PWA Cold Hawaii World Cup - Intriguing battle ensues on day 3

by Chris Yates on 19 Sep 2013 At the PWA Cold Hawaii World Cup, wall-to-wall sunshine replaced yesterday’s cloudy skies on day three as Cold Hawaii once again demonstrated its world class potential, with brilliant waves. With no wind unfortunately predicted, the decision was made to hold a Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) contest, which saw the pros take on the locals from two o’clock.

An intriguing battle ensued as each of the competitors took full advantage of the clean, peeling waves to produce a fantastic display for the crowds.

With the excellent conditions on offer, head judge Duncan Coombs made the decision to run fifteen-minute heats with two waves to count. In the opening heat local boy Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde) excelled as he showed superb speed on the wave combined with fluid, aggressive turns to win the heat ahead of Moritz Mauch (Starboard / North). However, Klaas Voget (Fanatic / Simmer / MFC), Robby Swift (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) and Christoffer Holler all missed out on a place in the semifinals.

Into heat two and Peter Steinfaht stole the show to clinch the first qualifying spot, closely followed by Marcilio ‘Brawzinho’ Browne (Goya Windsurfing / MFC). The remaining qualifying places from heat three and four went to Dany Bruch (Starboard / Severne / AL360), Robert Storm, Dario Ojeda (Tabou / Gaastra / MFC / AL360) and lastly, local, Christian Brand.

The first semifinal saw Sebastian Kornum come out on top as he managed to defeat Moritz Mauch - who had defeated him in the first heat. Kornum’s speed on the wave once again impressed the judges as he linked three powerful frontside hacks on one wave to take control of the heat. Marcilio Browne made a strong start to the heat, but Mauch held his nerve to fight back and also book his place in the final.

Dany Bruch looked in complete control in the second semifinal as he convincingly booked his place in the final, scoring 6.5 points for a single ride. Meanwhile, Dario Ojeda saw off the competition of Robert Storm and Christian Brand to also advance into the final four.

The hopes of a local champion fell solely on the shoulders of Sebastian Kornum as he took on, Mauch, Bruch and Ojeda in the final. The Danish man’s best wave of the heat came in the dying seconds as he propelled himself off the lip into a frontside air, however it wasn’t enough as Bruch consistently hunted out set waves, before ripping them apart to clinch the victory - earning him a little bit of revenge over Mauch after yesterday’s defeat. Meanwhile, Ojeda secured the final podium position with Mauch in fourth.

Results of SUP Contest:

1st Dany Bruch (Starboard / Severne / AL360)
2nd Sebastian Kornum (JP / NeilPryde)
3rd Dario Ojeda (Tabou / Gaastra / MFC / Al360)
4th Moritz Mauch (Starboard / North)

All hopes are now pinned on Saturday for wind, with the latest forecast predicting winds of 20-25 knots, which would hopefully enable the single elimination to be concluded here in Cold Hawaii. The skippers’ meeting tomorrow has been called for 10am with the first possible start at PWA World Cold Hawaii event website