Maiden series victories for Moretti, Tawharu

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

Paul Moretti, of Muriwai, and Elin Tawharu, of Mount Maunganui, have claimed maiden New Zealand Surf Series victories.

They won the open men’s and open women’s divisions of the season-ending Backdoor Pro presented by Billabong at Fitzroy Beach, New Plymouth, yesterday.

The surf ranged between one and 1.5 metres and, despite the moderate onshore winds, the waves were highly contestable.

Moretti surfed to a 15.5-point heat total in the final to win his first national event since he was 12 years old. His final was highlighted by a quick start and an early near-perfect 8.83-point ride.

Runner-up Billy Stairmand, of Raglan, fought back from a big deficit in the final to finish with a 13.3-point heat total.

Stairmand, by way of his second-place finish, did enough to leap to the top of the NZ Surf Series standings for the year. It was his third straight title.

Finishing in third place in the final was New Plymouth surfer Jarred Hancox with a 12.57-point heat total. In his first final, Jay Piper-Healion, of Whitianga, finished fourth.

Tawharu found herself in a precarious position in the open women’s final.

With less than two minutes to go, she had a heat total of two points. But a 7.33-point ride took her from fourth to first and left her opponents no time to react. It was her first win in a national series event.

Tawharu’s win pushed Aimee Brown (Great Barrier) back into second place and second overall on the series rankings behind Raiha Ensor, of the Mount.

Zhana Hutchison, of Taranaki, finished the final in third place, with Brie Bennett, of Raglan, fourth.

Whangarei surfer Tom Robinson won the under-18 boys’ division, edging past local surfer Tom Butland in the final. Robinson’s last two waves were his best of the heat.

Raglan’s Jayden Willoughby finished third in the final ahead of Jack Hinton, of Mount Maunganui.

All four surfers were competing up a grade from their preferred u16 division.

Gabrielle Paul (Piha) stormed to her first win of the season in the u18 girls’ division. Contesting the final junior event of her career, Paul surfed to a 13.17-point total in the final. She featured in the final of every event she contested in 2019, and this was her first win of the season.

Runner-up Brie Bennett (Raglan) had the highest single-wave score of 7.23.

Mount Maunganui surfer Georgia Wederell finished third, which was enough for her to hold on to the No.1 ranking over Paul, who jumped to second.