Cape Hatteras Wave Classic presented by Patagonia Highlights & Week Recap
The 2016 Cape Hatteras Wave Classic presented by Patagonia brought the worlds best kite surfers together on Cape Hatteras from September 17th-23rd. The Men’s and Women’s competition was separated into two groups, 19 males, and 5 females.
Over the course of the week we had a roller coaster of a forecast. The first day was a layday, which brought competitors to the beach, and into skate bowl’s to session until the sun went down.
Day two was our first day of competition, winds ~15mph average out of the Southeast gave competitors lefts, and rights to showcase their skills. The Waves brought enough ramps for airs, and faces for slashing. We ran through the first round, and majority of the second with the winds provided on Monday.
Day three started with bang! The winds were strong, we set up quickly and got riders in the water with enough time to finish round 2 before we got hit by a rain squal. A switch in wind direction to offshore sent all of the competitors into the water to surf through the rest of the day. The vibe in the lineup was all time, with a live DJ set from @DJnophilter. We surfed everything, short boards, long boards, fishes, SUP’s, even floating coaches were in the line up.
Upon Day four, our forecast was bleak, with no winds forecasted above 10mph we called a lay day. Shortly thereafter mother nature proved us wrong and the wind jacked up the the 20’s out of the east, but only enough to kite here in the Tri-Village area, which was a non permitted zone. Riders took the day off to take plenty of sessions, and create some of the week’s sickest media.
Day five was another down day, a REAL hosted beach party and surf session brought everyone together for great times, surf sessions, promo beverages, and beach activities. Despite lack of wind, everyone’s spirits were high. They came for the wave classic, and everyone got a lot of classic waves this week.
The final day of the event came, but the wind did not. In the end we made it to Competition Round 3 in the Men and completed Round 1 with the Women. Contest rules dictate an even prize purse distribution among these competitors. The 12 Men that made it to Round 3 each took home $326.09, while the 5 Women who completed Round 1 each took home $217.39.Competitors of the 2016 Cape Hatteras Wave Classic presented by Patagonia left the island stoked, with a ton of waves etched into the memory from this great week.
THANK YOU to all our 2016 Cape Hatteras Wave Classic competitors, spectators, staff and sponsors who helped make this event so fun and full of stoke. Next year’s event is schedule for September 16-22, 2017 in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. See you there!