Day 6: Newly crowned World Champion Iballa Moreno in the hot seat

On Day 6 of the Starboard Severne Aloha Classic the decision was made early on to release the PWA men’s and women’s fleets, due to the swell having dropped significantly from the previous day. However, it wasn’t a lay day in Ho’okipa as the AWT fleet resumed their contest.

During the downtime today, we took the opportunity to catch up with the newly crowned PWA Wave World Champion, Iballa Moreno:

PWA: How does it feel to officially be the 2014 PWA Wave World Champion?

Iballa: “I wasn’t coming to Maui with this in my head… Only had good memories from 2006 and wanted to come and enjoy the waves again. I missed sailing this tack and I was looking forward to ride some proper waves only.

Daida didn’t have the heats she wanted and it put me in a position to win the tittle. So I was lucky in that way! I was consistent this season and that was a pay off. I’m sure if we had more events on tour, and with a discard, Daida would have had all the chances to win, but with no discards and not able to make any mistakes, I was in an advantage by making the finals in the Aloha Classic.

What does it feel like? I’m happy we are both in top two rankings again!”

PWA: This is World Title #6 for you, do any of them standout from the others and if so why?

Iballa: “Not sure if this is my PWA title number 5? All I know is that my first event win ever was the Aloha Classic in 2006 and this one could be the fourth one… so I didn’t win many events in my career due the lack of conditions like this and because simply Daida is better sailor than me on port tack - especially in jumps. I’m very happy I won the title this year, so it may give a bit more of emotions into the tour ;)”

PWA: On the day of competition, what equipment were you on?

Iballa: “I was sailing the whole competition on my Severne Blade 4.7m² and my Starboard Quad 69... That is an incredible combo in these conditions! With 8 cm front fins and 13.5 cm back fins… small but for my weight it was just perfect.”

PWA: Coming into the final event of the year were you thinking about the possibility of being able to be come World Champ, or just trying to concentrate on taking it heat-by-heat?

Iballa: “I was just trying to have fun in the waves… and ride as I can. I knew I could get a title but since it wasn’t depending 100% on me, I just concentrated on going in the water and enjoy every ride possible ;).”

PWA: How are you feeling about trying to defend your Aloha Classic single elimination crown? And is it tough waiting around now?

Iballa: Yes, getting pretty nervous! But at the same time really exciting! I think Junko [Nagoshi] is going to come back strong against Tiffany [Ward], but she won’t let Junko have it too easy. And Fiona... She is amazing in this conditions and super stoked to see young blood on tour! I hope she comes and join us in more events from PWA in the other tack like Pozo Izquierdo or Tenerife. Meanwhile, I will be having some fun with her on the Stand Up Tour as she is also competing with me on some of the SUP Surf events.

Let's see how the double finishes... I surely will like to maintain the level and if I surf like I normally do and if I do lose the heat I will be still happy I made the finals and lost against someone better than me.”

PWA: Thanks, Iballa, and once again a huge congratulations to you on the 2014 world title.

A potential twist in the title race:

Thomas Traversa, who is currently in pole position to claim his maiden world crown, suffered an injury earlier today, but the full extent is yet to be fully diagnosed. However, early indications suggest that the Frenchman has potentially suffered a torn lateral muscle. This could of course have title implication for TT, but only if Victor Fernandez is first able to defeat Marcilio ‘Brawzinho’ Browne.

The forecast for tomorrow offers potential for the competition to resume, but the official call will be made at 10 AM tomorrow morning at the skippers’ meeting. If conditions are suitable don’t miss any of the action by tuning in. You’ll be able to follow everything as it happens via the PWA live stream and live ticker.

Day 5 of the Starboard Severne Aloha Classic saw the PWA contest continue with the resumption of the men’s and women’s double eliminations. The swell today was much smaller than on the previous couple of days, but the smaller waves offered greater performance riding with more tricks being thrown than on the previous days. After another full day of contest only the top four men and women remain in the battle for the prestigious Aloha Classic titles - currently Morgan Noireaux and Iballa Moreno hold pole positions, but that could all change by the end of the double eliminations.

Women’s Overall Top 3 Decided

The biggest news from today is that Iballa Moreno is officially the 2014 PWA Wave World Champion, reclaiming her title from 2012 after another epic battle with her sister Daida Moreno who takes home an excellent second place with two event victories out of three to her name.

Iballa Moreno on winning the single elimination and world crown:

“Obviously, yesterday was a really good day for me. It was a special day because I won the final and being able to defeat three local girls, who were all ripping, felt special. I was stoked to learn that I had won. In the final I found the big section I had been looking for my big aerial which I think was missing from previous heats, and I think that made the difference. Being carried up the beach by Dany [Bruch] and my sister [Daida Moreno] was really special, after Sam Bittner had pointed out that I had won coming off the water.”

