4th DAY OF THE MASTER OF THE OCEAN FESTIVAL WAS A DAY OF EXCITING AND VERSATILE COMPETITION!
CABARETE, Dominican Republic- 17th of September, 2021
The fourth day of the Master of the Ocean 2021 started with another fresh morning filled with tropical sunshine and glassy small wave conditions. The first round of Expression Session Surf was carried out in 2 to 3 foot waves in a heat with smooth surfing put on display by Nicolas de la Cruz (Dominican Republic) coming in first place. The versatile Papito Santana (Dominican Republic) came in 2nd place with his powerful surfing style. 3rd place was secured by the multitalented Francis Gonzalez (Dominican Republic) in this all Dominican heat. The morning competition immediately continued with the second round of Expression Session Surf at 9.40 am which displayed incredible talent and mind-blowing surfing put on by Cabarete local and 2020 Tokyo Olympics surfer, Manuel Selman (Chile), coming in 1st place. He was followed by champion Valeska Schneider (Germany) in 2nd place with powerful cutbacks and bottom turns. 3rd place was taken by the Master of the Ocean 2020 overall winner, Diego Anta (Spain) and 4th place by Marius Herrmann (Germany) from the island of Sylt. The 3rd heat of Expression Session Surf of the morning continued in similar small but glassy conditions with talented Gianmarco Oliva (Italy) coming 1st with a fast and fluid surfing style. 4-time Master of the Ocean overall champion, Luciano Gonzalez (Dominican Republic) came in 2nd and Austin Kalama (Hawaii) came in 3rd with solid maneuvers.
The morning started heating up with a brilliant sun while the Expression Session SUP heats got underway at about 10 am. The first heat had great action from Diego Anta (Spain), Luciano Gonzalez (Dominican Republic), Francis Gonzalez (Dominican Republic) and Guillaume Authier (Canada). It was a tightly contested heat and there was good skill and style put on display by all participants. Results of this heat will be announced at the awards ceremony on Saturday, September 18th.
The second round of Expression Session SUP saw Alexander de la Cruz (Dominican Republic) coming in 1st place with an incredible display of technique on SUP in the waves. Daury Reynoso (Dominican Republic) came in 2nd place, followed by surfer Papito Santana (Dominican Republic) in 3rd place and Marius Herrmann (Germany) in 4th place. The last Expression Session SUP of the morning was a very enjoyable heat with Austin Kalama (Hawaii) coming in 1st place with a powerful style in the waves followed by Tracy Shay (United States) in 2nd place and Meghan Maguire (United States) in 3rd place.
After the morning Expression Sessions in Surf and SUP the wind was too low for Wing Foiling or for Kiting. At around mid-day, Kymera DR donated a jet board to Happy Dolphins DR in small ceremony as a generous gesture benefitting the Cabarete Community and the destination to avoid drownings. Thanks to Happy Dolphins´ allies in the water, Inspire and Kymera DR, dozens of children and visitors enjoyed a lifesaving drill action on September 16th with these electric boards during the Master of the Ocean 2021 Community Day. Kymera DR not only provided the gear for the drills, but they have been present during the whole Master of the Ocean 2021 Event.
In the early afternoon at about 2.15 pm, the wind picked up to about 17 to 20 knots and the Expression Session Kite Final was held with 2 men and 2 women- Manuel Selman (Chile), Luciano Gonzalez (Dominican Republic), Peri Roberts (Australia) and Imma Nin Franch (Spain). The judges based their scores on the best two waves and one trick. The women in this heat displayed amazing technique and powerful moves on the waves and were at an equal level to the men. Luciano Gonzalez (Dominican Republic) caught a very long wave in this heat on which he completed many maneuvers. The crowd on the beach was thrilled with the action. Winners will be announced during the Awards Ceremony on Saturday, September 18th.
The next heat of the afternoon was an exciting all-women Expression Session wing foil heat with Samuela Mule (Italy), Paola Novotna (Czech Republic) and Audrey Meyer (France). Paola Novotna (Czech Republic) really showed that she has been practicing this new sport a lot in these past 2 years with an impressive display of wing foil techniques on the waves. Audrey Meyer (France) was able to get going after 5 minutes trying to get past the reef as conditions were not ideal for this heat. It is tricky for the athletes as the reef is right in front of the competition site and it is not easy to get up on the foil and out. Samuela Mule (Italy) struggled to get out in the heat in the difficult conditions and when she fell she stepped on a sea urchin as it was quite shallow and her foil hit the reef. She displayed bravery and was kindly rescued by the Kymera DR jet boards and brought to safety on shore. Advancing to the wing foil finals is Paula Novotna (Czech Republic) and Audrey Meyer (France).
The following heat of the breezy afternoon with about 20 knots of wind was the Team Kite semi-final with Jose Luis Ciriaco (Dominican Republic) for Team Cocotazo, Luciano Gonzalez for Team Dominican Republic, Imma Nin Franch (Spain) for Team Caribe Connection and Joselito del Rosario (Dominican Republic) for Team Carambola. This was a fantastic heat with flashy moves and the crowds were cheering, Joselito del Rosario (Dominican Republic) was kiting up the beach a lot to get upwind and in the best position in front of the judges´ tower and Luciano Gonzalez´ heat flowed a lot better as he was able to stay in the water a long time and ride waves consistently. Jose Luis Ciriaco (Dominican Republic) also went upwind on the beach many times to get in the best position for maneuvers. Imma Nin Franch (Spain) displayed beautiful style in the waves. The riders that advanced will be announced on September 18th during the last day of the Master of the Ocean 2021.
The second Wing Foil heat for the men at about 3.30 pm saw Austin Kalama (Hawaii), Manuel Selman (Germany) and Diego Anta (Spain) going head to head. Manuel Selman (Chile) was able to ride during the whole heat and got many waves while also completing jumps. Austin Kalama (Hawaii) got the best moderate-sized wave of the day on the wing foil and was able to ride beautifully. He accidentally fell and struggled for a long time because of the difficult conditions. Manuel Selman (Chile) and Austin Kalama (Hawaii) advanced to the Final Wing Foil with Diego Anta (Spain) remaining in 3rd place.
After an intense day filled with action from four watersports, the 4th day of the Master of the Ocean 2021 wound down with tropical beats as the wind died around 4 pm. Again, despite the changing conditions and nature ruling, the 4th day was very exciting with an impressive display of skill for the crowds. The evening ended with a lovely cocktail party put on by the Germany Embassy at Villa Taina Hotel for the Master of the Ocean 2021 athletes, competition organizers, VIPS and press. Katrin Werdermann, deputy head of the German Embassy in Santo Domingo, was present with other officials to greet the guests during a lovely tropical evening in Cabarete. Get ready for the 5th and final day of the Master of the Ocean 2021 day full of exciting final heats and action tomorrow followed by the Awards Ceremony in the evening!
Thanks to Master of the Ocean photographers @wolfphotographe and @karlavoleau.
For more information, please visit masteroftheocean.org and its social networks on Instagram and Facebook. Also you may email Patricia Hiraldo at patricia.hiraldo@gmail.com.
Photo credits: @wolfphotographe
