The Junior Pro Espinho launched today in amazing surf under beautiful blue skies at the urban beach break of Espinho just down the coast from the famous skyline of Porto.
The morning conditions were marked by light offshores and peaky, open-faced waves. Surfers were rewarded for power surfing today and the reeling rights and lefts of Praia de Baia provided plenty of scoring opportunities..
For Men’s Round of 128 in-form surfers included Thibault Manson (FRA), Diogo Martins (PRT)and Xabier Lopez (ESP) who went for big turns and were well rewarded for their efforts. Lopez nailed the first big score of the day, an 8.67 in heat 9.
Hot on his heals was Porto surfer Salvador Couto (PRT) who impressed with a 7.77. The local boy received the score for a combo of four full turns.
“I wanted to start the heat fast so I moved to put myself in priority right away,” said Couto. “I waited for a good one and once I dropped in I saw that it had a good section. I did my bottom turn and saw I could make a nice strong top turn and then I just wanted to finish strong to keep a high-scoring wave.”
But while Couto and Lopez earned their heat wins with one single, big scoring wave, several heats were decided by very small margins.
In Heat 13 of Men’s Round 1 the difference between first place and fourth was a razor thin 0.23 points. Ricardo Brandao (PRT) got through by putting in just enough extra effort on an outside set wave to take the win with a 6.23 while Tiago Bettencourt (PRT) advanced to second with a 6.17. The third and fourth spots were both tied at 6.00.
In the women’s Round of 48 Bahia Frediani (FRA) signaled her intentions with the women’s single highest wave score of the day, a 6.67 for a series of committed turns in the critical sections on one of the best waves of the heat.
“I took a great wave and got a good carve and a re-entry and they gave me a good score,” said Frediani. “I had priority, so when the wave came through I took it.”
Emma Dubes (FRA) put in the second highest single wave score in the women’s event for a series of carves in the difficult afternoon conditions.
The women’s rounds were held during Porto’s infamous north winds that blow sideshore/offshore at Praia de Baia. The gusts were strong enough to white-cap the outside lineup and proved a challenge for many of the diminutive surfers.
The event then scratched into three heats of a planned six-heat march into the Men’s Round of 96. The wind, high-tide and early evening glare proved too much too continue. The men’s draw tomorrow will see the continuation of the Round of 96 with Patrick Langdon Dark (GBR), Cristian Portelli (SWE), Tom Larrondo (FRA) and Daniel Norbrega (PRT) battling out in heat 4.
Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 6:50 for a possible 7:am call. Wind and swell are forecast to come down a Thursday before the wind increases on Friday. A big storm with wind, rains and high surf are forecast for the weekend.
