Surf lifesaving: Mairangi Bay in top form

East coast patrol Mairangi Bay proved too strong in the open and under-19 men's divisions to convincingly beat their west coast arch-rivals, Muriwai, at the first full-day carnival of the summer at Omaha yesterday.

Both clubs were missing some of their more experienced competitors, but Mairangi Bay set a solid foundation through Olympian swimmer Dean Kent and his under-19 club-mate, Michael Buck, in the swimming events.

Jason Pocock and brother Cameron, with Kevin Morrison and Travis Mitchell, dominated the small craft races.

Outstanding again for Muriwai was 16-year-old multi-talented lifesaver Lauren Roberts, with clubmates Lucy Pengelly and Jamie-Lee Reynolds.

One of the day's highlights was the return of the big surf boats. For the first time in many years 11 crews were on the beach, six in the open races.

Red Beach proved the strongest crew, taking the open-race series on a countback from Piha, with Mairangi Bay third.