“To be honest I didn’t even know the ranking situation coming in to today, but I’m obviously delighted with the outcome. I was already really happy about being in the Top 2 at the Aloha Classic. It’s already a dream come true for me. The last time we were here was 2006 and I won that event, it’s one of the most special wins of my career - especially because I haven’t won that many events.”

The biggest mover of the day though was Alice Arutkin who won four consecutive heats to rise from 13th place in the single elimination to 5th place in the double. However, her heat against Maria Andrés had a lot riding upon it. If the French beauty could defeat her Spanish rival then she would rise to third overall in the world rankings, claiming her place on the prestigious podium for the first time in her career, and that’s exactly what she managed to do with more fluid riding, which had continually impressed the judges over the course of the day.

However, Junko Nagoshi proved to be a step too far for Arutkin as her incredible comeback through the double was ended in Heat 30, as the Japanese ripper showed better wave selection and execution with several vertical, snappy turns.

Maria Andres and Sarah-Quita Offringa were the other biggest movers of the day as both of them won three heats in a row. With the former making her debut on the PWA Wave World Tour and eventually finishing the event in an excellent 6th place. Meanwhile, Offringa looked to improve with almost every wave as she fought back from the first round to fight back into eighth place.

Men’s Double Elimination - Battle of the One’s

Heat 28 saw the battle of the one’s as KA-1111 - Jason Polakow, USA-1 - Graham Ezzy, V-111 - Ricardo Campello and US-1111 - Robby Naish lined up against each other in the battle of the old school legends versus the new school rippers. In the end Campello and Ezzy booked their place in the next round, as the new school trickery won out in the smaller waves, but Naish’s and Polakow’s top to bottom wave riding was second to none with wave after wave of vertical, late hits and aerials as they took home 7th and 8th place respectively.

Graham Ezzy enjoyed his best day to date on the PWA Wave World Tour, in his own backyard, as he claimed fifth place overall, having won five heats in a row in the double elimination, Ezzy used his local knowledge to full affect as he combined powerful turns with tweaked aerials, silky smooth takas and superb one-handed goiters, however he ran into Marcilio ‘Brawzinho’ Browne in Heat 30, who was in untouchable form to halt the American’s rampage.

In Heat 30, Brawzinho racked up the highest scoring heat of the contest so far, as he issued a warning to the remaining three sailors - Victor Fernandez, Thomas Traversa and Morgan Noireaux. Browne sailed an almost perfect heat as he posted two wave scores of 9.5 and 9.27 points as he linked powerful gouging hacks, with a combination of stunning air takas, goiters and one-handed goiters, as the Brazilian gave an evening masterclass. Browne now has the potential to pip Ricardo Campello into third place in the overall rankings, but only if he is able to defeat Victor Fernandez to claim third place or better in the double elimination.

Wave Move of the Day

Ricardo Campello had to settle for 6th place, but the Brazilian/Venezuelan was in inspired form today and, for the time being at least, has put himself into pole position for the Dunkerbeck Eyewear Best Wave Move contest, after landing a quite incredible and massive goiter, which he then backed up with a powerful hack to earn 9.88 points. The highest scoring wave of the contest.

Tomorrow looks windy again with a similar swell to today with 1.9 m waves predicted, compared to 2 meters from today. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10 AM with the first possible start at 10:30 AM. Don’t miss any of the enthralling action by tuning into PWA World Tour.com where you’ll be able to see all the action as it happens via the PWA live stream and live ticker.

The second day of the PWA contest at the Starboard Severne Aloha Classic saw more fantastic action as Ho’okipa continued to deliver. Today saw another full day of competition with set waves mainly in the logo to mast high region as both the men’s and women’s single eliminations were completed. Iballa Moreno dominated in the women’s division, which sees her rise to the top of the overall rankings for the first time in 2014, in the final event of the year, whilst 20-year old Morgan Noireaux claimed his maiden victory on the PWA Wave World Tour with an outstanding display of sailing in the most tightly contested heat of the day. Meanwhile, Thomas Traversa is now on the verge of his first world crown after claiming second in the single.

