Luis Vindas’ surf skills have put him in reach of a 1st place finish.

Luis Vindas is giving Gilbert Brown, the current ranking leader in the Costa Rica National Surf Circuit 2008, a run for his money after winning his second consecutive 4-star event. This last win took place this weekend at the Banco Nacional Tournament in Dominical and added 1500 points to Vindas’s total score, which means he is in reach of a first place win if he comes in 1st at the 6-star Terraza Reef Grand Final in Playa Hermosa on April 26-27.

Vindas competed against Jason Torres, Juan Carlos Naranjo and Brown in the final heat, taking the lead after completing two great wave combinations. Brown stuck to his consistent strategy of two lefts, but was unable to take the lead, falling to second place.

Vindas’s syster Lisbeth also held strong to the lead in the Women’s category, beating out her main rival and last year’s champion, Nataly Bernold, who was unable to make it to the final heat. This makes Lisbeth a likely shoe-in for a first place finish, which would make her a 6-time National Women’s Champion.

In a closer run, the Juniors category saw another upset in this last event when Carlos Munoz took his second consecutive 1st place win, putting the current National Junior Champion, Jairo Perez, in second place going into the final event. They promise to put on a strong show in Playa Hermosa as the two leaders battle for the first place title.

The Grand Final is an event not to be missed as the best surfers in Costa Rica compete against each other on some of the country’s most demanding waves to claim the title of National Champion in 13 categories. The final round of the Miss Organic & Natural contest will take place on Saturday night as well, as all of the finalists from around the country gather to compete for the official title and $1,000.

Photo courtesy of Shifi Surf Shots.

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Filed under: Surf on April 7th, 2008