Mount Maunganui's Tim O'Connor paid the price for going it alone as his good mate Billy Stairmand stormed to his second national title after a near-flawless performance on the final day of the national surfing championships at Piha.
Stairmand managed a 17.10 point total in his heat, using his impeccable backhand surfing on the lefthanders of Piha Bar to take out the open men's division.
The 22-year-old is ranked 79th in the world, making him New Zealand's third-highest ranked surfer internationally, and he is also one of few in the world who claimed a victory over 11-time world champion Kelly Slater in 2011.
Stairmand notched up several excellent scores in quick succession yesterday, with his two highest being 8.90 and 8.20 point rides, more than enough to carry him to his second national title, after his maiden win in 2010 at Gisborne.
It was a big decision for Stairmand to surf up the beach. He and fellow finalist Chris Malone (Gisborne) were the first surfers of the day to do so. However, with the outgoing tide and building swell, the strategy paid off handsomely.
O'Connor placed third in his first open men's final, surfing the whole 25 minutes on his own at the north end of the beach where every other surfer had competed during the day. But the waves simply did not co-operate.
"That's is the risk you take," a philosophical O'Connor, 22, said. "You always hear stories of guys going down the beach and winning and it could have paid off, I saw waves before the final but that is the way it panned out unfortunately."
O'Connor considered joining Stairmand and Malone at the south end of the beach but opted to stay put.
"It was small where they were and big where I was, if I got two turns on one wave it would have been an eight or more. I mean, I have even seen waves since I came in but I just didn't get them in the final."
O'Connor was one of the standouts of the event and was confident in his surfing despite scoring only 9.0 points in the final.
"I am definitely stoked with the result. I am bummed a bit at the moment but overall it is a good result. I have been surfing well for the last two months and I think it showed at this event - not in the final but that's how it goes."
Mt Maunganui's Matt Hewitt was supposed to be the fourth surfer in the final but had to travel to Australia to compete in the final World Pro Junior event. In a twist of fate his heat in Australia was contested at the exact same time as the Piha final and he justified his decision, posting a narrow round one victory at Burleigh Heads.
Hewitt advanced over the event's top seed, Brazil's Caio Ibelli, by less than a point.
In the national open women's division, Thandi Durham-Tipene of Taranaki claimed her first national title in style, posting a 5.40 on her last wave to jump from third to first.
Northland surfer Manu Scott-Arrieta defended his under-14 boys' title by the closest margin of the day, 0.03 points, after a mammoth tussle with Mt Maunganui's Kehu Butler. Waihi Beach's Taine Craig-Ranga was fourth.
Ben Kennings defended his title in the over-35 men's division. Mount's Cale Tolley held the lead for much of the final after posting a 7.83 point ride on his first ride but Kennings fought back with an 8.60 on his second scoring ride to jump into the lead to pip Tolley.
Mount's Phil Griffin was third in the men's over-50.