The first day of the Master of the Ocean 2021 started with tropical sunshine and light but fair conditions for the athletes in the beautiful blue bay right in front of the competition site. There were small conditions for surfing with transparent and glassy 2 to 3-foot well-formed swell that remained consistent throughout the day. The Master of the Ocean Competition has a division that consists of 7 teams with 3 to 4 members in each team. The first Team Surf heat got underway at 10.30 am and it was a well-contested heat with only a 1-point difference out of 10 for 2nd, 3rd and 4th places. Nicolas de la Cruz (Dominican Republic) from Team Cocotazo stood out during this heat with solid moves and fluid surfing in the small conditions as the surf was not big enough for aerials or any complicated tricks. 2nd place went to Geoffrey Castillo (Dominican Republic) from the Caribe Connection Team. 3rd and 4th places went to the 4 Fish Team lead by local Gianmarco Oliva (Italy) and Valeska Schneider (Germany), a prominent female surfer in her country, from the International Team. The 2nd heat of Team Surf was won by Tokyo 2020 Olympic Surfer Manuel Selman (Chile) for Team Carambola with very solid moves and a fast, fluid surfing style. He was followed by Team Happy Dolphins in 2nd place and Team Dominican Republic in 3rd place.
Alex Soto getting his strapless freestyle game on.
The first heats of the day were followed by a Water Safety Demonstration by one of the MOTO 2021 main sponsors, Kymera Jet Boards in the Dominican Republic, in which they showed the possibilities of the rescue and safety possibilities of their equipment. The crowd thoroughly enjoyed the live rescue demonstrations under the tropical sunshine accompanied by tropical beats from local DJs. After this, the first TEAM SUP heat started with a win from Alexander de la Cruz (Dominican Republic) for the 4 Fish Team. He was able to win with a big difference because he was able to ride the waves until the end and complete more maneuvers on each wave. He was followed by Diego Anta (Spain) in 2nd place from Team International who took 4th place overall in the 2020 edition of the Master of the Ocean. 3rd place went to David (Dominican Republic) from Team Caribe Connection followed by 4th place by Tracey Shay (United States) from Team Cocotazo. The 2nd Team SUP heat had Daury Reynoso (Dominican Republic) showing his local skills in the waves for Team Dominican Republic in 1st place followed by Papito Santana (Dominican Republic) for Team Carambola in 2nd place. Local Papito Santana spends as much time SUPing now as well as surfing and it shows in his SUP level. 3rd place was taken by multitasking Guillaume Authier (Canada) with smooth wave riding for Team Happy Dolphins.
Samuela Mule getting ready to hit the water.
In the early afternoon, tropical conditions remained sunny and slightly windy. It was windy enough for Team Kite heats but not for Team Windsurfing heats. Despite nature ruling, conditions were better than the forecast with heat 1 of Team Kite starting at 3 pm with very light wind. The heat was dominated by Jose Luis Ciriaco (Dominican Republic) for Team Cocotazo because of the excellent wave riding and the choice of gear in these light conditions. 2nd place was taken by Imma Nin (France) for Team Caribe Connection with a nice display of skills from her. 3rd place was taken by Alex Soto (Dominican Republic) for Team 4 Fish. Finally, 4th place was taken by prestigious Australian wave kiting athlete Perry Roberts for Team International. After 15 minutes, the 2nd Team Kite heat started and the competition was very close between 1st and 2nd places as well as between 3rd and 4th places. The best score for a wave on a kite was for Joselito del Rosario (Dominican Republic) with a 5.8 in the last 15 seconds of his heat for Team Carambola. Joselito had the best flow in the heat with the most consistent riding. Luciano Gonzalez (Dominican Republic) took 2nd for Team DR and caught the wave of the day and rode it all the way in. Luciano Gonzales is a 4-time overall Master of the Ocean titleholder. 3rd place went to Samuela Mule (Italy), a Cabarete veteran, for Team Happy Dolphins.
Australian Peri Roberts heads out to line up a set and lands herself in 4th place.
Despite the light conditions, crowds were delighted with the first day of the Master of the Ocean 2021 Festival. Tomorrow we are looking forward to increasing wind conditions with an additional 5 knots for the 2nd round of Team Heats and Expression Sessions in all disciplines. We had the pleasure of welcoming Austin Kalama (Hawaii), prestigious all-round international waterman, who will be taking part in the wing foil portions of the event towards the end of the week. Thursday is community day during the Master of the Ocean Festival with a myriad of community activities in conjunction with the Happy Dolphins organization including a mini competition for local children. Look out for more action and amazing world class performances from international and local talents tomorrow!