NoveNove Maui Aloha Classic
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. 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. 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. 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. 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). 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 is now guaranteed at least 9th place here, but it would be hard to bet against him not going a lot further. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. To stay up to date with all the latest developments from Maui — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.