THE 4th DAY OF THE MASTER OF THE OCEAN WAS A CRYSTAL CLEAR DAY WITH NON-STOP TROPICAL BEATS!
CABARETE, Dominican Republic- 25th of February, 2024
The fourth day of the Master of the Ocean 2024 started with another incredibly clear morning with views all the way to Cabrera from the competition spot and glassy 3 to 5 foot wave conditions. The Expression Session SUP final was carried out first with an amazing display of SUP skills from current world champion Aline Adisaka from Brazil to the amazement of the crowd. She came in first place followed by local Daniel Nolasco (Dominican Republic) who showed some great wave riding skills and in third place was the talented Max Lhuillier from France who is currently residing in Cancun. Next, two heats of the Expression Session Surf Semi-Finals were run with an absolutely explosive display of local surfing skills put on by Nicolas ¨Tito¨de la Cruz (Dominican Republic) coming in first in his heat keeping the crowd on its toes and another talented Dominican surfer, Alejandro Ciprian, coming in second. In the second heat of the Expression Session Surf Semi-finals, Tom Maurice (USA) came in first with a powerful surfing style followed by Benjamin Knudsen (Argentina), also showing a versatile surfing style by coming in second.
By mid-morning waves were a bit smaller (2-4 feet) but had good form and the Overall Surf Final took place with local Dominican prodigy Francis Gonzalez coming in first with epic skills, followed by the incredible ¨Action Man¨ Brian Talma (Barbados) coming in second place showing great form, followed by Dominican ripper Franklin Mieses in a close third place. Max Lhuillier came in 4th place (France) and Larry Ruhstorfer (USA) came in 5th place in this exciting final. It is really worth noting that many Dominican riders make it to the semi-finals and finals in all five sports of the Master of the Ocean attesting to the high level of watersports among the locals in the Dominican Republic.
Afterwards, the Team SUP Finals and Team Surf Finals took place. The finals were dominated by the Dream Team. They came in first in both finals with an impressive performance by Aline Adisaka (Brazil), current world champion, coming in first on SUP and Nicolas de la Cruz (Dominican Republic) pulling off another explosive performance for the crowds by coming in first in SURF. In the later morning, the Overall SUP Final was highly contested with Max Lhuillier (France) coming in first, Brian Talma (Barbados), defending Master of the Ocean Champion 2023, coming in second and the Dominican trailblazer, and winner of previous Master of the Ocean titles, Francis Gonzalez, coming in a close third. There was a lot of action on the water to entertain the crowd.
The last heat of the morning was the exciting Expression Session Surf Final and it was dominated by local surfers. Once again, Nicolas de la Cruz (Dominican Republic) shone with aerials and spray thrown in the air during his cut backs with his signature fast surfing style. Alejandro Ciprian (Dominican Republic) came in second place with some great maneuvers followed by Benjamin Knudsen from Argentina, who grew up in Encuentro, in third place.
After an exciting morning filled with action from two watersports, the competition part of the 4th day of the Master of the Ocean 2024 wound down with tropical beats as the wind remained light for the rest of the afternoon once again. Nature ruled once more but it was a very exciting day with semifinals and finals for the crowds to enjoy. It being Sunday, many national and international spectators and their families kept enjoying the ambience and good music for the rest of the beautiful afternoon.
Stay tuned for the exciting final day of Master of the Ocean 2024 tomorrow with more semifinals and finals for the spectators to enjoy accompanied by tropical beats from sunrise to sunset!
This will be followed by the prize giving ceremony at the end of the day!
We want to thank our sponsors: Edelweiss, Copa Airlines, MITUR, Banco de Reservas, Corona, Millennium Resorts and Spa, Natura Cabana, Tubagua, Eucerin and the German Embassy in Santo Domingo for helping us successfully carry out this 3rd day of the Master of the Ocean 2024.
For more information, please visit masteroftheocean.org and its social networks on Instagram and Facebook.