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| Paul Moretti Image PhotoCPL |
Today’s solid 2.0m – 3.0m waves on day two of the 2013 Hyundai Tour event being held at Sandy Bay fell perfectly into the lap of local junior and former New Zealand Junior surfer Paul Moretti (Mimiwhangata). Moretti absolutely demolished his Junior Men’s Semifinal heat posting the highest heat score of the event so far, and 18.0 out of a possible 20.
Solid conditions continued to hammer Sandy Bay at the third event of the Tour
with moderate onshore winds which made for very trying conditions.
Moretti (Mimiwhangata) showed power and commitment and his superior wave
selection and surfing ability saw him dominate his opponents. His opening ride
was 6.17 out of 10, and he backed it up 8.83 completely blowing his competitors
out of the water leaving them in combination land. As if things couldn’t get
any better he then annihilated a solid left hander completing a perfect vertical
re-entry scoring a 9.17 to secure the highest combined heart score of the event
so far with an 18.0 out 20.
“It was really fun out there aye. I took some really solid drops, and the
waves just seemed to come to me. I’m stoked!” he said.
This is Moretti’s first event of the 2013 Hyundai Tour and with a win here
he might well be a strong contender for the 2013 junior title.
Earlier in the quarter finals of the Stand Up Paddleboard Division it was
the usual suspects who capitalised on the solid waves on offer. In Heat One
Bevan Gooch, riding a 12’6” surf race board, won his heat against 2012 Female
World Champion Annabel Anderson (Auckland) placing second. Daniel Kereopa
(Raglan) and Shayne Baxter (Christchurch) both dominated their respective heats
winning easily. Baxter, in Heat Two, picked off some solid right handers and
linked fast cutback turns with solid off the top surfing.
Kereopa, in Heat Three, did much the same and showed why he is the premier
SUP surfer in the country, securing the highest combined heat total of the
division so far with a 15.0 out of a possible 20. Other stand out performances
in the SUP quarterfinals included Rob Hawkins (Raglan) and Armie Armstrong
(Raglan) both progressing through the semifinals.
Today also saw the first of a three series Open Ocean SUP Paddle Race.
Competitors started at 1pm from Matapouri, 4km south of Sandy Bay and paddled
to a marker to the east of Matapouri, then rounding the point into Sandy Bay in
the north with the race distance a total of 10km. With board specifications
restricted to 12’6” competitors enjoyed the challenging seas and there were
some spectacular rides coming into Sandy Bay to finish.
Annabel Anderson (Auckland) was leading heading into the surf zone but came
unstuck on a big wave, leaving the door wide open for Armie Armstrong (Raglan)
to storm to victory. Anderson came in second ahead of Bevan Gooch (Pauanui) in
third and Jeremy Stephenson (Auckland) in fourth position respectively.
The Over 40 Men’s quarterfinals took the water, with a number of surfers
not showing up for their heats. Guy Rencher (Papamoa) continued his great run
of form in the division comfortably taking out his quarter final heat with a
heat score of 11.83 out of 20. Rencher continued his dominance in the division
by taking out semifinal one ahead of Day One stand out Justin Bambery
(Auckland) in second. The second semifinal saw Rhys Powell (Omaha) navigate the
tricky outgoing tide conditions to win the heat ahead of Craig Anderson (Mount
Maunganui) in second.
Women’s Round One saw the return of Sandy Bays very own Wini Paul (Sandy
Bay) to the competitive realm for 2013. Paul, who recently qualified for the ASP
2013 World Longboard Tour, showed excellent local knowledge picking off some
great rides placing second in her heat. However, the stand out performance of
the round was Erin Dark (Gerringong, NSW). Dark continues the strong association
our Australian counterparts have with the Hyundai Tour. “This is my first trip
to Sandy Bay and I really like it here. The waves were pretty tough, but I’m
stoked because it’s a beach break” she said. Dark is joined by fellow
Australians Sam Suendermann (AUS) and April Charles (AUS).
Also this year saw the addition of another international competitor in Anau
Burling (Tonga). Burling progressed through to the semifinals coming second in
her heat behind Belinda Goodwin (Raglan). The Burling family are no strangers
to the Hyundai Tour with older brother Michael Burling dominating the Open
Men’s Longboard Tour for a number of years previously. Younger brother Alan
Burling also featured in the Junior Men’s division.
At the end of Day One the Over 50 Men’s Division took to the water in
atrocious low tide conditions. As the old saying goes, the cream always rises
to the top, and this was evident in the stand out performers of the round with
Mark Hoyle (Orewa), Simon Shepherd (Auckland), and Rob Hayes (Orewa) amongst
those progressing to the semi-finals. Mark Hoyle (Orewa) surfed his way into
the finals unbeaten, securing a combined heat score of 11.27 out of 20 in his
semifinal outing. Hoyle, who has become a regular on the Hyundai Tour, enjoyed
some great waves and will be one to watch come finals time.
Please see below for results from
day two of the Sandy Bay leg of the 2013 Hyundai Tour held on Saturday 2nd
February.
