The second tourstop of the 2013 AWT tour was held at Pistol River State Park, Oregon, US West Coast is on. The event is set to run at “the Rock” in the Pistol River State Park or if conditions warrant, in front of the Beachcomber in Gold Beach. The main spot “the Rock” is located at the rivermouth of the Pistol river surrounded by a beautiful green environment with gras and conifers. Waves from the Pacific Ocean break over sandbanks. On the water the waves are framed by massive rocky cliffs at both sides of the bay. Just an gorgeous spot. And a bit of history:  The river supposedly got its name when a militia soldier lost his pistol in the river during the infamous Rogue River Indian War.  In March of 1856, a decisive battle was fought here.

This time we saw the battle of the best sailors from the states. And in the end a Maui resident from the Carribean took the win.

 

 

The beautiful bay at Pistol River (Pic: Simon Crowther/AWT).

The beautiful bay at Pistol River (Pic: Simon Crowther/AWT).

 

The AWT Pistol River Wave Bash presented by Starboard got started on June 18 and ends today. A fleet of 68 riders registered for the event and are competing in 6 different classes: Pro, Amateurs, Women, Youth, Masters & Grand Masters. Again a big success to have so many riders on the list!

 

The forecast delivered for day four at the 2013 AWT Pistol River Wave Bash with 20-25 knots wind. The waves were small but there was enough to get through a full single elimination bracket for all the divisions. It was a long day at the beach but it was exciting to see what the riders were able to deliver in such challenging conditions.

The winner of the first AWT event at Waddell Creek, California, Marcilio “Brawzinho” Browne did not show up this time, but a few other big names travelled to Pistol, like Kai Katchedourian, Bernd Roediger, Kevin Pritchard, last year’s tour winner Camille Juban and Levi Siver. We have met Jason Diffin at Costa Brava and he told us, Marcilio Browne will be already on Gran Canaria to test small sails and prepare for the first PWA wave competition.

After one single elimination Camille Juban claimed victory by beating Kevin Pritchard. Levi Siver managed to make it on the podium in place three, defeating youngster Morgan Noireaux and Bernd Roediger finished in 5th place. The result of the single elimination was the final result as the wind and waves did not return to allow a double elimination.

 

The winners in the 6 classes are:

Camille Juban won the Pro Class, Ingrid Larouche won the Ladies class, Marc Bitoun the Amateur group, Casey Rehrer the Youth category, Ferdinando Loffreda the Masters and Dana Miller the Grand Masters. Congrats!

 

Have a look on the full results of the Pistol River Wave Bash 2013:

2013 Pistol River Wave Bash Rankings (Source: AWT).

2013 Pistol River Wave Bash Rankings (Source: AWT).

 

The event setup at Pistol River (Pic: Simon Crowther/AWT 2013.)

The event setup at Pistol River (Pic: Simon Crowther/AWT 2013.)

 

 

THE PROS

The first round of pro heats was tough with no jumps counting and really the best waves breaking practically on the beach. Riders picking the best waves would get one or two hits before finishing with a finally slash or two right up onto the sand. Gorge area riders Sean Aiken, Nathan Mershon and Casey Hauser took advantage of their Oregon coast knowledge to advance to the semi finals along with Camille Juban, Kevin Pritchard, Levi Siver, Morgan Noireaux and Bernd Roediger.

 A jump was added to the semi-final heats (along with 2 extra minutes) as the conditions improved with the day. The first semi-final saw Levi Siver, the last year’s Wave Bash winner,  sailing extremely well tweaking out all his aerials against Juban, Roediger and Aiken. Juban also turned up his game advancing to the final along with Siver. The second semi-final saw Pritchard charging. He absolutely ripped up the small waves along with Noireaux, both advancing to the final.

 

Levi Siver tweaked his Aerials nicely (Pic: Simon Crowther/AWT 2013).

Levi Siver tweaked his Aerials nicely (Pic: Simon Crowther/AWT 2013).

 

The Pro final was extended to 20-minutes with each rider’s best two wave rides and one jump counting for their score. Noireaux opened up the scoring landing a huge Back Loop right on the start. Later in the heat he improved his jumping score with an even bigger one-handed Back Loop but the waves just didn’t seem to line up in his favor. Despite landing several Takas in the heat Noireaux finished fourth. Siver scored a few better waves, landing some nice tweaked aerials, but his scores were only enough to give him third place in the end. Kevin Pritchard was on fire making it insanely tough on the judges as he was scoring in every way possible. His started the heat with a huge stalled Forward Loop and then bettered it with a massive one-footed Back Loop. He found some nice set waves and scored well with his smooth powerful style. On one wave he landed a Wave 360 and a Backside 360 on another.

