Pacasmayo Wave Classic – Day 2

by Simeon Glasson on 5 Sep 2017 On day two here in Pacasmayo the conditions dawned with 4.5 to 5.0 wind and over head high sets so the contest was on!

After a big welcome from IWT Director Sam Bittner and 10am briefing at the El Faro Resort in English and Spanish the competitors were primed and ready to hit the water for the first rounds of our Amateurs, Women, Youth and Masters divisions.

We set up our mobile judging HQ in the dunes about 400m downwind from the point to get the best views of the best waves of the day. Once the judges were set up, local event organizer and owner of El Faro Resort Jaime Rojas turned on his massive music system from the back of a battered old tuk tuk and the place BURST into life!

First out were the Amateurs in round one. One of our overall tour leaders Tom Soltysiak from Canada had a set wave and showed his strong flowing style but the talented Chilean youth Joaquin Desriviers pushed just a little bit harder and went more vertical for an impressive performance to take the win. Both sailors advanced to round three. Omar Castro from Colombia and Jason Hale from Australia couldn't match them on the day and will now fight their way back into the game from the repechage heats in round two.

Next up we had local Peruvian hero William Perez show his aggressive top turn hacks. Perez came out just on top after going wave for wave with Boris Van Cauteren (Belgium) and Peter Kimball (US). Perez and Van Cauteren advance to round three. Kimball and Alejandro head to the repecharge.

In the third Amateur heat head judge Simeon Glasson went up against Christian Lavelli (Italy), Ferdinando Ramirez (Spain) and Roberto Carrasco (Chile). It was a close run heat with lots of waves, Lavelli picking up a couple of set waves and displaying his smooth surfing style but the heat went to Glasson with a 2-1 decision from the judges thanks to his more aggressive style and slightly better wave selection. Glasson and Lavelli advance.

The fourth and final Amateur heat of the day saw Baja Amateur Champion Jonathan Pooley (UK) take on Raul Reiner (Chile), Carlos Gomez (Spain), and Mario Nunes (Chile). Pooley took two bomb set waves and displayed great wave reading with well timed smooth lip hits to take the heat ahead of Reiner with both advancing.

The first youth heat saw some impressive sailing from first time wave event competitor Sabine Zola (Italy). Zola, who only started wavesailing in Tenerife one year ago, has already developed a smooth rail-to-rail flowing style. Smooth style wasn't quite enough to combat the aggressive critical moves from local rider William Perez or Chilean rider Joaquin Desriviers who both had great waves.

Desriviers took the top spot impressing the judges with his more vertical wave riding. Local youth heartthrob Alessio Botteri was sidelined with an ankle injury for the first youth heat. Botteri didn't let his injury get him down and he sat in to be a judge like the good sport that he is.

After five long heats (22 minutes with three minute transitions) sitting in the fine-sand filled wind and strong sun, we had a change of judges so the UV rays didn't fry anyone. Special thanks go out to Chris Freeman for stepping in as acting head judge while Simeon competed.

The second half of the afternoon kicked off with the first rounds of the Women's and Masters divisions. The first women's heat, as described by Gisela Bigliel (Switzerland) was 'the killing zone!' PWA sailor Maria Andres (Spain), Baja winner Annamaria Zollet (Italy), and local champion Denise Blondet (Peru) made it a tough heat! The women's fleet at this event is one of the largest and strongest the IWT has seen in years.

Andres’ competition experience and training stood out from the start with exceptionally good wave selection combined with well-timed critical hits giving her a dominant winning performance. The battle for second between Zollet and Blondet was tight but Zollet took second after Andres with her better bottom to top turn combinations.

The second women's heat saw Leysa Perotti (Argentina) out-sail IWT Barbados champion Flora Vergnol (France). Both riders picked off nice set waves, riding long down the line.

The third women's heat saw youth Sabine Zola take first with her smooth rail-to-rail transitions ahead of Bjorte Purshel (Chile) and the IWT's own Sam Bitter (US). Purshel and Bittner took second and third respectively.

The first round of the Masters completed the day. Despite suffering from a heavy cold that had him passed out on the grassy dunes for much of the afternoon, Jonathan Pooley charged out to pick off great set waves with smooth rides to win the heat ahead of Yerko Radovic (Chile) and Peter Kimball (US).

The final heat of the day saw Simeon Glasson dominate on one of his first waves, scoring a 9.5 and impressing all the judges with his aggressive top turns. Glasson will join his rival Jonathan Pooley in the final. Raul Reiner (Chile) sailed a strong heat for second and George Schobert (Germany) picked up third.

The day was a great success with smiles all round. Everyone enjoyed an evening of pisco sours, beer, ping pong, and Physio therapy for the walking wounded thanks to Melissa Yurivilca Espinoza of Fisiobio who is working wonders keeping us all fit and functional!