Two More Heats In La Libertad, 2x Defending Event Champ Eliminated
And the drip-feed continues…
Could they have run some heats yesterday? Probably. Waves were fun.
Have the CT men been crusading in the Surfers Chat to make sure the WSL waits for this impending swell? Sounds like it.
And so, to get closure on the Women’s Round of 16, the WSL ran the remaining two heats this morning — after waiting an hour for the tide to come in just a touch.
The conditions? Well, the exact same as they’ve been the last seven mornings. Humid at 7am, with a glint of sun filtering through dense eastern clouds and illuminating playful green canvases.
Women’s R16 (Cont.)
“It always gets more consistent as it gets closer to high tide,” said Leandro Dora, as he filmed the morning warm-ups.
And, it looked like his prophecy was correct, with a barreling set rifling down the top of the point moments before Caroline Marks and Isabella Nichols paddled out.
And then, as we’ve seen more than once before, the two women sat, and sat, and sat.
The heat restarted, and they sat some more.
It wasn’t until nearly 20 minutes into the heat that Bella finally stood up on a wave — and fell.
Another five minutes passed before Caroline stood up and calmly selected sections en route to a 5, looking in control of priority and the heat.
“It’s definitely been a hectic schedule these past few months,” Caroline said to me yesterday. “For sure the least amount of time at home any of us have had between events. I think everyone is feeling it — a lot of people got sick after Portugal. I mean, you can’t really complain about a life like this, but it doesn’t feel like the most sustainable schedule.”
To assist with the exhaustion, Caroline has serendipitously ended up being in the first possible heat each morning, meaning she’s been on the 4am wakeup pretty much everyday this week.
Did these factors contribute to Bella Nichols subsequent resurgence and ultimate victory in the heat against Caroline?
Hard to say — certainly the lully ocean and one wave sets limited the possibility of Caroline truly finding backside rhythm. And unfortunately for my fantasy team, the back-to-back Punta Roca champ bailed out early.
Bella leveled their head to head record to 2 – 2 and trudged on.
To follow in an equally slow heat was Bettylou Sakura Johnson and Tyler Wright. Bettylou’s boards have looked particularly at home in the pocket of El Salvador’s cobblestone pockets, and there was not a hint of surprise in Matt Biolos’ eyes when she bested Tyler.
Coming into the event below the cutline, Bettylou’s finals day berth will be instrumental in ensuring she remains on tour.
Probably the most interesting part of the morning was Nayib Bukele’s personal helicopter picking up a handful of surfers and flying them to go chase waves.
“I didn’t get the invite,” laughed Strider after.
Pending some research, we’ll have a full story on that soon.
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