For the first time since the Rena shipwrecked on Astrolabe Reef, the 2012 Hyundai Tour returned to a clean Mount Maunganui beach today for the fourth event of the series.
Despite the stricken Rena still being visible from the event site, the ocean and beach were spotless and a clean,but a small one metre swell slightly dampened the spirits of New Zealand's best longboard surfers.
The open men's division went according to plan, with all the top surfers moving through to the semifinals to be contested tomorrow.
Top seed Thomas Kibblewhite of Auckland used his small wave knowledge to the best of his ability, nailing some vertical backhand re-entries on his way to a 12.40 score in his heat. Kibblewhite has a healthy lead on the tour, and it will be his opponents that will have to make all of the moves this weekend if they are to peg that back.
Looking good for the title challenge was Ohope surfer Dylan Barnfield. Barnfield used slick footwork to complete some nice hang tens to finish his quarterfinal in first equal with Daniel Procter, with both surfers scoring 10.83 points. Procter and Barnfield meet up with Kibblewhite in the semifinals in the match-up of the round, which also includes local surfer Owen Barnes.
The second semifinal is filled with three Bay of Plenty surfers and New Zealand representative Matt Cockayne, who top scored for the round with 12.77 out of 20 points.
Karl Aarsen, fourth seed in the stand up paddleboard division, dominated the first day of the proceedings by scoring 16.03 to win through to the semifinals. Aarsen has been knocking on the door of the top seeded surfers all season and today he showed that he can mix it with the best of them.
Top seeds Daniel Kereopa of Raglan and Christchurch's Shayne Baxter also moved through to the semifinals, along with Sean Hovell of Gisborne and Auckland's Jeremy Stephenson, who both won their day one match ups.
The women's division saw four of the five travelling Australians progress through to the quarter-finals, with Molly Powell top scoring with 10.90. The women's top seeds will enter the water early on Sunday morning with number one Mischa Davis of Piha looking for her second win of the year.
