Surfing: Paul cleans up in longboard defence

Local knowledge and a fiercely competitive spirit helped Sandy Bay surfer Wini Paul live up to all the hype at the Hyundai Longboard Tour.

Defending women's longboard champion Paul showed no signs of losing her title during the 25-minute surf final.

The women's final resembled something of a Bledisloe Cup match with two Kiwi surfers facing off against two Australians.

However, the bounce of the ball went all Paul's way with her second, and best ride, of the final being a long right hander where Paul nailed a hang five through the fast mid-section, scoring a 6.73 out of 10 to secure another victory on home turf. Her total heat score for the final was 12.44, ahead of Australia's Erin Dark in second with 11.4.

The second instalment of the traditional logger division was claimed by Northland's Matt Cockayne who picked off some long peeling lefts, perching on the nose and impressing all who were lucky enough to be watching. Fellow Northlander Tony Baker, of Mangawhai, placed second.

In the over-50s division it was Ocean Beach's Rupert Newbold who flew the flag for Northlanders. Newbold placed third, improving on his fourth placing at the first event of the year held at Raglan.

Former New Zealand junior surfer Paul Moretti, of Mimiwhangata, turned up the heat on Saturday as he demolished his opposition in the semifinal, posting the highest heat score of the event so far with an 18.0 out of a possible 20.

However, it was Bay of Plenty surfer Joseph Stewart who stole the show in the juniors as he scored a 7.83 out of 10 in the final, leaving Moretti to place second. Moretti also placed fourth in the men's open longboard final.

In the over-60s division it was Auckland's Rob Bayes who surfed the wave of the final to claim victory ahead of fellow Aucklander Michael Gray and 75-year-old Whangarei surfer Ross Edge in fourth.

The stand up paddleboard competition was held in challenging conditions, and paddlers were required to navigate their way around the course three times. In amongst the carnage of boards and whitewater, top New Zealand paddler Shayne Baxter (Christchurch) paddled to victory ahead of Shane Murrell (Auckland) in second and Armie Armstrong (Raglan) in third.

Proceeds from the Hyundai, Global Surf Industries and Starboard raffle went to the North Coast Boardriders Club to help develop surfing in the region.