Christie busy but fails to advance

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

GISBORNE/Mahia surfer Ricardo Christie’s tough European leg of the World Surf League Qualifying Series continues with another early exit, this time in the Azores Islands off the coast of Portugal.

In clean, punchy two-to-three-foot peaks at the beachbreak of Santa Barbara, Christie kept busy, surfing nine waves in his 30-minute four-man heat.

However, despite his high wave count, Gold Coast-based Christie could only put together a 10.56 two-wave total (out of a possible 20) to come in third.

Hiroto Arai of Japan won the heat with 13.60 and Brazil’s Yage Araujo came in second with 12.34. The top two advanced.

Jordy Collins of the United States came fourth with 9.03.

Coming into the second half of the 2017 QS, Christie is in 14th place on 10,500 points, including 5200 points from his US Open fifth placing and 3000 for his win at the Martinique Pro.

At the end of the year the top 10 qualify for the elite 2018 Championship Tour.

Only a surfer’s top five results count so Christie will need three more big results to secure a place in the 2018 CT.

Christie’s early exit in the QS6000 Azores Airlines Pro comes after a third-round loss in the Pantin Classic Galicia Pro in Spain last week.

Christie’s next chance to earn some major points will be the 10,000-point-rated EDP Billabong Pro Cascais 2017 in Portugal, beginning on September 26.

A strong result there would set Christie up nicely going into the back end of the QS in Hawaii, where Christie has surfed well in the past.

Fellow Kiwi Billy Stairmand of Raglan won his Round 2 heat and will surf in Round 3 tonight (NZ time).