Participants at the Barrett Homes New Zealand Longboard and SUP Open forged their way through a full day of surfing in small conditions at Papamoa Beach yesterday, setting up a short final day of action today.
Papamoa never mustered up much more than a 0.5m swell for the first day of the event, with participants lucky the wind remained variable all day making conditions contestable.
It was all about traditional surfing throughout all divisions and Thomas Kibblewhite (Red Beach) dominated through both the SPY Optics Men's Longboard and the Copious Logger Division.
Kibblewhite was joined by the likes of Daryn McBride (Port Waikato) who posted big scores all day and Paul Culpan (Auck) who is always impressive especially in the small conditions.
The three surfers progressed through to the semifinals of the Men's Longboard Semifinals and the final of the Logger Division. In the Logger Division, they are joined by Kelly Ryan (Gis) in the final.
In the semifinals of the Men's Longboard, the three surfers are joined by Zen Wallis (Piha) who posted 16.3 points out of a possible 20 to win his quarterfinal match up. Zen's younger brother Tane also advanced through to the semifinals of the event as did local surfer Owen Barnes (Mnt), Whangarei surfer Rupert Newbold and Justin Bambery (Auck).
Taranaki's Kane Rowson has continued his good form in the Starboard Men's SUP Division advancing to the final. Rowson won the most recent event held in his home waters two weeks ago.
Rowson advanced to the final with a 13.83 point heat total alongside Ollie Houghton (Auck) on 13.03. The two surfers are joined by Kaikoura's Alan Te Moananui and Karlos Aarsen (WGM) who advanced out of the second semifinal.
Late in the day the senior divisions were contested through to the finals. Defending champion Owen Barnes (Mnt) was a clear standout in the Sticky Johnson Over 40s Longboard Division while Orewa's Mark Hoyle looked most impressive in the Papamoa Tavern Over 50 Men's Division.
Top competitors from around the country are competing over the weekend. Small waves are expected to continue for the final day of the event today. Action will take place at Papamoa Domain from 8am – 1pm, with the Starboard King of the Waves Race at 12:30pm.
1 comment
What? Not a life-jacket in sight.
Posted on 19-02-2017 11:28 | By TheCameltoeKid
Where are all the fingerwaggers that feel it's their God-given right to tell everybody else what to do? The Stand-up Paddleboarder in the photo clearly needs to be re-educated by these PC doo-gooders as there are alot of people who will find this photo offensive. I'd suggest they get down to the beach with their placards and loadhailers and wag their fingers at the participants until they are all out of the water so they can be fined! As the Paddleboard has a means of propulsion the boardrider must carry a life-jacket and then assess the risk as to whether he/she needs to wear it. Good luck finding a place to stow it.
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