Going Places

Moniz and February have shot up the QS rankings.Photo WSL/Poullenot

Hawaiian Joshua Moniz (HAW) 18, won the inaugural QS3000 event in a nailbiter at the righthand pointbreak of Basse-Pointe, with the previously epic 3-5' waves crumbling in a moderate onshore.

As a result, Moniz shoots up 146 places in the QS rankings, while February gains 61 spots (see screengrab right), and invaluable points in his bid to make the Championship Tour.

In the final, February had to play catchup after Moniz caught an excellent 9.07 wave in the opening seconds. The Hawaiian didn’t take his foot off the gas and continued to capitalise on every opportunity he got to finally net an 8.87 as a backup.

In the quarter-finals, Moniz dispatched South Africa’s Beyrick De Vries (ZAF) 22, and convincingly surfed two more briliant heats to take the title home.

“I got a lot of confidence from that win over Beyrick,” Moniz continued. “I thought if I beat him well I can maybe go all the way. Everyone’s been super nice and helpful here. I’m just tripping out I won.”

February, who posted one of only two perfect 10 point rides on Day 4 in the quarters, kept battling all the way to the final countdown in search of the 9.37 he needed to take the win.

“This is the best result I’ve ever had so I’m super happy,” February said. “Unfortunately that last wave didn’t give me enough to do enough turns and maybe I made a few mistakes, but I tried my best and I’m super happy to have put together a good contest again.”

The South-African opted to go local and stayed with a Martinican family to immerse himself in the local vibe. Supported during all his heats by an excited crowd, February has won the hearts of many Basse-Pointe locals today: “The people here ... welcomed me so nicely. I’ve been getting really good food from the people I stayed with, tried new stuff and they drove me to all the little secret spots. It’s just been a beautiful experience, I met some incredible people and I can’t wait to be back.”

MFeb was on fire the whole event.Photo WSL / Poullenot

In the first semifinal, despite leading the 30-minute exchange from the start, Peruvian Miguel Tudela, 20, with seconds to go and a spot in the final in the bag, Tudela let February go on a lefthander, although he had priority. He watched as February pulled off a crazy hailmary all-or-nothing 360 air reverse to sneak the win 14.80 points to 14.63. Tudela placed equal 3rd.

“Sure it’s a little frustrating to go out like that but I made a mistake, I had priority and let him go,” Tudela reflected. “I never thought there was any scoring potential on a left and he proved me wrong, hats off to Michael! I’m stoked to have made the semis here ... this is probably the best event I’ve ever been to and I’ll be back for sure to Martinique, contest or no contest.”

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Cooper Chapman (AUS) 20, fell short by a mere 0.34 in Semifinal 2 after an exciting final exchange with Moniz in the last seconds of the heat. Chapman improved both scores, including an impressive 9.03 on his final wave, but couldn’t match Moniz’s flair and rhythm.

“Waves were great again today and I knew I was going to have to put down another 17+ score,” Chapman analyzed. “As soon as Josh got his 9 I knew it would take another huge score but I had faith I’d get another opportunity. I got that last wave, got a 9 but he got the next wave behind me and beat me. I’ve had a great time here, the waves were perfect, some of the best I’ve ever had in an event. The place is beautiful, I can’t wait to be back next year!”

MARTINIQUE SURF PRO FINAL RESULTS
1- Joshua Moniz (HAW) 17.94
2- Michael February (ZAF) 16.10

MARTINIQUE SURF PRO SEMIFINAL RESULTS
SF 1: Michael February (ZAF) 14.80 def. Miguel Tudela (PER) 14.63
SF 2: Joshua Moniz (HAW) 17.80 def. Cooper Chapman (AUS) 17.46