Women’s
Longboard Round 1
Heat 1
Erin
Dark (Aus), 11, 1, Wini Paul (Sandy Bay), 10.3, 2, Shelly Jones (Auck), 4.23, 3
Heat
2
Belinda
Goodwin (Mt), 7.17, 1, Anau Burling (Tonga), 2, 2, Denise Piper (Whngrei), 0.77,
3
Heat
3
Sam
Suendermann (Aust), 8.57, 1, April Charles (Aus), 6.53, 2, Hannah Howard (Auck),
1.13, 3
Junior Longboard Round 1
Heat 1
Paul
Moretti (Mimiwhangata), 18, 1, Jordan Griffin (Mnt), 9.27, 2, Alan Burling
(Tonga), 6.97, 3
Over 40 Men’s Longboard Round 1
Heat 1
Andy
Collins (Mnt), 6.2, 1, Steve Tyro (Rag), 5.77, 2, Armie Armstrong (Rag), 4.93, 3,
Simon Shepheard (Auck), 2.9, 4
Heat 2
Craig
Anderson (Mnt), 2, 1, Paulo Gomes (Whngrei), 1, 2, Mike Millar (Auck), N/S
Heat 3
Guy
Rencher (Waihi Bch), 11.8, 1, Rhys Powell (Auck), 9, 2, Stan Murphy (Auck), 4.27,
3
Heat 4
John
Rodgers (Auck), 6.33, 1, Justin Bambery (Auck), 6.07, 2, Pete Taylor
(Whangaparaoa), 3.1, 3, Simon Atkinson (Auck), 1.4, 4
Over 40 Longboard Semifinals
Heat 1
Guy
Rencher (Waihi Bch), 10.2, 1, Justin Bambery (Auck), 9.5, 2, Andy Collins (Mnt),
5.3, 3, Paulo Gomes (Whngrei), 3.4, 4
Heat 2
Rhys
Powell (Auck), 6.5, 1, Craig Anderson (Mnt), 6.17, 2, Steve Tyro (Rag), 5.63, 3,
John Rodgers (Auck), 4.63, 4
Over 50 Longboard Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Simon
Shepheard (Auck), 5.1, 1, David Storck (Auck), 4.1, 2, Kevin Porter (Omaha), 2,
3, Kevin Stiffe (Whngrei), 0.9, 4
Heat 2
Bryan
Western (Auck), 9.07, 1, Rob Bayes (Auck), 6.73, 2, Mark Calcutt (ChCh), 1.53, 3,
Michael Gray (Auck), 1.27, 4
Heat 3
Mark
Hoyle (Orewa), 9.33, 1, Andrew Bonner (Auck), 5.57, 2, Scotty Riach (Auck), 4.43,
3, Mark McNicol (Auck), 1.97, 4
Heat 4
Rupert
Newbold (Whngrei), 9.67, 1, Nev Snooks (Auck), 4.43, 2, Garth Falconer (Auck), 4.17,
3, Richard Waitzer (Auck), 3.1, 4
Over 50 Longboard Semifinals
Heat 1
Simon
Shepheard (Auck), 7.5, 1, Bryan Western (Auck), 6.07, 2, David Storck (Auck), 4.1,
3, Rob Bayes (Auck), 1.63, 4
Heat 2
Mark
Hoyle (Orewa), 11.3, 1, Rupert Newbold (Whngrei), 7.9, 2, Andrew Bonner (Auck),
2.17, 3, Nev Snooks (Auck), 1.8, 4
Stand Up Paddleboard Quarterfinals
Heat 1
Bevan
Gooch, 4.03, 1, Annabel Anderson (Auck), 3, 2, Maria Kingi (Piha), 2.33, 3, Jeremy
Stephenson (Auck), inj
Heat 2
Shayne
Baxter (ChCh), 12.3, 1, Karlos Aarsen (Whmata), 11, 2, Phillip Morris (Auck), 5.3,
3, Shaan Miller (Auck), 5, 4
Heat 3
Daniel
Kereopa (Rag), 15, 1, Rob Hawkins (Rag), 7.23, 2, Mike Cann (Auck), 4.03, 3, Adam
Bouzaid (Huntly), N/S
Heat 4
Darren
Jones (Auck), 9.93, 1, Armie Armstrong (Rag), 9.63, 2, Shane Murrell (Auck), 5.73,
3
Long Distance Stand Up Paddleboard Race
1st Armie Armstrong (Raglan) 54.05, 2nd Annabel
Anderson (Auckland) 54.28, 3rd Bevan Gooch (Pauanui) 56.43, 4th
Jeremy Stephenson (Auckland) 58.38
Overall the Hyundai Tour boasts $12,000 in
prize money which is boosted to $20,000 with another $8,000 distributed to
boardrider clubs and community groups at locations the tour frequents.
Hyundai have teamed up with Global Surf Industries and Starboard to provide
boards to raffle off at each event location.
All proceeds from this weekend’s raffles go back to North Coast
Boardriders Club to help develop surfing in the region.
The remaining events for the 2013 Hyundai Tour
follows:
Hyundai Tour Event 4, 16-17 February, Fitzroy Beach, New Plymouth (4-star)
Hyundai Tour Event 5, 1-2 March, Mount Maunganui (4-star)
Entry into the events can be completed at Surfing
New Zealand under “events.” Entry
into each event closes on the Monday prior to the event commencing. Complete the entry process online or download
entry forms and send them in.
Further
Information
For further information on the 2013 Hyundai Tour
please contact Surfing New Zealand’s Ben Kennings on 021 2278732 or email benkennings@surfingnz.co.nz
Imagery
Web clips and newsfeeds will be distributed free of charge from each
event. Please contact Ben Kennings for
further details.
High resolution action images of the surfing at all events on the Hyundai Tour
will be available to media free of charge upon request.
Event Hotline
The Surfing New Zealand event hotline is 0211134506. This will be updated daily at approximately 7:00am
with venue, divisions contested and conditions.
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