BKSA Wavemasters - Ireland  

Sept 21st-25th
Brandon Bay, Dingle, Ireland


Sponsors- Spillane’s, North, Kerry County Council, Visit Ireland

Co-Sponsors- F-One, RRD , Kitesurf Ireland, Jamie Knox

Travel Partner- Stena Line

Tour Sponsors- Deadman, King of  Watersports, Ion

***Update*** The single elimination did not run yesterday, so Thursday’s result is final! The Men’s Open finally got underway yesterday. The wind built to around 7m conditions, and the swell, though largely lacklustre and weak, did improve a bit as the day went on. In the opening rounds, a dark horse started to show promise as Dom Yule won his opener against Ryan Coote.

Paul Stebbings from Norfolk also won his heat against the talented Richard Sills. Powered up strapped riding was the order of the day, using the full potential depower of the kite in the racking gusts. Stebbo eventually crashed out in the third round against Lee Pasty, though to a few people on the beach, it really looked like Stebbo had taken it. Still, he took the news on the chin and went down in a heroic display of blitzkreig hits in the building surf. Dom Yule beat Ryan Coote a second time to put him into the semi to face Richard Sills. Meanwhile, Lee Pasty advanced to meet fellow Cornishman Will Bennet in the other semi, along with Norfolk ripper Rob Sayer. Yule fought hard but Sillsy took the win with an assured display of 12 o’clock smacks on the backhand stance. Four time champ Will Bennet won his semi-final with Rob Sayer moving on to face Yule in the losers final. Lee Pasty’s ride was over. Sayer kept the momentum up, linking deep powerful turns and frenzied hits to take a deserved 3rd place, putting Dom Yule in 4th in his first ever Wavemasters.

The final was as ever a tense affair; what swell there was had peaked to around head high and wave selection was critical. Sillsy’s true surf style was drawing ooh’s and aah’s from the beach, but was Will Bennet’s fluid, less incenderary approach going to be enough for a 5th title? A leashless Sillsy lost his board at one point, leaving an opening for Bennet to pick off one of the bigger waves of the day and he certainly didn’t waste it. Sillsy was back on his feet quickly though and responded with three big, convincing backhand wallops on the way to the beach. The buzzer sounded, the guys came in and the five judges reached a unanimous decision. Before I reveal who took the title, I’ve just heard we’re running another single elimination today which could be concluded inside of four hours… one of these blokes could be the new champ Ryan Coote crashed out in the 3rd round Norfolk boy Rob Sayer was blazing Backhand assault of Sillsy The original Wavemaster