Therefore, the final placings for the three divisions were awarded based on the rankings coming out of the Top 9 eliminators, with Travers finishing second in Group A behind Silverton, while Gibbons was third.
In the Mouthfresh Superboats, Whanganui's Rob Coley had made the Top 6, with the round placings going to Christchurch's defending champion Peter Caughey, Hamilton's Sam Newdick and Australian Ted Sygidus respectively.
Whanganui's Richard Murray had already been eliminated in tenth position.
For the Stinger Group B, expat Whanganui competitor Kellie Minnell finished second behind Te Awamutu's defending champion Patrick Haden, while Waitara's Daniel Reade came third using Travers' old Group B engine after damaging his own.
Whanganui's Hayden Wilson came sixth overall in his return to the sport.
"We'll take those points, it's good for the start of the season," said Travers from the Picton ferry terminal yesterday.
"We're about six tenths of a second off [Silverton], I think.
"We've still got some work to do. It's just the [engine] cam timing. The top end got nothing.
"Once we liven that up, that will be six tenths easy."
While the rain held off, conditions were still very difficult at the South Island track.
"There was ripples all the time, which affected the boat's handling," said Travers.
"The wind would just pick up your wake and carried it down to the end of the track."
Murray's Meaner Machine has a heavy Ford engine, and so the Whanganui driver drove within himself as they sat low in the choppy water.
"I sort of relaxed a bit and Rob [Coley] and the Aussie snuck in ahead of me [to Top 9].
"It was a tough day at the office, a lot of wash.
"Four hairpin type corners, so we were bogging down on those corners and losing time.
"I was playing it safe, there was a few things I should have checked on the boat."
Murray was still happy with the engine, which unlike last season ran well when idling and had power of the mark.
He was looking forward to seeing how well the boat will go on the more open tracks in Whanganui and Waitara.
For Wilson, there had been a few engine issues in his White Noize craft, not to mention getting back into the swing of competition after a season's break.
"We were starting to get on top of [engine], but not enough runs in the day left.
"The rotation was alright, I was trying to get the boat to handle.
"It feels like you have a season off and they've left you for dead."
The next round of the national series will be the return to the Tauherenikau Race Course in Wairarapa on December 2, followed by home track at the Shelterview Jetsprint Park on December 27.
Results, Round 1
Stinger Group B: 1. Patrick & Jay Haden; 2. Kellie Minnell, Sherie Patterson; 3. Daniel Reade, Jasmine Webster.
Fowler Homes Group A: 1. Ollie Silverton, Jess Sit; 2. Ross & Shane Travers; 3. Simon Gibbon, Paul Thompson.
Mouthfresh Superboats: 1. Peter Caughey, Shama Putaranui; 2. Sam Newdick, Glenn Mason; 3. Ted Sygidus, Brayden Scott.
