Rip Curl Pro Raglan

Corona Crown Series Event 5
Manu Bay, Raglan New Zealand
29 February - 2 March 2008

Action Packed Semifinals at the Rip Curl Pro

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 1 March, 2008 : - - The women and under 18 divisions of the Rip Curl Pro had to make the move to Ruapuke today (Saturday) when the miniature swell at Manu Bay proved to small to surf when dawn broke. 

However Ruapuke – a 30 minute drive south of Raglan offered up clean offshore conditions with 1.0m waves and that was enough to complete sevetal rounds of the women’s and juniors divisions.  The open men’s division was not contested after initial deliberations and it is hoped that the final day of the event will return to Manu Bay – the preferred break of the Rip Curl Pro.

The drama filled semifnals of women’s division took place late in the afternoon.  The first semifinal saw Paige Hareb (Tara) turn up late for her heat.  She entered the water with only 14 minutes remaining but her quick action in the water pushed her into the lead well before the final hooter. 

“I thought that I was in the second semifinal so I was just sitting in my car in the car park until someone told me my heat was out” commented Hareb after exiting the water obviously relieved that she had won the heat with a total score of 12.85.  Hareb posted an 8.0 point ride on her last wave for a flawlessly executed critical forehand turn followed by series other manoeuvres.

Jessica Santorik : photo NZ Surfing Magazine

Hareb moved through to the final alongside local surfer Kara Stephenson who will now contest her second final of the season.  Currently ranked sixth on the Corona Crown Series ratings, Stephenson will look to elevate herself into the top three and secure a place in the Super 16.  Together, the two surfers eliminated Thandi Durham (Tara) and Rosa Thompson (Auck).

The second semifinal lived up to the expectations of the first.  Jessica Santorik (Rag) stormed to the lead early scoring consecutive rides of 7.0 and 4.65 points.  Her lead was never challenged until the dying seconds of the semifinal when she got tangled with Laura Rishworth (Mnt) while both surfers attempted to catch the same wave. 

Santorik was deemed to have interfered with Rishworth and as a result lost 50% of her lowest scoring ride.  This jumped fellow local surfer Alexis Poulter into first place with a score of 9.40.  Poulter looked solid in her performance maximising the scoring potential on all her waves.  Santorik ultimately finished second, still progressing through the heat.

Current Corona Crown Series ratings leader Mischa Davis (Piha) had to settle for a narrow loss in third place scoring a total heat score of 8.15 in a semifinal that never looked like hers.  Davis had several opportunities to make a dash for progression but the howling offshore winds hindered her changes blowing her off the back of the waves. 

Having only contested four of the five events to date, her points amassed to date will keep her close to the top of the ratings but she is likely to relinquish the top spot.

The juniors rounded out the day as the tide pushed in over the low tide banks.  In the tricky conditions Braedon Williams (WGM) dominated his opponents with fast, energetic surfing that had him floating over sections and completing big turns on the final critical sections including one nice aerial.  Williams was on fire in the semifnal posting a 13.50 total heat score highlighted by his best ride of 7.0 points.

Current ratings leader and junior national champion Sean Peggs (Tairua) continued his run with yet another finals berth.  Peggs scored 12.75 to place second behind Williams in their semifinal and move through to his third final of the year.  Together the two surfers eliminated Buck Woods (Gis) who finished in third and Tyler Anderson (Tara) in fourth.

The Mount Maunganui duo of Alex Dive and Matt Hewitt shut out Mark Pathemore (Tara) and Ryan Hawker (Piha) in the second semifinal.  After accumulating points early in their heat they were able to put the pressure on the other two surfers and close them out completely. 

Hawker had to paddle down the beach to find a wave to himself while Pathemore’s giant killing run came to an end when he could not find his favoured lefthanders that had seen him progress to the last eight surfers earlier in the day.

The conditions for day three of the Rip Curl Pro are expected to improve with a possible move back to Manu Bay.  The open men who make it to the final could find themselves surfing five times should the new man on man system be used. 

The finals of the women and the under 18 men’s divisions will also be contested along with the finals of the national Rip Curl GromSearch final.  The winners of the GromSearch final receive a trip to Australia and entry into the international final held in conjunction with the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia.

The predicted westerly winds overnight may continue to bring bad weather but is likely to increase the size of the swell.  The Rip Curl Pro is a six star rated event with $15,400 in prize money on offer.

Previous reports:
# 1 : Corona event 5, Rip Curl Pro Raglan, goes big on day 1
# 2 : Coming soon
# 3 : Coming soon
# 4 : Coming soon  

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Ben Kennings

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