WEDNESDAY 24 MAY, 2006
\nTAVARUA, FIJI<\/p>\n
GLOBE WCT FIJI
\n21 MAY to 2 JUNE <\/p>\n
LIVE on www.globefiji.com or www.aspworldtour.com<\/p>\n
It was another stellar day in paradise today at the Globe WCT Fiji with competitors in round three revelling in the superb two metre (six foot) plus waves breaking at Cloudbreak today. <\/p>\n
And with all surfers turning on some phenomenal performances, especially in the extra smooth conditions of the early morning, the standout of the day was Tim Reyes (USA) who posted an 18.06 out of a possible 20 to defeat tube specialist Bruce Irons (HAW).The diminutive Reyes picked up the ball at the very beginning of his heat, locking in an 8.83 for a horrendously deep and long tube ride, then ran all the way to the touch line as he dusted off Irons in fine style. <\/p>\n
With Irons waiting patiently for the biggest waves on offer, Reyes was working away on the inside section getting deep, deep barrels on his backhand. <\/p>\n
Irons launched a comeback with eight minutes to go after a scorching barrel had him back in the firing line when he scored an 8.10 \u0096 but it was all too late and Reyes was home and hosed.<\/p>\n
\u0093Bruce is capable of pretty much anything. He is one of the best backside tube riders in the world,\u0094 said a beaming Reyes. \u0093His style pretty much suits any tube the world has to offer. I knew I had to get a couple of deep ones so I paddled way up the point which was making it really hard to beat the section but I scored some amazing waves.<\/p>\n
\u0093Bruce had priority for a while so I just kept working away. It seemed like the best waves were the ones that looked like they were going to close out and they were the ones I was going for.\u0094<\/p>\n
Reyes has been on a roll throughout 2006 and is going from strength to strength in each heat he surfs. He claims he has finally shaken off the rookie nerves that had plagued him in 2005.<\/p>\n
\u0093I guess this year I\u0092ve overcome the nerves,\u0094 said Reyes. \u0093I\u0092ve never been a fan of my own surfing and I\u0092ve never felt comfortable with everyone watching me surf. That\u0092s probably the only thing that is different. I\u0092m just working on that.\u0094<\/p>\n
Reyes will now face Nathan Hedge (AUS) in round four. <\/p>\n
Also upping the ante today was tube maestro Damien Hobgood with the powerful goofyfooter being virtually untouchable right from the outset of heat four of round three where he easily disposed of Chris Ward (USA). <\/p>\n
The likable Floridian pulled into some of the most unbelievable barrels seen in the event to date and notched up a heat total of 18.00.<\/p>\n
And while Ward was going for a few moves early and managed to put away a few backhand turns, he was no match for Hobgood, being \u0093comboed\u0094 or needing two good scoring waves to overtake Hobgood for the lead. <\/p>\n
On his best wave \u0096 a 9.50 \u0096 Hobgood dropped in excruciatingly late and with a wide stance he managed to scrape around the section and get tight inside for five seconds plus. <\/p>\n
It was just one of those perfect memorable moments in surfing where adrenalin takes over from rational thought.<\/p>\n
\u0093The sun came out and really glassed it off out there,\u0094 said Hobgood. \u0093I knew the tide was about to turn and luckily it did in my heat. I don\u0092t seem to worry about anything else out there in conditions like this, I just let adrenalin take over and it\u0092s just all about me and the waves. It doesn\u0092t even feel like a competition out there it was so much fun!\u0094<\/p>\n
Even though Ward was a long way behind Hobgood was still wary of him mounting a comeback since the waves were extra special and Ward is brimming with natural ability.<\/p>\n
\u0093Despite Wardo being comboed it\u0092s still very easy out there to come from behind and win,\u0094 said Hobgood. \u0093There were a few waves out there that Wardo could easily have caught and come back at me for sure, but luckily he didn\u0092t.\u0094<\/p>\n
Australian Darren O\u0092Rafferty (AUS) caused an upset when he brought down Foster\u0092s ASP Men\u0092s World Tour legend Mark Occhilupo (AUS). <\/p>\n
The win was no mean feat given that the man they call Occy is in the best form of his career and is right at home in the Cloudbreak grinders. <\/p>\n
