2 April 2010, Canggu-Bali: After blowing the takeoff on the first wave of his heat, 2009 Coca-Cola ISC Tour Champion Lee Wilson took a deep breath and then came from behind to charge into his first heat win of the 2010 Tour season.
Wilson was up against veteran Made Lapur of Uluwatu, Ketut Suarta of Sanur, and Wayan “Betet” Merta of Kuta, no easy draw to be sure, but steadily put together some combinations of the big maneuvers he is known for throughout the rest of the heat to come back to the beach with the win.
Betet busted out the biggest score of the day, an 8.0 to lead at midpoint, but then a 7.5 from Wilson pushed Betet into second, where he remained until the horn blew.
Said Wilson after the heat, “I guess I was amping a bit hard at the start of the heat, but then on my second wave I found my rhythm and things got better and better. I knew I had to go big because of who I was up against. I’m stoked that Betet got through as well, but at the same time I didn’t want him to beat me! All he needed was another big score after that 8, and if Lapur got a good wave, it would have been over for me.”
Today’s action got started at just after 8 am in smallish 2-3 foot conditions. The expected lined-up and cranking waves were not arriving with any degree of regularity, causing some slow heats, but for most of the morning there were a few good waves in each heat to keep the competitors busy. By the time the tide was nearing its peak at about 10:30, Oakley’s Brad Cunningham called a stop to the competition for the day.
“We are only into the second day and have lots of time left, so I don’t want the boys surfing in mediocre conditions. Better to let them get some freesurfing in for the remainder of the day and we’ll come back tomorrow, as the swell is predicted to pick up again,” said Cunningham.
Highlights of the morning session included young Sandi Selamet of West Java dominating his Heat 6 in Round 2. His polished turns and smart surfing got him out in front early, and he never relinquished his lead.
The real battle in the heat was between Dewa Ardika and Tia Nustawan for second place. Ardika appeared to have second spot sewn up as things had gone quiet in the ocean with about 5 minutes to go, but then Nustawan picked off a nice little wave that just nudged him into second place. With 10 seconds left on the clock, Ardika paddled furiously for a little bump on the inside but time ran out before his hands left the rails and it was over. Nustawan’s Nusa Lembongan mates on the beach erupted with screams as he paddled back to the beach, all grins and stoked to have slipped into a Round 3 berth.
The ever-stylish Marlon Gerber raced to an early lead in his Round 3 appearance, chased by the ISC's CEO Tipi Jabrik, both surfers blasting away at the Canggu righthander with intensity. Gerber got the heat win, while Jabrik finished in second, so both surfers are safely into the man-on-man Round 4.
With the swell expected to increase tomorrow, the call is for a 7 am start. Possible the Sand Bar will see some action if the tide is a bit low, giving the goofyfooters a change from the consistent righthander.
First in the water tomorrow will be last year’s Oakley Pro winner Mustofa Jeksen taking on 2008 Coca-Cola ISC Champion Dede Suryana in Heat 3 of Round 3, as well as Wayan “Kopling” Wirtama and Ida Bagus Simarai, making it three goofy-footers against a lone regularfooter….should be a great heat to watch! See the attached Heat Draw for all the matchups.
To check out yesterday’s and today’s action, go to Oakley’s minisite at www.oakleyindonesia.com/
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