Lagundri Bay, Nias / IDN (Thursday, September 12, 2019) – Great waves again today as the Nias Pro continued at Indonesia’s and perhaps the worlds best point break which lies on the outside point of Lagundri Bay in Nias.
Full webcast recording:
The surfers are all smiles whether they win or lose because the event is delivering exactly what they crave for when surfing high-level QS events – Lots of excellent waves and opportunities to show their skills.
Santa Cruz USA surfer Ben Coffey echoed the general feeling here in Nias after his top-scoring heat win of the morning which included an excellent 8.5 ride.
“So happy,” Coffey said. “I decided to come to this event when it upgraded to QS3000 and I can’t believe this place. The people are great, the water warm, the jungle environment amazing and the waves are outstanding – I love competing when it’s like this.”
Coffey’s good mate Shaun Burns, also from Santa Cruz had a stellar Round 3 heat to also win through to the Round of 32 as well.
While the QS3,000 ripped all day it was the women who possibly stole the show late in the day with a pulsing swell and the surfers continually charging the high-performance sections – It wasn’t barrelling today with a light onshore wind but the sections were ideal for massive turns and speed.
“What a place to run an event,” said Round 2 Heat 2 winner Piper Harrison from Australia’s Gold Coast. “This is the best contest I’ve been in and I can’t believe I haven’t been here before, it’s such an amazing location.”
Japan’s latest surfing revelation is Amura Tsuzuki and she is showing that her historic victory last week was no fluke as she lifted her performance today with huge turns and a big win through to the final 16.
Standouts today included Sheldon Simkus (AUS), Paul Cesar-Distinguin (FRA), Joe Azuchi (JAP), Chad De Toit (ZAF), Jordy Maree (ZAF), Camilla Kemp (Portugal), Janiati Hansel (INO) and many more across both events.
There’ll be waves tomorrow for certain and event organizers will assess the next three days and pick the prime conditions to run this event out. A serious swell is a forecast for Sunday so we will monitor that and go for gold at this epic event.
The 2019 Nias Pro men’s and women’s event will run from September 9 – 14. The event will be broadcast live at www.worldsurfleague.com and on the free WSL App. Head to these places for more information.
Photos: Tim Hain ASC