"There's a bubble of talent rising and it's exciting, with girls like Jess Miller and Katie Wilson from Mount Maunganui and Danielle McKenzie coming through, and it definitely seems like the under-19s are taking it to the open women at the moment," Peat said.
"My worlds experience was just a massive confidence booster, even though I didn't get the results I was hoping for on the beach.
"I got to race those high-quality Australians and took it to them."
Peat also took out the surf race from her national under-20 teammate, Omanu's Dannielle O'Connor, while McKenzie comfortably won the board race from Wainui 16-year-old Jasmine Smith.
Another teenager, New Plymouth Old Boys flyer Olivia Eaton, won the beach sprint while Fitzroy's Katie Watts grabbed the beach flags crown.
Toby Harris (Wainui) grabbed the open men's double, winning both the flags and sprint.
Gisborne surf lifesaver Ollie Puddick upstaged a qualify field to win the ironman title.
Puddick outlasted his good mate and Gisborne rival Cory Taylor (Midway) in the feature race, with Mount Maunganui's English import George Haynes coming in third.
Puddick, who turns 21 next month, has spent the last three years based on the Gold Coast at the Kurrawa club but has recently returned to coach juniors at Wainui and have a crack at the New Zealand scene.
"I've always been told the ability has been there but I haven't been able to use it properly, racing smart and putting it all together," Puddick said.
"Today showed that I finally can - I was pretty stoked with the way I raced.
"Now I'm keen to just keep fit, train hard and see if I can take out the Sonic series."
His form wasn't limited to the ironman discipline. He was leading the surf race, before a wave brought four other swimmers through ahead of him, and finished third in a classic ski race, won by Olympic kayaker Steve Ferguson.
Taylor didn't go home empty-handed, however, winning the surf race and finishing third in the board race in the carnival, which was jointly hosted by Surf Life Saving Northern Region and SLSNZ Eastern Region.
Red Beach and Karekare won the men's and women's canoe titles respectively, on an action-packed day amidst the big crafts.
The Piha men's A boat crew continued where they'd left off in the national surf boat series, holding off their clubmates, the Piha Pistols, while Mairangi Bay captured the women's boat title.
The boat crews will be back in Whangamata on January 2 for the second round of the national series, while the Sonic Race series moves on to Oakura Beach in Taranaki in mid-January.
