We’re going to celebrate the SUP girls today on Seabreeze.com.au. Because they always get left to the end of the articles while we talk about Travis Grant or Kai Lenny or some other hot shot. So while they’re still battling it out in the finals of the Sunset Pro, today we bring news of Miss Nicole Pacelli, who has just won the first Stand Up World Tour event of the year in Turtle Bay, Hawaii.

The first event of the SUP season is traditionally held in Hawaii every year for a few reasons, the main one is to make the most of the winter swell hitting the islands. The event is always blessed with good swell, calm winds and brilliant sunshine, of course this year was no different. For those of you who are a little confused as to which event we’re talking about, there’s two at the same time. One is called the Turtle Bay Pro, and it’s for the women. The other one is the Sunset Beach Pro. Both Stand Up World Tour events, both at the (almost) same beach on Oahu, Hawaii, and both running over this week. This week there’s also the Na Kama Kai Youth Challenge, at Turtle Bay. For under 16’s.

Basically, it’s one big stand up paddling party. The worlds best stand up paddlers are all there, and the conditions are going off. Miss Pacelli put on a stellar performance yesterday in head high sets, beating the US favourite Candice Appelby and local Sophia Bertlow from Hawaii. The Brazillian paddler won the event last year too, putting her in a fantastic position for the overall world title before round two in her hometown of Brazil in March.

Stay tuned to see how the girls go in Brazil, where the waves will be fast and the competition fierce… Results for the Turtle Bay Pro are below!

1. Nicole Pacelli
2. Candice Appleby
3. Sophia Bartlow
4. Aline Adisaka

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