in just 10 minutes he was able to record the highest scoring heat of the day — 18.88 points — and had he not fallen on a final aerial on one of his waves he could’ve very well been awarded a perfect heat.
Kai Lenny
In the final heat of the day, Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / SWOX) was on fire as he too recorded a 10 point wave — the second of the contest. The Brit opened with a massive aerial, before unleashing a gouging turn straight into an explosive frontside 3 and then tagged the end section. Through the heat Swift delivered vert powerful, gouging turns and deservedly won Heat 43 ahead of Camille Juban (Quatro / Simmer / MFC).
Robby Swift spraying buckets
Juban was one of the standouts during the single elimination again showed his class with the massive head throw aerials, frontside 3s and gouging turns and the Guadeloupe airlines rider is now guaranteed at least 9th place here, but it would be hard to bet against him not going a lot further.
Camille Juban
In the same heat, local boy Graham Ezzy (Tabou / Ezzy) was understandably disappointed not to progress after posting scores of 8.62 and 8.12 points — which would normally be more than enough to carry you through — but he saw his hopes ended by Swift and Juban who were simply in supreme form.
Graham Ezzy
Ricardo Campello (Patrik / Point-7 / MFC) is always one of the most exciting sailors to watch and you never quite know what he is going to do and he turned Heat 39 around in the dying minutes. Campello first raced down-the-line to land a sick air taka, before combining a bucket spraying hack and a frontside 360 to progress.
Ricardo Campello
Elsewhere, Jason Polakow (JP / NeilPryde) produced two of the turns of the day, but unfortunately after each of those turns the wave shut down on him, which resulted in his exit from Heat 37, while Klaas Voget (Fanatic / NorthSails /MFC) won three consecutive heats with an impressive display of sailing.
Jason Polakow
Kauli Seadi (99NoveNove / Hot Sails Maui / MFC) returned to his dynamic best today after looking a little out of sorts in the days prior as he showed off his unique, flowing, surf-esque style, but he then ran into Lenny and Morgan Noireaux (JP / Hot Sails Maui), who ended the Brazilian’s hopes.
Kauli Seadi
The forecast for tomorrow varies between models , but the wind is expected to be lighter and the wave smaller than today — however, there is still the possibility of competing tomorrow and the skippers’ meeting will be held at 10am tomorrow morning with the action commencing from 11am (GMT-10) onwards — if the conditions are suitable.
Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to follow all of the epic action as it happens via the PWA live stream.
AWT REPORT DAY 6
All Time Ho’okipa Produces Incredible Action
Day 6 got underway with the strongest wind of the competition. Coupled with some of the cleanest swell, occasionally over mast high, the NoveNove Maui Aloha Classic was cued up for another epic day. Head judge, Duncan Coombs, wasted no time and got right in the action with the Pro Men’s Double Elimination bracket.
The first order of business was to carry on with the first round of the Double Elimination, starting promptly at 11 AM with 20 minute heats. Heat 28 was up first with Klass Voget acting as the stand out followed by Guillemin. Heat 29 had Kai Katchadorian and a hard charging Ross Williams advancing over Pascal hardy and Joey Sanchez. Heat 30 had Boujmaa Guilloul coming back to full form to advance with Flo Jung over Marc Pare. The last heat of the first round saw Fernandez Lopez and Schweiger advancing over Brian Talma and Jake Schettewi.
Photo: Juban flying high
Moving into the second round, Heat 32 had Angulo, Martin, Guadagnino, and Taboulet. From the start the hard charging Martin took control of the heat with Taboulet comfortably in second place. Angulo had a decent wave on the board and caught one at the buzzer, but couldn’t quite hold on to a big aerial that potentially would have put him through.
In Heat 33, the crowed was fortunate to see two legends, in Naish and Polakow, go head to head again, alongside Brian Metcalf-Perez and Kevin McGillivray, who both put down some nice waves, but were no match for the seasoned veterans. It was great to see Naish and Polakow trading off on over mast high waves, and slicing them up with expertise.
Photo: Ho’okipa Life Guards look on during Robby Naish’s heat
Next up, Voget, Katchadorian, Williams, and Guillemin took the stage in Heat 34. Williams continued to put together an impressive performance while Voget took the top seed. Voget was looking dangerous as he attempted several 360s and seemed poised to go on a run.
Heat 35 had Guilloul, Fernandez Lopez, Jung, and Schweiger. Guilloul, the AWT leader, struck first going top to bottom on a nice set wave starting upwind at Green Trees. Fernandez Lopez reaffirmed his position at the top of the PWA rankings as well, by putting up two nice scores to sit in first in the heat. Guilloul continued riding well to take second as the heat came to a close, with Schwieger just missing the cut.
