LIVETICKER DAY 1 (GMT+4)

Current discipline: Kite-Surf
Judging Criteria: TBC

Note: This liveticker automatically updates every couple of minutes if ticker is online!
Report: Jim Gaunt

Update, heats 5A & B abandoned through dropping wind at 16.33. They re-started a little later, but day one was eventually called off at 17.15pm. See you tomorrow morning for an update on what will probably be more wave action.  

Previously…  

-Start of the men’s Kite-Surf event on day one of the GKA Kite World Cup Mauritius 
-Two heats on the water at the same time – 20 minute heats.
-Conditions: Waves ranging from almost double overhead peaks outside to shoulder high on the inside
-Kite sizes: Currently 12m’s but feels about 15 knots

—

16.30

HEAT 4 A
Mitu Monteiro (CV) V Martin (MRU)
HEAT 4 B
Willow-River Tonkin (MRU V Pablo Amores (ESP)

Willow fast and pacey, just lost his way, over cooking a few lip hits.

First mini barrel to Pablo Amores, a big highlight for him as just couldn’t quite find the waves that turned into winners in the dropping wind.

Mitu meanwhile was mixing it up front and backside and suddenly found a banger, biggest wave of the set, big backside bottom turn, comes off the top and switches to frontside just before dropping down, impressive! Two more turns. Should be enough there… and was.

The wind dropped compared to the previous heats, and we mostly saw lots of tacking back and forth looking for waves. When they came, Mitu and Willow were able to maximise.

Result: Wins for Monteiro and River-Tonkin

16.05

HEAT 3 A
Reece Myerscough (CAN) V Ricot (MAU)
HEAT 3 B
Camille Delannoy (FRA) V Oswald Smith (ZAR)

Props to Ozzie first off as the South African is the only rider entering both the Kite-Surf and Freestyle events this week!

Quieter pair of heats in general compared to what we’ve seen so far in terms of wave volume, selection and rider power. Seemed riders were struggling for a bit of power in bottom turns, on their 11s and 12s.

Reece score the most waves of all four riders and was super busy and in being so was the first rider to put his kite down on the reef today. A few back line pulls and it was back up though. His opponent Ricot (AKA Baba) is husband of 2016 and 2017 GKA women’s Mauritius event champion, Ninja Richler. He found the big ones, but didn’t show as much hunger as the others to chase hits all the way in.

Oswald Smith found plenty of bigger lumps and in the end made his higher wave count count as well as chasing every way all the way to the inside, big or small. His opponent Camille has more GKA experience, but Oswald is multiple SA wave champ, and his keenness pulled him through. Camille was strangely quiet, but is not long back after knee injury and was really disappointed not to be riding full force so far this year in previous events.

Notable was that Reece is the first rider to put his kite down on the reef.

Result: Wins for Myerscough and Smith

15.20

HEAT 2 A
James Carew (AUS) V Joshua Emmanuel (SA)
HEAT 2B
Simon Joosten (BAR) V Sebastian Ribeiro (BRA) 

Summary: Carew’s whip around the bottom turn with his arm generates so much speed, while his opposition Josh – more famed for his King of the Air pursuits – lost momentum on his turns which hampered his progress along the first two waves. Come the end of the heat he found a better rhythm and was hunting on some little head dips on the inside. However the Australian Carew’s massively grown as a force on the tour in both freestyle and wave riding in the last two years and ease through as expected. 

In heat 2B Simon the Barbadian (frontside) and Sebastian (backhand) were having a tighter tussle. Simon smoothly carved through his bottom turns but lost some momentum coming off the top in the early half of the heat, where Sebastian managed to take advantage in that case. So far the backside guys have been looking dominant, stylish and powerful. Mauritius has a history of producing backside winners too – for your notebooks! 

Whaaaa some bombs coming through now and again – Sebastian particularly managed to pick out the big risers. The trick with the break here is picking the waves that are going to give you longer riders. Sebastian’s bomb only gave him one hit, but it was the biggest wave of the day. 

Result: Wins for Carew and Ribeiro

HEAT 1
Pedro Matos (BRA) V Sylvester
HEAT 1B
Arsenio Dias (CV) V Charlie Wise (AUS)

Summary: always a difficult one to start and with the reef far off the beach it’s tricky for the other competitors to get much of an idea, so everyone’s going to be going into these first heats cold. Having said that Brazilian Pedro Matos the standout there on his back hand. Smooth, powerful and confident, his vertical strikes and sense of finding the gap to get one more lip smack in during an opening heat where one hit wonders were the order.

In the other heat, a frontside battle, Arsenio Dias gave a good account of himself but couldn’t match the consistency of another newcomer, Australian teen sensation Charlie Wise who was carrying good speed through all his bottom turns, translating into attractive top turns. 

As the heat ended, powerhouse James Carew came flying past the judging tower and raced across the shallow reef, eager to get into it. 

Result: wins for Matos and Wise