Raglan surfer Billy Stairmand lived up to his favourite's tag at the national surfing championships yesterday, winning the open men's division in ferocious conditions at Piha Beach.
It was his fourth title, equalling Maz Quinn who finished second in the final, and he's now one title behind record-holders Wayne Parkesand Iain Buchanan who have five each.
The swell built throughout the day and peaked over 2m by the time of the men's final, which proved challenging for New Zealand's best surfers.
Stairmand took a stranglehold early, posting a 9.6-point ride before surfing to another 9-point ride and an impressive 18.6-point total.
Quinn was second with 14.90, with Alex Dive on 11.6 and Tane Wallis fourth with 11.
"I had my eyes on that title all week long," Stairmand said. "It's good to put my name on the trophy again and take it back to Raglan for another year. It's always amazing to win the nationals. Maz was hunting for five titles and I was hunting for four and I got it. I'm keen to get my name on there as much as possible."
Auckland surfer Gabriella Sansom got her name on the women's title for the first time. She dealt with the conditions the best - some of the finalists were washed in before the final had started - first picking off a 5.67-point ride before surfing to an excellent 8.33 on her second scoring wave and a 14-point total.
"I planned to hug in close to the Beehive and try to get a few small waves," said Sansom in reference to the rock formation at the south. Her strategy worked well as she built a lead her opponents couldn't claw back.
Britt Kindred was second ahead of Jessica Santorik and Dayna Story.
Shayne Baxter defended his stand-up paddleboard title, narrowly defeating Daniel Kereopa and Baxter was also second in the paddleboard race won by Armie Armstrong.
Penelope Strickland was the lone female after several of her opponents succumbed to the big waves.