O\u0092Rafferty was solid, executing some big open-faced gouges and never let Occhilupo in the door right from the first tick of the clock. <\/p>\n
\u0093The heat between Occy and I was a little slow and you had to be really lucky,\u0094 said O\u0092Rafferty. \u0093I had two really good waves that ran all the way down the point and got me the scores that I needed while Occy just couldn\u0092t find any.\u0094<\/p>\n
O\u0092Rafferty is slowly creeping up the ratings this year and is on par for a personal end of season best. <\/p>\n
\u0093The ratings are really topsy turvy this year,\u0094 said O\u0092Rafferty. \u0093A lot of the guys who did well last year aren\u0092t doing so well this year and there\u0092s been some big upsets and a lot of ups and downs. I actually think it\u0092s good because it makes it a lot more interesting for everyone. <\/p>\n
\u0093Hopefully from here I can maintain momentum and take out a few more heats and get some solid results. I have a much stronger will to win this year and have really focussed on getting the right equipment to do the job and that\u0092s obviously been a huge influence.\u0094<\/p>\n
Scraping through their heats and staying focussed on gaining ground on Foster\u0092s ASP Men\u0092s World Tour leader Kelly Slater (USA) in his absence, were Andy Irons (HAW) and Bobby Martinez (USA). <\/p>\n
While both had very slow heats due to inconsistent swell they did enough to make it through to round four and indicate that they will be forces to be reckoned with come the business end of the event.<\/p>\n
Swell forecasts from www.surfline.com indicate that the waves tomroow morning could be the same as today. <\/p>\n
If that is the case organisers will push into round four, starting at around 8.30am local time. <\/p>\n
It is expected that a new swell will appear next Sunday\/Monday and with only one day needed to complete the event there is always the option to sit and wait for premium conditions. <\/p>\n
Stay tuned to www.globefiji.com or www.aspworldtour.com for all the updates from 7.30am local time.<\/p>\n
Results round three: <\/p>\n
Heat 1: Troy Brooks (AUS) 16.10 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.16
\nHeat 2: Tom Whitaker (AUS) 13.33 def. Cory Lopez (USA 7.47
\nHeat 3: Darren O\u0092Rafferty (AUS) 13.50 def. Mark Occhilupo (AUS) 10.83
\nHeat 4: Damien Hobgood (USA) 18.00 def. Chris Ward (USA) 10.83
\nHeat 5: Tim Reyes (AUS) 18.06 def. Bruce Irons (HAW) 15.06
\nHeat 6: Nathan Hedge (AUS) 16.10 def. Fred Patacchia (HAW) 10.40
\nHeat 7: Trent Munro (AUS) 13.83 def. Paulo Moura (BRA) 6.97
\nHeat 8: Andy Irons (HAW) 15.50 def. Peter Media (USA) 10.67
\nHeat 9: Bobby Martinez (USA) 12.00 def. Pedro Henrique (BRA) 8.50
\nHeat 10: Danny Wills (AUS) 14.66 def. Greg Emslie (ZAF) 9.83
\nHeat 11: Mick Fanning (AUS) 14.50 def. Victor Ribas (BRA) 8.23
\nHeat 12: CJ Hobgood (USA) 14.43 def. Jake Paterson (AUS) 13.27
\nHeat 13: Taj Burrow (AUS) 10.83 def. Mikael Picon (FRA) 7.86
\nHeat 14: Luke Stedman (AUS) 12.67 def. Phil MacDonald (AUS) 12.57
\nHeat 15: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 15.50 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 7.90
\nHeat 16: Shaun Cansdell (AUS) 12.00 def. Dean Morrison (AUS) 10.84<\/p>\n
Round four heat draw:<\/p>\n
Heat 1: Brooks versus Whitaker
\nHeat 2: O\u0092Rafferty versus Damien Hobgood
\nHeat 3: Reyes versus Hedge
\nHeat 4: Munro versus Andy Irons
\nHeat 5: Martinez versus Wills
\nHeat 6: Fanning versus CJ Hobgood
\nHeat 7: Burrow versus Stedman
\nHeat 8: Durbidge versus Cansdell<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WEDNESDAY 24 MAY, 2006 TAVARUA, FIJI GLOBE WCT FIJI 21 MAY to 2 JUNE LIVE on www.globefiji.com or www.aspworldtour.com It was another stellar day in paradise today at the Globe WCT Fiji with competitors in round three revelling in the superb two metre (six foot) plus waves breaking at Cloudbreak today. And with all surfers … Continue reading “REYES MAKES HIS MARK ON GLOBE WCT FIJI ROUND THREE”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-13471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-surfing-news-archive","tag-surfing-news-archive"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13471\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saltwater-dreaming.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}