Tuach through to quarters

Barbados’ highest rated international surfer Chelsea Tuach continued her impressive form in her Round of 16 heat at the Krui Pro in Indonesia on Tuesday.

Tuach, the event’s No. 1 seed, only caught two waves in her 35-minute heat, but her surfing was sharp and powerful and she was able to win through to the quarters easily.

Tuach now matches up against Emily Gussoni from Italy in the first quarter-final today.

“I’m really learning a lot at this contest. I am confident in my back-hand surfing, but feel that I have been able to push this even more here in Krui,” she said in a post-heat interview.

She also noted her patience in wave selection was paying off.

“I have also learnt to wait for the best waves. In the past, if I hadn’t caught a wave in ten minutes, then I’d get nervous and just take off on anything, but here I’ve been waiting and relaxing and it’s working out this far,” Tuach said.

After three days of competition, the Krui Pro has seen the women’s field of 32 dwindle to the best eight surfers in the draw and they represent a diverse range of countries.

Tuach is the first surfer from Barbados to compete in Indonesia and she is joined in the quarter-finals by the No. 2 seed Bailey Nagy from Hawaii, last year’s runner-up Ellie Francis of Australia, who is joined by compatriots Alysse Cooper and Lauren Pool.

Sara Wakita from Japan, Lucía Martino from Spain and Emily Gussoni representing Italy round out the eight finalists.

The event is being webcast live on www.worldsurfleague.com.