It was the final heat of the day and McComb was the favorite to win this event, given his history of outstanding performances and winning record this year, but fate was against him in the final minutes as he needed only a 3.5 point wave to advance over Semadhi. He was left looking with nothing on the horizon as the horn sounded the end of the heat, knowing there was nothing he could do.
Semadhi on the other hand paddled in without really knowing if he had advanced. As soon as he saw the thumbs up from one of his friends on the beach, he broke out into a grin. "It was really hard out there", he said back on the beach. "I didn't really think I was going to make it. It was hard to hear out there with the wind, and I didn't get any good waves or make any big maneuvers, so I was very lucky to get through."
The bright sunshine of yesterday was replaced by strong onshore winds, clouds and sometimes drizzle, for most of the morning, but the 4-5 foot sets pumped through until the wind and rain came around 11:30 and put a stop to the competition for the day, ending with Heat 6 of Round 2 being completed.
Several of the boys seemed to thrive in the testing conditions, coming back to the beach saying things like "it's alright eh? Big and with lots of power, I liked it!" while others came back shaking their heads and saying, "it's a bit dodgy out there, hard to get a good one, wish it was more like yesterday."
A check of the Indonesian boys saw Mustofa Jeksen, Tia Nustawan, and Mega Semadhi advancing, each placing second in their heats, while Dewa Artika, Kadek Julyarta, Wayan Susiana, Muhlis Jafar, Putra Hermawan, and Agus Semertayasa all failed to advance.
Raditya Rondi, Tonjo Darmaputra, and Kadek Murtika have yet to compete in their Round 2 heats, but they'll have their chance tomorrow morning at the contest directors have called for another 6:00 am standby for a 7:00 am start.
Though the conditions today were not (as usual) consistent with the swell forecast, it is hoped that the late arriving swell will be spooling up overnight and that the weather forecast that has a decrease in winds will be correct and result in epic conditions with which to finish off Round 2 and hopefully Round 3 tomorrow.
See attached heat draw for today's results and tomorrows lineup.
Photos and text by Tim Hain – Coca-Cola ISC Tour
Photo 1 : Mega Semadhi with a smile when he finds he has advance to Round 3.
Photo 2 : Mega Semadhi finding a small wave at windy and rainy Keramas Beach.
Photo 3 : Damian Norman wins his heat in a rare moment of sunshine at Keramas Beach
Photo 4 : Mustofa Jeksen floats off the top and narrowly edges out fellow Indonesian Muhlis Jafar in Heat 16 of Round 1
Photo 5 : The boys coming in from a free surf before the start of competition at Keramas Beach
Thanks,
Eka I. Rochmansyah
Media Coordinator ISC
No comments:
Post a Comment