Men’s Single Elimination

The men’s single elimination resumed with the second semifinal featuring Ricardo Campello, Boujmaa Guilloul, Morgan Noireaux and title challenger Victor Fernandez. The Spaniard entered the heat knowing he needed to qualify from the semis to keep the pressure on Thomas Traversa, otherwise he would face an extremely tough road back through the double elimination, and that’s exactly what Fernandez managed to do with a polished display. The 2010 World Champion was clearly in the mood today as he exploded from the word go with three explosive turns and a sick frontside 360 to earn 9.375 points, which happens to be the joint second highest scoring wave of the contest - equal with Brawzinho. Also advancing into the four man final was Morgan Noireaux, who won the second semi, but his performance in the final was even better.

Men's Single Elimination - Winners’ Final

The four man final saw a truly exceptional heat of sailing in what PWA head judge Duncan Coombs classed as one of the best heats he’s ever seen featuring Morgan Noireaux, Victor Fernandez, Thomas Traversa and Marcilio ‘Brawzinho’ Browne. All four sailors showed several moments of brilliance as they rose to the occasion under the pressure, however as always there could only be one winner. As well as battling for the prestigious title of the Aloha Classic, Fernandez and Traversa were also engaged in a battle of their own for the world title. Coming into the final heat of the single elimination, Fernandez needed to beat Traversa by at least two places to topple the Frenchman from the top of the standings, but could he do it? Unfortunately not. Despite another excellent display, Fernandez couldn’t quite muscle Traversa out of the way, as TT claimed second place - 1.62 points ahead of Fernandez in third. This means that Traversa is now on the verge of his maiden world title, as Fernandez now needs to win the event, beating Traversa in the process, to snatch the title. On his way to second, Traversa, nailed a frontside 360 and a sick under the lip aerial, as well as picking up an over mast high wave from out the back and destroying it all the way to the inside.

However, it was Noireaux who stole the show with near perfect scores across the board with back-to-back waves of 9 and 9.25 points - the latter was undoubtedly the wave of the day, as the Hawaiian killed another wave to set the beach alive with cheers after tweaking a sick aerial, straight into a hell turn, before finishing with a silky smooth taka. And after such a polished display, Noireaux, was deservedly crowned the single elimination champion, much to the delight of the local crowd.

Wave Move of the Day

Marcilio ‘Brawzinho’ Browne made a slightly slow start to the final, but produced one of the moments of the day before the end as he took things to another level. The Brazilian looked as though he was winding up for something big and that’s exactly what he managed to do as he launched into an absolutely amazing air taka, which was landed fully planing in the flats and it is difficult to see anyone pipping him to the Dunkerbeck Eyewear Best Move prize.

Men's Double Elimination

The men’s double elimination started soon after the completion of the single eliminations and the opening seven heats have been completed. So far, Antoine Martin and Robby Swift are the two sailors to have made the most progress having won both of their opening two heats.

Women’s Single Elimination - Winners’ Final

The women’s winners’ final saw Iballa Moreno, Fiona Wylde, Tiffany Ward and Junko Nagoshi lining up against each other in the battle for the Aloha Classic. However, with Daida Moreno taking an early exit in the single elimination, the door was opened for Iballa to head to the top of the overalls for the first time this year… a chance she would duly take.

In the rounds leading up to the final, Iballa had been constantly searching for an aerial without much joy but in the final that all changed as she launched into a massive aerial backed up with two vertical, snappy turns to earn 9.5 points, which essentially secured the victory. However, 17-year old Fiona Wylde pushed Iballa all the way in her first PWA event, as she impressed throughout the single elimination with her fluid top to bottom wave riding earning which eventually earned her second place. Meanwhile, Tiffany Ward secured the final place on the podium with her rail to rail riding securing the deal against Nagoshi, who had to settle for 4th for the moment at least.

Meanwhile, Amanda Beenen claimed joint fifth place alongside Sarah Hauser, Jessica Crisp and Tatiana Howard. As things stand, Beenen currently rises into 3rd place overall, over Steffi Wahl who was sailing through the pain barrier.

An Uphill Challenge

In order for Daida to retain her title, the reigning world champ will need to rampage back through the double to third place overall, or for Iballa to drop back to second, in which case fourth place would see Daida take the title on a tie break due to beating Iballa more times this season.

The forecast for tomorrow promises more wind and waves and the skippers’ meeting has been called for 9 AM again, with the action commencing from 10 AM. Don’t miss any of the incredible action by tuning into PWA World Tour where you’ll be able to follow everything as it happens via the PWA live stream and live ticker.

