Challenging Conditions in Christchurch
Winter came early for competitors at the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour – Event 4 at Brighton Beach in Christchurch. Driving rain and cold temperatures had many looking for shelter and a warm coffee as the first rounds of the event unfolded.
Strong southwesterly offshore winds made the small 0.5 metre waves challenging, for the first round of the Over 40’s. Michael Willman, Dean Cooke and Mark Andrews local knowledge helped secure the waves required, advancing them to the quarterfinals.
As the tide pushed in and the wind strengthened, the first round of the Over 50’s hit the water.
Viv Treacy (Ocean Beach) and Grant Cochrane (ChCh) were the standouts. Treacy and Cochrane’s foot work and ability to stay within the pocket of the wave saw them rewarded by the judges, Treacy with a combined 12.7 and Cochrane with a 9.17 score.
With the swell struggling to reach 0.5 metres and the wind speed reaching 50kph, current National Longboard Champion and Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour leader Daisy Thomas (ChCh) made the most of any waves coming her way. Vertical turns and excellent footwork saw Thomas earn the highest combine score of 13.33 (from a possible 20 points) for the day. Claire Norman (Sydney) also impressed in the conditions with a combined score of 9.47. With the expected increase in swell tomorrow, Thomas and Norman’s surfing will be very entertaining for spectators.
After the lunch break, the four quarterfinal heats of the Over 40’s commenced in the ever-worsening conditions. Again local knowledge came into play with Ian Fletcher (ChCh) making the most of the small right-handers running towards the pier. Dean Cooke (ChCh) continue with his consistent approach, making sure he had the first turns completed before walking to the nose, as did Mike Thomson (Rag) who became the only non Christchurch surfer to make the semi-finals. Conditions were highlighted by the fact that the average combined score of the quarterfinals was 6.20 points.
Tomorrow is looking very promising with
the swell expected to increase to around 1.0 metre, winds are predicted
light offshore. With the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour Open “Round 1” hitting
the water at 7am there’s plenty of surfing to come.
Please see below for results from Day
one of the fourth leg of the Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour held at Brighton
Beach, Christchurch
Men’s Over 40 Round of 24
Heat 1 Steffan Menzies (Nelson)3, Glen Michaels (ChCh) 2, Warwick Gray (Waihi Bch) 1,
Heat 2 Mark Robberds (ChCh) w/t, Dave O'Rourke (ChCh) w/t,
Heat 3 Mark Andrews (ChCh) 1, Ian Fletcher (Chch) 2, Rob Hawkins (Rag) 3
Heat 4 John Taylor(ChCh) 3, Dean Cooke (ChCh) 2, Michael Willman,(ChCh) 1
Men’s Over 40 Quarter Finals
Heat 1 Mike Thomson (Rag) 1, Hamish Flood (ChCh) 3, Warwick Gray (Waihi Bch) 4, Dave O'Rourke (ChCh) 2,
Heat 2 Dave Burbage (Ham) 4, Stephen Tyro (ChCh) 1, Mark Robberds (ChCh) 3, Glen Michaels (ChCh) 2,
Heat 3 David Storck (Auck) 3, Steve Andrews (ChCh) 4, Mark Andrews (ChCh) 2, Dean Cooke (ChCh) 1,
Heat 4 Grant Cochrane (ChCh) 3, Mark Calcutt (ChCh) 4, Michael Willman,(ChCh) 2,
Ian Fletcher (Chch) 1,
Men’s Over 50 Round of 17
Heat 1 Mike Thomson (Rag) 2, Warren Thompson (Ocn Bch)4, Warwick Gray (Waihi Bch) 1,
Russel Johns, 3
Heat 2 Viv Treacy (Ocean Beach) 1, Jan Everett (ChCh) 3, Len Carragher (Chch) 2,
Heat 3 Grant Cochrane (ChCh) 1, Peter Mannix (ChCh) 3, Tim Clemence (ChCh) 2,
Heat 4 David Storck (Auck)1, Paul Bennett (ChCh) 2, Chris Tillson (ChCh) 3,
Open Women Division QUARTER-FINALS
Heat 1 Kirstie Thomsen (Whangarei) 1, Melody Spaul (Whngrei) 4, Geraldine Spencer (ChCh) 3,
Kate MacDonald (Rangiora) 2,
Heat 2 Daisy Thomas (Chch) 1, Eve Welch (ChCh) 2, Alicia Erceg (ChCh) 3, Rochelle Hardie (Chch) 4,
Heat 3 Claire Norman (Sydney) 1, Hannah Phillips (Chch) 2, Kerri Morehu-Baker (Kaik) 4,
Heather Hamilton (ChCh) 3,
The remaining event dates for the 2008 Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour are as follows:
RnR South Island International Longboard Pro-Am in association with Hyundai, Kaikoura – 14th – 16th March
Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour Event 6, Lyall Bay Wellington – 5th – 6th April
Hyundai Pro Longboard Tour Event 7, Port Waikato – 12th – 13th April