Morgan Noireaux HI-101 reports about his victory of the Aloha Classic’s single elimination:

This year the Aloha started straight away in some giant conditions. The channel was closing out for much of the first day of competition. Luckily for me I as in the last heat of the day and I got to enjoy some nice groomed waves as a nice warm up to the rest of the event.

The second day of competition was quite a bit better. The waves were smaller but still had some mast high sets and the wind direction improved throughout the day. Having won last year I tried not to put any extra pressure on myself. I knew that winning the same event in a row is quite difficult so my first goal was to make it to the final. On the way through the rounds I won all of my heats so I gained some confidence from that.

The final was run just before 5pm as the wind was starting to get lighter and lighter. Because of this the head judge decided to make our final 35 minutes, giving us all time to catch a few waves. Since the wind was so light winning had a lot to do with positioning. On the outside we were all trying to be in the right spot to catch to bigger sets. If you were to far in the person outside of you would catch it and if you were to far out you would not be able to catch them started off the heat well catching my two first waves in quick succession. These two waves ended up being my scoring waves.

My gear once again played a crucial part in my win, having boards I’m so comfortable with is a big advantage. I’m super happy to have won the single elimination. I’m in a great position for the double elimination, so I’m going to do my best and stay focused for my last heat!

Aloha,MorganHI-101

Now the tension is rising, because the forecasts indicate that the wind shall be strong enought to complete the double elimination, too!

Photo: John Carter / PWA