The third round of the Double kicked off with Jamaer, Martin, Skye, and Naish in Heat 36. Jamaer put together an impressive performance, charging hard and unafraid to attack the lip. In a close match, Martin’s last wave of the heat was enough to put him above Naish, with Jamaer the winner. The next heat had Juban, Seadi, Polakow, and Taboulet. This heat was quickly apparent to be one to watch. The first round of exchanges saw a massive aerial from Juban, and vertical snapping turns from Seadi and Polakow, all scoring 7+ point waves. Juban’s next wave included an impressive 360 right in the critical section of the wave scoring him a 9.13 to put him in first. As the heat played out, Seadi maintained his second place position, but it was Juban putting on a show with more high flying aerials, much to the delight of the Ho’okipa crowd.
Photo: John Skye puts one up in front of the crowd
Heat 38 had Mussolini, Mauch, Guillol, and Williams, as Coombs changed the heat time to 18 minutes with the wind filled in to a solid 30 knots. Mussolini jumped right into the action with a giant aerial followed by some pristine cracks at the lip. Williams followed suit, linking together a nice sequence of turns, with Mauch right behind him. As the heat progressed, it was obviously Mussolini on a mission, and looked to be sailing dangerously as he finished first, with Williams in second place.
Photo: Williams with a strong performance
The last heat of the round saw Campello, Fernandez Lopez, Teboul, and Voget take to the water in what was sure to be another spectacular show. It was Teboul putting on a clinic at the start of the heat, using his local knowledge to lay down his signature style on some of the best set waves. Next, Voget responded best with an aerial and a couple nice turns to take the lead. As Teboul and Voget continued to put on a spectacle, Fernendez Lopez and Campello appeared to be out of it. With less than three minutes left, Campello finally got a wave to work with and screamed down the line to an air taka for an 8.25! He then picked up another quick wave with less than 30 seconds left and the crowed on the edge of their seat. He started with a proper gauge, then went for the 360 and landed it to get a 9! Unbelievable finish to the heat as Campello jumped to first place, pushing Teboul to third and Voget to second. It doesn’t get much more clutch than that.
Photo: Victor Fernandez Lopez secures his PWA 2016 title
The action continued as Jamaer, Juban, Martin, and Seadi were back on the water. Another stacked heat started off with Martin and Juban trading waves. Seadi got in the action next, after Jamaer had a big crash over the falls, breaking his kit. Seadi put up an 8.88, but Juban responded immediately, throwing another 360 and a stylish one handed turn for a 9. Not to be outdone, Seadi got a wave all the way through the channel throwing surf style cutbacks one after the other, scoring a 9.38. And that’s how the heat ended, with Seadi on top and Juban in second.
Photo: 99 NoveNove rider, Kauli Seadi
Next up, Campello, Voget, and Williams took on Mussolini who aimed to make the PWA title race a nail bitter. This heat had Campello in full form, throwing huge, under the lip cutbacks scoring repeated 8+ point waves. Mussolini put together a couple of nice waves, but wasn’t quite getting what he needed. Williams, continued his impressive performance throwing some massive hits. In the end it was Campello advancing first, with Williams in second, and Mussolini in third, officially giving Fernandez Lopez the PWA championship.
Photo: Campello with an insane aerial
After a one heat break, the next round had the advanced Seadi and Williams taking on yesterday’s 5th and 7th place finishers in Lenny and Noireaux. Lenny started with a bang and complete and utter domination. His local knowledge allowed him to slash, slice, and throw tweaked aerials on all the best waves. Noireaux stayed in the game with a nice aerial and some cutbacks of his own. Lenny then caught a set wave, booting a big aerial, followed by an under the lip hack, and finished with another big tweaked air scoring the first 10 of the competition! With Lenny fully stealing the show, inducing cheers from the packed crowed on the bluff, it was Noireaux who kept up to advance as well.
Photo: Lenny stealing the show
The next and last heat of the day had the streaking Juban and Compello taking on Ezzy and Swift. Juban continued his high flying antics, tweaking his head out on aerials and finishing strong to lead the heat. It was Swift’s turn to put on a show next, throwing a massive aerial, followed by a gauging turn, and finished with a 360 to land the second 10 in as many heats! The most incredible action a wave competition could ask for right now! Campello and Ezzy had some work to do to keep up. Ezzy did his best by getting a 360 of his own, but it was not enough as Juban and Swift advanced to take on back to back Aloha victor, Noireaux, and the hard charging waterman, Lenny when competition picks up again.
Photo: Swift advances as the drones watch
We cannot wait for the action to continue. Head judge, Duncan Coombs, exclaimed, “Today was the best conditions I’ve ever seen in windsurfing competition.” Be sure to check out the live stream and recap videos at AlohaClassicMaui.com
With the conditions shifting, any of the remaining division might run tomorrow, so Amateurs, Masters, Pro Men, and Pro Women are all on call.
- Skippers Meeting: 10 AM – ALL RIDERS
- First possible start: 11 AM
Photo: Noireaux poised to make a go at the three-peat