CSIC - Round 2 goes off in windy 4-6ft conditions
Source: www.ibaworldtour.com
posted by Mark Fordham on 21st July 2004
The lead up to round 2 saw a deepening low pressure system that formed on the Central coast of N.S.W which produced gale force winds whipping up huge sea's and causing mayhem up and down the entire coast line.
Today saw the gale force winds back off enough to hold the second round. The swell was not as big as predicted though still enough to guarantee contestable waves. Organisers opted to take what was on offer with the limited time on their side. With the swell forecasted to drop after today the opportunity to run the second round jumped upon.
At 9am the second round of the Human Cronulla Shark Island Challenge got underway.
R2/H1:
With Bondi local Beau Day injuring his lower back in Round 1, Day took medical advice and opted to stay out of the water. Day commented "It only takes one wave to make matters worse; it's in my best interest to pull out of the event and concentrate on getting myself 100% fit for the next contest". As Day watched his fellow competitors take advantage of the 3 man heat Avalon's Ben Player took hold of the situation surfing strongly in this heat finding good waves and combining them all with good tube rides and manoeuvres. Young rooky Alex Bunting inverted off a solid wave. Josh Kirkman also got of to a good start scoring two reasonable barrels and using every part of the wave to his full advantage.
Highlight of this heat was Ben Players big barrel and roll combo.
R2/H2:
This was one of the most competitive heats of the day with most waves ridden to there full potential. Local's John Showell and Andrew Lester were trying to keep the visitors at bay finding most of the better waves in the testing conditions. Time and time again, Lester's plan of tube to roll combo seems to see him lock in a strong foundation to stay in the upper half of the competition. John Showell set up a few good turns and exited from most of his tube rides.
Hawaiian Mike Stewart had three reasonable waves, his first was best. Brendan Newton seemed to manage more waves than Mike but they weren't quite as good with Newton opting for the safer smaller, cleaner waves.
Highlight of heat 2 were all competitors snavelling at least one good quality tube ride.
R2/H3:
Dave Winchester, surfing with a busted eardrum got the first wave in this heat staring off with a small tube and roll combo. With good tube rides and manoeuvre it keeps him in the running especially after his solid performance from round 1. Grahame Miller had three good strong waves. Local Ryan "Ringa" McKinnon started off his heat well scoring a nice barrel all the way through into the Surge bowl. Warren "Wazza" Feinbeir waited patiently for the bigger sets outside scoring 4 or 5 decent waves, most being nice deep well positioned tube rides.
Highlight of heat 3 would have been Dave Winchesters final wave with a good size barrel with an ARS exit.
R2/H4:
Waves started to slow a little for this round. Current World Champion Damian King quest for his second Human CSIC crown was on. King tried every thing in the book though seemed to struggle on getting two solid waves to add to his leading performance from round 1.Toby Player showed that he was keen to grab the money on offer and didn't let King get in his way scoring a number of solid scoring waves. Mitch Rawlins especially was very choosey on his wave selection and produced less but made up for it in quality riding, some deep pits and long drawn turns. Hazle seemed to get the scraps in this heat and once again seemed to struggle to get the sets.
Highlight of heat 4 was Kingy's fourth wave, a big set and face turn and clean exit. Another one that comes to mind is Mitch Rawlins third wave - a nice tube ride with a clean exit followed by a long powerful cut back.
R2/H5:
Defending Human Cronulla Shark Island Champion and six times IBA World Champion Guilherme Tamega was very consistent over all. Tamega took off on his first wave with a clean surge bowl and ARS upon exit that seemed to help him set up his rhythm for the next 29 minutes. Doug Showell also showed his local knowledge by setting himself up with some good rides, his first ride ending up with stylish barrel roll on surge. Western Australian Joe Jordanoff started off with a huge invert but was also lacking a solid 2nd and 3rd wave. Dark horse Michael Chappell had an up and down heat scoring one good solid wave finishing his heat with a big invert on Surge.
Highlight of this heat was defiantly Tamega's second last wave where he set up a good size tube ride and disappeared through Surge finally emerging with a clean exit.
R2/H6:
Things really starting to quiet down with a lack of waves for this heat.
Brazilian Paulo Barcellos was all over the end bowl and started off the heat with half a tube and a snappy reverse but was not really in the same kind of rhythm as the others. The heat also started off slow for Ballard though towards the end Ballard ended up riding a number of good waves with stronger scores. Sean Cooper in his first IBA World Super Tour event found a few short waves through his heat, luckily finishing up taking a set wave that Hawaiian Jeff Hubbard discarded, getting a great tube ride all the way through to the end section. Hubbard also started slow but finished up quite strong with his arsenal of different manoeuvres.
Highlight of this heat was definitely Hubbard second wave with massive air on the inside bowl of the Island and followed up with a barrel roll in to the surge snowball.
R2/H7:
Conditions seemed to basically deteriorate for the end to the round with the southerly side shore wind taking hold of the final conditions. All the waves seemed to be used up in the heat before and then surprisingly after the heat had finished there seemed to be more waves. As the old saying goes - that's the way the cookie crumbles.
1999 CSIC champ Christian Riguccini and Tristan Barfield battled it out with 1998 Champ Steve "Bullet" McKenzie and Western Australia's Sean Virtue. Each rider seemed to get 3 or 4 waves though all waves seemed half decent with each rider finding it extremely hard to find a strong scoring ride. Bullet used every bit of his experience to get at least 2 good tubes.
Of the final heat, the highlight was Virtue's final ride with an inside roll and speed lining through the boiling end bowl of surge.
Organisers will be assessing the swell charts for the next day. A possible third round will take place if conditions are suitable.
The Human Cronulla Shark Island Challenge is the first sponsored event by Human on the 2004 IBA World Super Tour. This event will take competitors to Australia's most premier bodyboarding location, Shark Island, known for its big barrels and heavy wipe outs.
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