Results After Single Elimination - Men’s Wave

1st Morgan Noireaux2nd Thomas Traversa3rd Victor Fernandez4th Marcilio Browne5th Robby Naish5th Alex Mussolini5th Boujmaa Guilloul5th Ricardo Campello

Results After Single Elimination - Women’s Wave

1st Iballa Moreno2nd Fiona Wylde3rd Tiffany Ward4th Junko Nagoshi5th Sarah Hauser5th Jessics Crisp5th Amanda Beenen

After the first day of the PWA contest of the Starboard Severne Aloha Classic the title race still hangs in the balance with all three contenders - Thomas Traversa, Victor Fernandez and Ricardo Campello - still in the single elimination, with just one semifinal and the final to be sailed. Traversa holds the advantage at the moment though as he is the only man to have booked his place in the final, whilst Fernandez and Campello must navigate their way past AWT Pro Fleet winner Boujmaa Guilloul and Morgan Noireaux, respectively. Ho’okipa was firing from the word go and conditions improved throughout the day with over mast high bombs rolling in.

Men’s Single Elimination

In the opening round of the single elimination, Robby Naish and Scott McKercher took down PWA regulars, Robby Swift and John Skye in Heat 3 as the two former champions showed they still have what it takes to compete at the very top of the sport, with Naish progressing all the way into joint 5th after consistently showing superior wave selection and execution as showed off his flowing and fluid style, whilst staying right in the pocket of the wave.

Elsewhere in the first round, Graham Ezzy and Jason Polakow advanced past 2 x PWA Wave World Champion Philip Köster and Casey Hauser, but the biggest shock came in Heat 6 as last year’s Aloha Classic winner, Levi Siver, was knocked out by Morgan Noireaux and title challenger Ricardo Campello.

Marcilio ‘Brawzinho’ Browne was one of the standout sailors today and he recorded the highest scoring heat of the day in Heat 9 where the Brazilian produced the highest scoring wave, which consisted of two critical, vertical turns under the lip before racing down-the-line and rotating through a perfect goiter to be awarded 9.38 points.

Thomas Traversa didn’t show any sign of nerves at any point today as he kept his title charge firmly on track with wave after brilliant wave. The Frenchman could’ve been forgiven for looking a little shaky with so much on the line, but TT reveled under the pressure - if anything - as he posted three out of the top six scoring waves - 9 points, 8.7 points and 8.5 points respectively. Traversa demonstrated brilliant reading of the wave as he hit the lip time-after-time in his usual fluid manner, as well as boosting several stunning aerials, including a one-handed rail grab.

Ricardo Campello took his second chance in Heat 11 which required a re-sail due to a timing error with the flags. Originally Morgan Noireaux and Jason Polakow had advanced, with Polakow unleashing the wave of the day on a monster set - receiving almost perfect scores with 9.75 points. The Australian delivered two of his trademark super vertical turns, whilst charging for the lip, before ending the wave with a sick tweaked aerial. However, whilst Noireaux successfully navigated his way into the top two again, unfortunately Polakow couldn’t quite repeat his earlier heroics as Campello pulled it out of the bag with two great waves to advance - which crucially keeps his title hopes alive.

Wave Move of the Day

Alex Mussolini claimed the best wave move of the day as the Spaniard picked up a mast high bomb from out the back before unleashing one of his trademark frontside wave 360s, right in the critical section.

As Things Currently Stand

Thomas Traversa holds a commanding position as the only man to have secured his place in the final. In order for Victor Fernandez to head to the top of the rankings by the end of the single elimination, the Spaniard must first navigate his way through the second semifinal, before beating Traversa by at least one place in the four man final. Meanwhile, Ricardo Campello’s title challenge hangs by the skin of his teeth, and his fate is now out of his own hands. Campello cannot lead the world rankings even if he is able to win the single, but still has a slim chance in the double, but only if Traversa finishes 4th, as Campello would require Traversa to drop back to 5th place, whilst also winning the event and seeing Fernandez finish worse than 5th too.

Tomorrow is set to be another superb day at Ho’okipa, which should see the single elimination completed before the start of the women’s single elimination and the double. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 9 AM tomorrow morning with the action commencing from 10 AM. Don’t miss any of the incredible action by tuning into www.pwaworldtour.com, where you’ll be able to follow everything as it happens via the PWA live stream and live ticker.

Tomorrow will also see a North Shore clean up from Baldwin Beach to Ho’okipa Beach Park, meeting at 9 AM at Baldwin and running until 12 PM. There will also a post event clean up on the 12th November hosted by +H2O as well.+H2O is a Maui based organization founded by professional athletes bringing together a community of athletes, conservationists, non-profits and companies to facilitate local solutions on a global scale.

On Day 2 of the Starboard Severne PWA Aloha Classic the swell size increased significantly with mast high sets rolling into Ho’okipa throughout the day. However, with a strong inside current combined with slightly flukey wind on the inside, getting out was an art in itself as the sailors navigated their way precariously past the waiting rocks. After a full day of contest, Boujmaa Guilloul was clearly delighted to be crowned the champion of the AWT, ahead of the start of the PWA elimination.

