September 26, 2011: Amidst 25 to 30 knot winds and overhead surf, the KSP One Eye Pro resumed with Round 2 of the Men’s Division. With a total of 54 heats (36 Men and 18 Women) scheduled, the event passed its halfway point today with the completion of Men’s Round 3 Heat 20 and Women’s Round 3 Heat 10.
Scoring the highest single wave score of the whole event ”” a 9.43 (out of 10) ”” Sky Solbach (USA/North) bested Marc Ramseier’s (Switzerland) 9.27 from Round 1. Exhibiting a high degree of control and flow with his powerful top-to-bottom strapless surfing, Solbach rode 14 waves in his Round 2 heat, earning him a 17.93 ”” the second highest score of the entire men’s event and only the third to surpass a 16-point heat total.
In the closest women’s heat of the day, Kelly Wren (USA) and Elsa Saintville (Mauritius) battled it out in Round 2 with a final score of 12.67 to 14.67. While both had long, fluid rides, Saintville rode committed in the critical section of the wave. Suzanne Kuiper (Netherlands) and Marie Gautron (Netherlands) earned the other two highest scores of the day, 12.64 and 14.66, respectively.
As the swell began dropping in the late morning, KSP contest directors put the event on hold to wait for signs of the next swell that was expected to hit. After a 2-hour break, the waves ramped back up to well over head-high in the dropping tide and Men’s Round 3 began.
In one of the most anticipated heats of the day, pitting two Kite Surfing World Champions against each other in an elimination round, Mitu Monteiro (Cabo Verde) and Guilly Brandao (Brazil) went head to head on 5-meter and 6-meter kites. Pulling off the move of the day, Monteiro executed a committed strapless re-entry and scored a 7 and 7.77 for his best two waves. Brandao, losing precious time after dropping his kite, fell just 5.1 points short.
In the rapidly dropping tide and building swell, Men’s and Women’s Round 3 concluded, bringing the day to a close. Tomorrow’s forecast looks incredible, calling for yet another massive, long-period swell in the 10- to 15-foot range to coincide with strong southeasterly winds at One Eye.
If you missed the live broadcast today, please tune in tomorrow to kspworldtour.com/live to watch all the action-packed heats. All heat results and the upcoming heat order is available at kspworldtour.com/ladder. Stay tuned for the next live webcast with live scoring.
The KSP Mauritius One Eye Pro 2011 is sponsored by the Indian Resort & Spa, MTPA (Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority), Air Mauritius, Mauritours, Le Gall, Habit, Club Mistral and Silent Partners. The KSP World Tour is supported by ION and Vitamizzer.
Watch the clip of the day at youtube.com/watch?v=
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