La Caja de Canarias 8th O´neill Trophy

8 th Oneill Trophy
Prizemoney 25 000 $ 2 STAR “WQS” Event Arona / Los Realejos, Tenerife – Canary Islands – 12-16 October 2005

Saturday, October 15 th – The Canarian Dream Part II: The “Spanish left”.

What a great surprise it was when we woke up under a cloudy sky, as some 4 ft perfect waves were breaking on the famous lefthander of Las Americas, also known as the “Spanish Left”. After two hours of free surfing, the guys were warm enough to get on with the round of 32 and didn't want to wait more to hit the water. In front of lots of curious tourists and amateurs, heat #1 started at 10.30 am , offering the surfers thirty minutes of great potential.

Winner in Gran Canaria last Monday, Michel Bourrez (Pyf) seemed again at ease but found a good opponent in the person of David Luis (Prt) who used his head and waited for the set waves. Going calmly but with lots of efficiency, the Portuguese surfer took the lead in front of inform Kepa Acero (Euk) who fought to the last seconds for second place. Unfortunately the Tahitian ripper got the 5+ score he needed and went through to surf again tomorrow.

“I waited for the right waves because I knew the others had some closing out sections. Taking my time as the others were hassling, I'm happy to repeat last week's good result and reach the quarters again. The wave is perfect, it's really good to be here compared to last year's cancellation,” said David Luis (Prt) after he had brought back his black singlet to the beach Marshall .

Showing great commitment to hit the lips as much as possible, EPSA 2004 Champion Justin Mujica (Prt) was another outstanding performer today, being the first one to leave all his three followers in the need of a combination of waves. Surfing on the rail with speed and power, the big man was just in the judging criteria and his first wave was rewarded with a 9. The Portuguese high scorer left the water to leave former EPSA Champion and actual leader Eric Rebière (Fra) face opponents of heat #4.

The thirty-minute decider was a big shocker and some pretty good scores appeared on the speaker's screen. Looking for a good choice, Alain Riou (Pyf) found two very good waves and managed to lead the heat after ripping his last; with three huge up-side down re-entries throwing the fins out to spread some big slashes of water in the air, the Tahitian goofy footer (standing up right foot in front) set the tone. The battle took place for second place but Eric Rebière (Fra) managed to get the 6.33 pts he needed and leave Anthony Walsh (Aus) out of the contest.

“No one could have known yesterday we would wake up with 5-6 ft sets breaking. The waves are perfect even though there's some wind. I took my time to understand the peak and found out the average waves were the ones with more potential. It's good for me to continue here because I really like the place and looks like tomorrow is going to be perfect,” confessed former European Junior Champion Alain Riou (Pyf).

Tanio Barreto (Esp), one of the European Title contender, surfed as well with great efficiency and managed to keep his dreams alive as he qualified for tomorrow's final rounds. With an 8 and a 7+, his result was a pretty good one compared to most of the guys' final totals of the day. Justin Mujica (Prt) was the only one to reach more than sixteen points with two waves, including a 9 pointer. Jonathan Gonzalez (Cny) was the last one to win his heat and advance to tomorrow's last rounds. The three last heats were ran in bumpy conditions but the show went on up to the end, the sun showing up for the last heat.

The few drops of rain came in throughout the day but nothing serious. As the surfers were so happy to ride the famous “Spanish Left”, nothing could take away the good atmosphere and enjoyment. Good music, good waves, good organisation… The third day of the 8 th O'neill 2* WQS trophy went on the right way. We are waiting for bigger conditions so don't miss tomorrow's photos and release, and once again thank you so much for your attention.

The 8 th O'neill Trophy is a 2 Star “World Qualifying Series” Event sanctioned by Asp Europe . It is sponsored by O'neill and will offer $25 000 of prizemoney. It is proudly supported by the Caja de Canarias, the City Council of Los Realejos, the City Council of Arena, the Hotel Sol Tenerife, the Canarian Surfing Federation, Surf Radical, the monthly El Maquinola and Litografia Trujillo.

Greg / Aspeurope.com