Big Guns Fire
on Day Four of OPT Tahiti Pro Longboard
Showers and rain were on tap this morning as conditions improved with a clean swell showing at Taharuu beach, Papara. In the first heat Hawaiian Scott Fong Jnr scored some hollow lefts, going vertical on his turns and scoring well.
Losing no time for his round 3 heat, Duane De Soto (Haw), one of the favourites of the event, warmed up slowly until he got on fire surfing with great speed and control on the unstable faces breaking. After throwing his fins out on a beautiful snapback, De Soto went on for a 360 re-entry cheered by the crowd to easily advance to round 4.
Some great show took place for this morning of action, all the competitors being focused on reaching next round and get a chance at surfing on the final day. Local Heifara-Jean Tahutini (Pyf) created the first upset of the event when he eliminated hawaiian surfer Cedric Caires (Haw) surfing with huge power and choosing the best wave options to advance behind a dominating Eduardo Bagé (Bra) looking very confident and secure on all of his moves, showing great potential to seize the crown.
Outstanding performance came with Aussie Jackson Close (Aus) in heat 4. Surfing against one of the best locals Michel Demont, Close left his opponents in the need of a combination after he surfed his two first waves. With control and commitment, Close took off on a solid set wave to fly over the first section, landing seated on his nine-footer before scoring a great 8 pointer to reach round 4.
Keoni Perkins : photo Masurel/ASP Europe
Much awaited for their encounter, Antoine Delperro (Fra) and Bonga Perkns (Haw) paddled out for battle of chieves and as expected the two men were easily up in front during their heat. It ended in a battle between them for first place; starting slowly, former ASP Longboard world champion Perkins got better and better throughout the heat, finishing the 25 minute decider on fire with four good scores in a row, choosing the lefthander option to secure victory.
The last heat of the round started smoothly with low scores. Going on a set lefthander, Keoni Perkins (Haw) went on for a huge floater and unfortunately fell off his board, hitting the surface of his nine-footer strongly, needing rescue from the lifeguards before being taken to the hospital half conscious.
Fortunately he was taken care of at the hospital and his life is out of danger now, so Keoni Perkins is okay, in the hands of the doctors in Papeete, Tahiti. Due to the circumstances, The event was called off for the day, the last heat of the round being delayed to tomorrow, 8 AM call for all competitors.