Vette and Quinn in mix for Raglan

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

The “spring and autumn” of Gisborne surfing will take part in New Zealand’s richest surfing event this weekend.

Emerging star Saffi Vette makes a return to the domestic scene in the Rip Curl Pro at Raglan after spending much of summer competing in Australia.

And one of the legends of the sport in New Zealand, Maz Quinn, is making this event one of the competitions he comes out of semi-retirement to contest.

Quinn has already won the second event of the New Zealand Surf Series, The Barrett Homes Surf Open.

The Rip Curl Pro has the attraction of Raglan waves and $15,000 in prize money.

Another Gisborne surfer, Hannah King, will contest the Rip Curl GromSearch female final against three other surfers. The male and female winners earn the chance to represent New Zealand at the international final.

Meanwhile, the previous postponement of the Rip Curl Pro has benefited defending champions Billy Stairmand (Raglan) and Ella Williams (Whangamata), who are now available to contest it.

Previous event dates had Stairmand and Williams weighing up a return from Australia, where they were competing on the World Qualifying Series. Now they will enjoy the chance to defend their titles, Williams looking for a sixth straight win and Stairmand gunning for his third straight win.

The event has attracted the largest field of surfers this year with a near-capacity line-up.

Local standout Taylor Hutchison will be keen to keep his position at the top of the New Zealand Surf Series rankings. With a pair of semifinal finishes this year, Hutchison will have his sights firmly on a finals berth come Sunday.

Other open division surfers looking for a big result will be Levi Stewart (Waihi Beach), runner-up at the most recent event; Raglan’s Luke Cederman, who has placed first and second at the two most recent events held at Raglan; and Daniel Farr (Taranaki), a 2018 finalist making a slow return from injury.

In the women’s division, Raglan import and national champion Aimee Brown will want to back up her performance in Taranaki. Brown has reached both event finals this year and leads the rankings.

Gisborne’s Vette leads the charge for a young field of surfers where the average age is only 20 years old. But the up-and-coming stars will have to be wary of talented local mother Jessica Santorik and Whangamata’s Grace Spiers, both two-time champions in this event.

In the Rip Curl GromSearch boys’ division finals, local surfer Kora Cooper will be up against Myka Black (Christchurch), Tom Robinson (Whangarei) and Jack Lee (Whakatane).

In the girls’ division, local surfer Brie Bennett faces off against Estella Hungerford (Chch), Georgia Wederell (Mount Maunganui) and Gisborne’s King.