"The 25-minute finals gave us a bit more time [and] I got the waves I needed at the start.
"I had one towards the end [but] there was a set coming through when I turned around."
As Paerata-Reid slashed and burned his way along one of the last waves of the heat, Moretti could only look on and hope that Paerata-Reid's heat total wouldn't surpass his 15.83.
But it wasn't to be.
"It's been a bit of a tough year," Moretti says.
"[But] I'm still enjoying surfing and keeping the stoke."
While Paerata-Reid showed his true international class waiting for his final score, it was a harsh blow for Moretti who has now made numerous second place finishes in recent events.
Regarded as the people's champ by many, Moretti was one of the standout surfers during the event.
His round two performance in the early open men's heats saw him take down eventual winner Maz Quinn, one of New Zealand's most successful and progressive surfers to date.
In the open men's division, Gisborne's Quinn won his third consecutive event of the New Zealand Pro Series.
Quinn led the final from start to finish with his performance highlighted by a 9.1-point ride midway through the final that was near perfect.
"I took a lot of confidence from quarters and semis today," Quinn said after exiting the water.
"Manu Bay turned it on for the comp, it was the best we have had for a while. Once the waves get overhead and clean, experience comes in to play and the big turns, so it is no surprise a lot of the older guys performed well today."
Quinn was joined by Ella Williams (Whangamata) who won the open women's division and Paerata -Reid (Piha) who won the under 20 boys division.
Williams claimed her first win of the New Zealand Pro Series in three years, taking out the open women's division over Australian-based Sarah Mason.
Raglan turned on for the duration of the event with organisers saying the ocean produced some of the best conditions seen in an event in a long time.