AWT Winners’ Final

Boujmaa Guilloul lined up against Kevin Pritchard in the winners’ final after the duo defeated Jason Polakow and Josh Stone in the semifinals, and then continued to tear Ho’okipa to pieces in an enthralling final. Both Boujmaa and KP delivered perfectly timed, gouging turns on carefully selected set waves, as well as aerials, goiters and frontside 360s to make life extremely hard for the judges. However, after much deliberation it was eventually revealed that Boujmaa Guilloul had managed to defeat Kevin Pritchard to take the crown at Ho’okipa. However, Kevin's performance allowed him to claim the 2014 AWT Tour Champion title, after a very good year on tour.

Boujmaa Guilloul reacts to winning the AWT Pro Division:

"I was really surprised about where I got to; I couldn’t believe it. By the time I made it to the final I didn’t care, as I knew the worst I could get was second, so I just sailed and had fun. Apparently I sailed better than KP who was absolutely ripping, which I just couldn’t believe.”

With so many windsurfing greats already competing in the event, we are delighted to reveal that windsurfing legend Robby Naish will also be participating in the trials tomorrow morning. With a great forecast on offer, Naish will be charging to qualify for the main event, along Scott McKercher and Timo Mullen.

The forecast for tomorrow looks fantastic with waves between 2.2 meters and 2.4 meters at 12 seconds being predicted which should result in even bigger waves than today, combined with winds of 16 to 21 knots on the WindGuru, which should equate to much more on the water. Registration tomorrow will take place between 8:30 AM and 10 AM, before the action commences from 10:30 AM, starting with the trials. Don’t miss any of the incredible action by tuning into PWA World Tour. Here you’ll be able to follow the event as it happens via the PWA live stream and live ticker.

Results AWT Pro Fleet - Starboard Severne Aloha Classic

1st Boujmaa Guilloul2nd Kevin Pritchard3rd Josh Stone4th Jason Polakow

In the meantime, here's quick edit put together by Timo Mullen of today's final between Boujmaa and KP:

On the opening day of the Starboard Severne PWA Aloha Classic - in association with the American Windsurfing Tour (AWT) - the opening one and a half rounds of the AWT Pro division was completed. The AWT is run as a single elimination, so just as the ASP, with the winners of the first round jumping to round three, whilst the third place sailors are given a second chance in the repechage.

Today saw 16-minute heats with two waves to count. The swell started out very small this morning, but built throughout the day with head high sets rolling into Ho’okipa Beach Park. Standout sailors from the first day of sailing include reigning world champion - Marcilio ‘Brawzinho’ Browne, Morgan Noireaux, Josh Stone, AWT title challenger Kevin Pritchard, Boujmaa Guilloul and Antoine Martin. Scott McKercher also entered the event at the last minute and showed he still has it, with his signature power gouges.

Meanwhile, Robby Swift successfully started his comeback in the repechage, having missed out on a place in the top two from Heat 2.

Earlier in the day we caught up with the bosses of both the PWA and AWT:

Firstly, PWA Tour Manager, Rich Page:

“The Aloha Classic has always been an important part of the World Tour, it symbolizes some of the purest forms of the sport and its interaction with the elements. AWT and PWA have worked hard since the 2013 event to ensure the success of this year’s contest and we are very grateful to have the support of Severne and Starboard who have made the event possible. This year’s event promises to be bigger and better than last year, with a full PWA women’s fleet joining the line-up, and we have a close World Championship title race to be decided, so the action will be explosive to watch and nail biting to follow as we go down to the wire to decide the 2014 wave champions.”

Head of the AWT, Sam Bittner:

“This is year 4 and I’m really grateful for the county of Maui as well as Starboard and Severne Sails for supporting the event. I’m also really glad to have the PWA back again this year, we’re working together for the second time. I’m stoked to see so many sailors from the PWA attending the event. I’m also delighted by the amount of amateurs we have here, we have over 150 competitors all together at Ho’okipa for the next two weeks, so it’s going to be quite a show. It’s a circus out here, but I’m going to be taming the animals. [laughs]”

The forecast for tomorrow looks good with slightly stronger winds and a bigger swell being predicted for tomorrow, which should hopefully enable the AWT Pro fleet to be completed, ahead of the start of the PWA. The sailors involved in the PWA will be registering on the morning of the 31st October, with the first possible start later that day. Stay tuned!

- Text and pictures are courtesy of John Carter & Si Crowther / PWA World Tour & AWT -