Trio on Track in the Tropics

JORDY STYLES: Jordy Maree won his heat to cruise into the Round of 32 Photo WSL / Cestari

Maree was the standout after calmly banking a 6.83 and a 5.90 in his first heat of the event to take the win. All three South Africans entered the event at Heat 3 due to their QS ranking, and all made it count, although Oberholzer and Du Toit did it via second place finishes in their four-man heats to stay in the contest.

Santa Cruz surfer Ben Coffey echoed the general feeling in Nias after his top-scoring heat win of the morning which included an excellent 8.5 ride: “So happy. I decided to come to this event when it upgraded to QS3000 and I can’t believe this place. The people are great, the water warm, the jungle environment amazing and the waves are outstanding - I love competing when it’s like this.”

The women stole the show late in the day with the swell starting to pulse and the riders charging the high-performance sections. It wasn’t barrelling today, with a light onshore wind but the sections were ideal for massive turns and speed.

TIGHT AS: Perhaps because he is small, Zoga Yimoto turns on a tickey. Photo WSL / Cestari

“What a place to run an event,” said Round 2 Heat 2 winner Piper Harrison from Australia’s Gold Coast. "This is the best contest I’ve been in and I can’t believe I haven’t been here before, it’s such an amazing location.”

Japan’s latest surfing revelation is Amura Tsuzuki and she is showing that her historic victory last week was no fluke as she lifted her performance today with huge turns and a big win through to the final 16.

An epic six foot or bigger swell at 17 seconds is a forecast for Sunday, which organisers are looking at as a possible climax to the event. The event will be broadcast live at www.worldsurfleague.com and on the free WSL App. Head to these places for more information.

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