BARBADIAN teenager Josh Burke placed 49th out of 112 of the best elite junior professional surfers in the world at a recent event in Hawaii.
Competing at the Sunset beach on the North shore of Oahu, where the wave heights were estimated between 12 to 20 feet, Burke found the conditions to be extremely challenging.
But he coped really well despite breaking two of his event boards due to the large powerful surf, one of which occurred on his very first wave in his heat.
“I caught this set wave and took a steep drop hitting a chop on the way down buckling my board. I almost fell but managed to hold on. I did not realise it was broken until I caught my second wave and heard the fiberglass tearing and the board feeling odd,” he told NATION SPORT.
Burke said he then had to hastily get his back-up board from his coach and caddy but was running out of time in the channel.
“It was an amazing experience to surf perfect big Sunset with just three others out, considering there are usually over 100 surfers on most days, so I am grateful for my time in this line-up,” Burke added.