 

KP gave it all during the final and started with a huge stalled Forward (Pic: Simon Crowther/AWT 2013).

KP gave it all during the final and started with a huge stalled Forward (Pic: Simon Crowther/AWT 2013).

 

But in the end his scores were not enough to take down Camille Juban, whose first jump was a nicely tweaked Push Loop. Then minutes later the 21 year old talent from Guadeloupe threw down an even bigger and more tweaked Push Loop, that may have been the highest scoring jump of the event. Juban was masterful at picking off the best waves of the heat, constantly getting several hits of the outer sandbar and then following the wave in for more critical hits on the beach break. Congratulations to Juban for sailing an amazing heat!

 

Camille tweaked a Pushloop extremely hard during the final (Pic: Simon Crowther/AWT 2013).

Camille tweaked a Pushloop extremely hard during the final (Pic: Simon Crowther/AWT 2013).

 

The Pro class winners at Pistol (Pic: Simon Crowther/AWT 2013).

The Pro class winners at Pistol (Pic: Simon Crowther/AWT 2013).

 

THE WOMEN

It was amazing to see Rhonda Gill taking advantage of the friendly atmosphere of the AWT to make the Pistol River Wave Bash be her first experience in the waves. Four years ago here at Pistol River Fiona Wylde shared this same experience and now she’s battling for the podium at every event. Sam Bittner and Kate Barker sailed very well in tough conditions but just didn’t have enough to make the final.

The 20-minute super final featured last years champion Ingrid Larouche against Fiona Wylde, Katie McAnena and Miho Tanaka. Coming all the way from Ireland, McAnena picked off some nice waves early riding her way to 4th position. Tanaka looked like she’s been training hard for this event as she was often in the best place to pick off the best waves. She sailed a strong heat and finished on the podium in third. For the past few event the battle between Larouche and Wylde for the top spot on the AWT Women’s podium has been fairly one sided with Larouche winning easily…but it looks like things have now changed. Larouche is sailing better than ever with an aggressive style and big Forward Loops that really impress the judges, but now Wylde has stepped up her game in a huge way with impressive wave hits and a smooth style. Wylde scored the biggest wave of the heat and ripped it apart but it wasn’t quite enough to take down Larouche who defended her title. Congrats to both for putting on an impressive 20-minute show for the crowd.

Ingrid Larouche in a powerful Cutback at Pistol (Pic: Simon Crowther/AWT 2013).

Ingrid Larouche in a powerful Cutback at Pistol (Pic: Simon Crowther/AWT 2013).

 

THE AMATEUR, MASTERS and YOUTH

With 27 riders the Amateur fleet was the biggest in the competition. There were too many standout performances to mention them all and in the end it came down to a 20-minute final featuring Fiona Wylde, Casey Rehrer, Marc Bitoun and Jeff Albright. Wylde and Albright both sailed a strong heat but didn’t have the jumping scores to battle for the top two spots. In the end Albright rode the better waves to third position just knocking Wylde off the podium. Both Rehrer and Bitoun were on fire in the final. Both caught plenty of set waves and had cut them apart with super critical hits. The heat was very close and may have come down to the jumping with Bitoun’s Back Loop giving him the title over Rehrer’s Forward. Congrats to all the riders for sailing an impressive heat.

The Masters and Grand Masters fleet was mixed together giving everyone the ultimate competition experience. These divisions have the most local riders and definitely the best beach rivalries. The only question was who could follow up their trash talking on the beach with the best performance on the water? The 20-minute final came down to a battle between Dana Miller, Sean Aiken, Ferdinando Loffreda and Brian Caserio. Miller sailed a strong heat, actually finishing in 2nd place giving him the Grand Master’s title over a tie for 2nd between Dwight Bode and James Lundin. Caserio claimed the 3rd position on the Master’s podium sailing an overall strong event. Aiken sailed well for 2nd place but it wasn’t enough to take down Loffreda who was super impressive in the final. Loffreda is definitely in the drivers seat for the overall Master’s title winning both of the AWT’s first two events.

 

The youth final came down to a match up between Maui’s Casey Rehrer and Fiona Wylde from the Gorge. The wave riding skill of both has improved immensely since they joined the tour just a few years ago. Rehrer took the title sailing a strong heat landing a massive Forward Loop and some slashy wave rides.

 

AWT OVERALL RANKING AFTER TWO EVENTS

Overall Ranking after two events

Overall Ranking after two events

 © Continentseven, AWT 2013, Simon Crowther

 

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