All good things must come to an end.
Teenage surf sensation Chelsea Tuach knew that isn’t different in the world of surfing, and saw her incredible run at the Vans US Open of Surf currently being held at Huntington Beach, California, finally cool down on Friday.
Barbados’ best female surfer had extinguished the fire of some big guns, but ended the competition tied for fifth place, still a commendable feat by the young Barbadian.
While this is the best result ever of a Barbadian surfer, Tuach was disappointed as she struggled to find waves in her semi-final match-up against Brianna Cope and Baily Nagy, both from Hawaii, and Reika Noro, the top junior out of Japan. Â
In a wave-starved heat, Tuach was in position to ride the first wave of the heat that came in after a tense nine-minute wait when the ocean went flat, but narrowly missed catching it.
Cope capitalised, taking the wave, and winning the heat. Despite moving around in search of another set of waves, none came Tuach’s way and she had to settle for third after catching two inside waves which were enough to give her the third spot ahead of Reika Noro.
“That was one of the hardest heats that I have ever surfed,” a disappointed Tuach said after her top-ten finish.
“My heat was right at the change of tides and there were very few waves coming through. I also missed the one opportunity that came my way. It’s a tough loss but that is the nature of our sport. Mother nature just wasn’t on my side today.”
Tuach is keeping her eyes on the prize in spite of Friday’s bad luck. “I am still very happy with my equal fifth result surfing against the best juniors from the region. My focus now is on the ASP 6-Star Women’s QS which takes place next week-end at Oceanside,” Tuach said shortly after her final ride at Huntington. (BA/PR)
