The waves were absolutely pumping today at the cobblestone point break of Cimaja near the seaport city of Pelabuhan Ratu in West Java. With solid 5-6 foot sets sweeping down the point, the first day of the West Java Open supported by Quiksilver saw the local Cimaja surfers nabbing the best barrel rides of the day in the 6-star Coca-Cola ISC sanctioned event.
The highest wave score recorded today was 9 points of a possible 10 (an almost perfectly ridden wave) by Cimaja local Suparman, who dropped into and sped through a gaping pit for what seemed like an eternity before being spit out the other end. The crowd on the beach roared with amazement, then cheered again when MC Tai “Buddha” Graham announced the score. Unfortunately Suparman’s good fortune ended in Round 2, when he lacked just a 1.5 point wave to advance into Round 3 as the horn blew signaling the end of the heat and his run for the Rp 20 million prize money that awaits the winner of the West Java Open.
Local brothers Sandi Slamet and Andre Julian both won their Round 1 and Round 2 heats to advance to Round 3, which will be starting tomorrow morning at 7:30 am. Both are Quiksilver Team riders and Quiksilver King of the Groms Champions, Sandi being last year’s King of the Groms and Andre fresh off this year’s King of the Groms win just last Sunday at Kuta Beach in Bali. Sandi is 16 and Andre a mere 13 years old.
Another standout of the day was last year’s Coca-Cola ISC Open Division runner up champion Garut Widiarta from Bali, who looks very intent upon ending the contest on the top spot on the podium. The lightning fast goofyfooter was carving deep bottom turns and taking lips apart from the inside out during both his heats today, showing no mercy to the challenging righthand Cimaja wave. He will be joining his top seeded compatriots tomorrow in Round 3.
Nobody was happier today than World Qualifying Tour pro surfer and Cimaja local Dede Suryana, extremely happy to have both a Coca-Cola ISC Tour event at his homebreak, supported by his sponsors Quiksilver and Coca-Cola, and to see his local boys surfing well. “I’m really having a great time today. The waves are pumping, all the boys are here having a good time, and everybody in the area is coming by to support them. I’m so thankful that our tourism department is recognizing what a great natural resource we have here and has put up the budget to make this event happen. It’s a dream come true and a fantastic event.” Suryana went on to easily take out his heat and will be looking forward to his Round 3 heat tomorrow.
At the end of the day’s competition, the crowd on the beach was treated to a Quiksilver and Roxy fashion show, with beautiful and handsome models brought out from Jakarta especially for the event.
Tomorrow swell forecast is showing slightly smaller conditions, but the swell is still predicted to be pumping for the remainder of the event, which is to wrap up on Sunday.
The West Java Open was launched last night at the Di Desa Hotel, where there were speeches and cultural dancing, then the opening gong was rung by Mr. Ir. H. Herdiwan MM from the West Java Tourism Department.
The West Java Open is a part of the West Java government’s tourism promotion initiative for 2010, supported by Vice Governor of West Java Mr. Yusuf M. Effendi, the Head of West Java Tourism Mr. Ir. H. Herdiwan MM, and the mayor of Sukabumi Mr. H. Dadang Hendar. Mr. Diki Zulfikar from Cimaja is the Contest Director.
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