From victory in the Ron Jon Quiksilver Pro 1 000 in Florida, rising Barbadian surfer Josh Burke made an excellent start in the Martinique Surf Pro on Thursday.
With the top seeds entering the fray from Round 3, Burke was one of the stand out performers from the Caribbean as experience played a critical role in tricky surfing conditions at Basse Pointe.
Burke landed the day’s highest combined heat total of 15.34 as he secured his spot in Round 4 of the World Surf League’s Qualifying Series 3 000.
“I decided to sit deeper than everyone and as soon as I paddled over there that set came to me and I got that 8.17,” Burke said after his heat.
“Even without priority, I figured sitting way out if a set came the other guys couldn’t get, so I’m happy it worked out well,” he added.
The 21-year-old Burke compared the conditions to his home surf in Barbados.
“It’s similar enough that it feels like home out there in the water so I’m stoked. I’m super happy with how my season is shaping up and hopefully I can keep it up,” Burke said.
Burke’s success contrasted with that of other Caribbean surfers.
Guadeloupe’s Charly Martin and Timothee Bisso advanced but quickly went sideways and were ousted in Round 4 along with St Barth’s Dimitri Ouvre.
Home boys Alexandre Viguier and Arthur Lassee, who couldn’t find the right waves, were eliminated in Round 3.
On Wednesday, another Barbadian, Chelsea Tuach made the Caribbean proud as she dominated her Round 2 heat.
She dropped two excellent scores, an 8.00 and a 7.5 to share the highest heat total of the day – 15.50 – out of a possible 20 with American Rachel Presti. This was the second highest heat total of the event so far as Tuach advanced to the Round of 16. (EZS/PR)
