Difficult conditions provide perfect ground for major upsets as top seeds continue to fall short against up-and-comers.
The Martinique Surf Pro resumed in fading three foot surf and allowed competition to continue with the eight remaining heats of the fourth round. A tricky lineup once again proved difficult to read and opportunistic surfers got the edge over the most patient who often didn't find the best scoring opportunities they were after.
Moniz attacked the rights to keep his Martinique campaign alive. - WSL / Poullenot/Aquashot
Last year's winner's brother Seth Moniz (HAW), 18, advanced second to Evan Geiselman (USA) in a slow Round Four bout despite clinching the heat's highest single wave of 7.33. A newcomer to the QS scene, Moniz will be looking to navigate through the latter rounds to try to keep the Martinique trophy in the family.
"That was a pretty slow heat I only caught two waves," he analyzed. "I got that 7 on my first wave and caught another little wave paddling out, which I was thinking I would replace for sure but then I sat the whole heat and didn't get anything else. I'm really just starting to do these events and trying to get my feet wet, I've won a few heats so it's going alright so far."
A happy Duvignac advances into Rd5. - WSL / Poullenot/Aquashot
Vincent Duvignac, 28, continued to make the most out of every opportunity he got and dominated his round of 64 bout. The Frenchman kept his cool under the relative pressure and capitalized on the only two decent waves he was able to ride.
"That heat was extremely difficult and I'm glad we had more time with heats of thirty minutes today," he reflected. "Sets were so slow to come, but fortunately we got a good set and I picked the second wave, the best of the set to get a good score. I'm stoked with the result cause I felt I was surfing a little bit safe so I'll try to push my turns more in the next ones."
Gudauskas destroys a clean morning section. - WSL / Poullenot/Aquashot
Patrick Gudauskas (USA), 30, clinched the day's highest single wave score, an excellent 8.60. The Californian had a great start to his 2016 season so far and is currently the highest surfer in this event, making him an obvious target for the herd of hungry up-and-comers. Despite his first score, Gudauskas was threatened of elimination and caught a wave in the dying instants of the heat to overcome Reo Inaba (JPN) and keep his Martinique hopes alive.
"It was a good battle with those guys who all had waves so I was lucky to get one in the end," he commented. "Everyone was on fire, Reo and even the local guy so I knew it was going to be tough. Waves were a little inconsistent but when they came they were really fun. I watched a lot of videos to see what the wave was like and I was really inspired to come surf it. I've travelled to a lot of the islands in the Caribbean but it's my first time here and I love it so far."
The dying swell quickly made things even more complicated for surfers and contest officials called the day off around lunchtime, keeping the remaining 32 surfers on standby until the next call of 7am Wednesday.
Kids enjoy a friendly visit from a nearby school. - WSL / Poullenot/Aquashot
Upsets Continue in Tricky Conditions at Martinique Surf Pro
WSL
The Martinique Surf Pro resumed in fading three foot surf and allowed competition to continue with the eight remaining heats of the fourth round. A tricky lineup once again proved difficult to read and opportunistic surfers got the edge over the most patient who often didn't find the best scoring opportunities they were after.
Last year's winner's brother Seth Moniz (HAW), 18, advanced second to Evan Geiselman (USA) in a slow Round Four bout despite clinching the heat's highest single wave of 7.33. A newcomer to the QS scene, Moniz will be looking to navigate through the latter rounds to try to keep the Martinique trophy in the family.
"That was a pretty slow heat I only caught two waves," he analyzed. "I got that 7 on my first wave and caught another little wave paddling out, which I was thinking I would replace for sure but then I sat the whole heat and didn't get anything else. I'm really just starting to do these events and trying to get my feet wet, I've won a few heats so it's going alright so far."
Vincent Duvignac, 28, continued to make the most out of every opportunity he got and dominated his round of 64 bout. The Frenchman kept his cool under the relative pressure and capitalized on the only two decent waves he was able to ride.
"That heat was extremely difficult and I'm glad we had more time with heats of thirty minutes today," he reflected. "Sets were so slow to come, but fortunately we got a good set and I picked the second wave, the best of the set to get a good score. I'm stoked with the result cause I felt I was surfing a little bit safe so I'll try to push my turns more in the next ones."
Patrick Gudauskas (USA), 30, clinched the day's highest single wave score, an excellent 8.60. The Californian had a great start to his 2016 season so far and is currently the highest surfer in this event, making him an obvious target for the herd of hungry up-and-comers. Despite his first score, Gudauskas was threatened of elimination and caught a wave in the dying instants of the heat to overcome Reo Inaba (JPN) and keep his Martinique hopes alive.
"It was a good battle with those guys who all had waves so I was lucky to get one in the end," he commented. "Everyone was on fire, Reo and even the local guy so I knew it was going to be tough. Waves were a little inconsistent but when they came they were really fun. I watched a lot of videos to see what the wave was like and I was really inspired to come surf it. I've travelled to a lot of the islands in the Caribbean but it's my first time here and I love it so far."
The dying swell quickly made things even more complicated for surfers and contest officials called the day off around lunchtime, keeping the remaining 32 surfers on standby until the next call of 7am Wednesday.
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Martinique Surf Pro
A selection of images from where you'd rather be.
Frederico Morais wins the 2016 Martinique Surf Pro in great conditions on the final day of the event's waiting period.
The Portuguese powerhouse dominates finals day and takes out his inaugural QS win over Gony Zubizarreta.
Good waves allow competition to restart and complete the Round of 32 to set an exciting final day Sunday.
A new swell comes right in time for competition to recommence and run the fifth round to prepare for a great finish on Sunday.