From Flat to Ferocious in Four Hours at the the O'Neill Sequence Surf Shop Pro

A flat ocean greeted competitors at Makorori Beach, Gisborne this morning for the O'Neill Sequence Surf Shop Pro - the first of six events on the SOL Surf Series.

The early morning small conditions forced a delayed start before they were replaced by a southerly front that passed through the region. The wind whipped up the ocean, competitors having to battle atrocious conditions in swell that built toward the two metre mark fanned by gusts up to 40 knots.

The top seeds at the event enjoyed a lay day with the likes of local surfers Maz Quinn, Jay Quinn, Sam Willis and Blair Stewart getting to enjoy their home confines while the Open Women's and Under 20 Men's Divisions were contested through to the finals.

Defending event champion Jessica Santorik (Rag) used her tactical nous to progress through to the final of the Open Women's Division and is on track to defend her title at the event. Santorik won her heat progressing to the final alongside Grace Spiers (WGM) who snatched a last minute wave to drop Ella Williams (WGM) back into third and elimination from the event placing fifth.

"It was a twenty minute paddle to get out the back of the line up with non stop paddling and duck diving the whole heat" commented Santorik in regards to the conditions.
"I couldn't get back out the back after my first wave. Whoever got through was stupidly lucky considering the conditions today" added Santorik.
"I didn't want to surf the 'semi' this afternoon but I wasn't going to say anything" said Santorik who hopes that Sunday brings better conditions for the finals and potentially a move to Midway Beach in town if the swell continues to build and get out of control at Makorori Beach.

Alexis Poulter (Rag) paddled for 19 minutes in her heat before turning and catching her only scoring ride in her semifinal - a 4.17 out of 10 points which was enough for her to win her progress through to the final. A finals berth is a good start to the season for Poulter who finished the 2009/10 season in tenth place.

Poulter progressed through to the final alongside Laura Rishworth (Mnt) who is fresh back from the 2010 Billabong ISA World Surfing Games in Peru where she placed ninth overall.

The Under 20 Men's Division paved the way to the most exciting surfing of the day. However, it was left until the last two semifinal heats of the day where the two title contenders kept their hopes alive for victory.

Gisborne surfer Johnny Hicks had to come from behind scoring an 8.67 point ride in the last two minutes to win his heat after looking like his title aspirations were being blown away with the howling wind.

"Pretty hard out there, real testing stuff but I would rather it like this than half a foot and offshore" said Hicks.
"I don't know, I knew I didn't have long but if a wave came my way I knew I could get a score" said Hicks of what most at the beach considered the wave of the day.
 

Hicks' challenger to the title, Sean Peggs (Tai), followed the path laid down in the previous heat. Seemingly lost at sea and requiring an 8.26 point ride with one minute remaining, Peggs caught a solid lefthander that he proceeded to complete three huge forehand turns to post an 8.67 point ride - the exact equivalent of Hicks. The wave was enough to push him into second place with Piha's Tane Wallis winning the heat, the two surfers eliminating Keone Campbell (Tara) who was leading the semifinal inside the last five minutes and Tim Thompson (Auck) who also dominated the heat in the early stages.

The morning saw the first round of the Open Men's Division contested with JC Susan (Mnt) and Tyler Lawson (HBay) winning their first round heats along with local surfers Brent Rasby and Adam Grimson. Grimson is the youngest surfer remaining in the event and finds himself matched up against 2009/10 fourth ranked surfer Chris Malone (Rag), Braedon Williams (WGM) and Zen Wallis (Piha). Local surfer Brent Rasby scored the highest heat score of the round (10.5) followed by Lawson who scored 10.43 out of a possible 20 points.

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The southerly front is expected to pass through Gisborne overnight Saturday which will mean improved conditions for the finals day. A decision on the location for the final day as well as the order of events will be determined on Sunday morning at 7.00am.

Results from day one of the O'Neill Sequence Surf Shop Pro held at Makorori Beach, Gisborne

Open Men's Round 1

Heat 1
JC Susan (Mnt), 1, Deane Hishon (Rag), 2, Larry Fisher (Rag), 3

Heat 2
Tyler Lawson (HBay), 1, Damon Gunness (Gis), 2, Elliot Paerata - Reid (Piha), Nat Hughes (Rag), 4

Heat 3
Brent Rasby (Gis), Owen McMillan (Gis), 2, Paul Moretti (Mimiwhangata), 3

Heat 4
Adam Grimson (Gis), 1, Joe Moretti (Mimiwhangata), 2, Nathan Welch (Gis), 3

Open Men's Round 2 (To be surfed on Sunday)

Heat 1
Tim O'Connor (Mnt), Jarred Hancox (Tara), Ben Poulter (Rag), JC Susan (Mnt)

Heat 2
Nick White (Mnt), Blair Stewart (Gis), Tim Thompson (Auck), Dean Hishon (Rag)

Heat 3
Ben Kennings (WGM), Tane Wallis (Piha), Jacob Kohn (Gis), Tyler Lawson (HBay)

Heat 4
Maz Quinn (Gis), Johnny Hicks (Gis), Scott Bell (Mur), Damon Gunness (Gis)

Heat 5
Luke Hughes (Rag), Dane Simpson (Gis), Che Whitaker (Gis), Brent Rasby (Gis)

Heat 6
Leon Santorik (Rag), Alex Dive (Mnt), Sam Willis (Gis), Owen McMillan (Gis)

Heat 7
Chris Malone (Gis), Braedon Williams (WGM), Zen Wallis (Piha), Adam Grimson (Gis)

Heat 8
Keone Campbell (Tara), Jay Quinn (Gis), Sean Peggs (Tai), Joe Moretti (Mimiwhangata)

Under 20 Men's Round 1

Heat 1
Alex Dive (Mnt), 1, JC Susan (Mnt), 2, Travis McCoy (Mnt), 3, Waretini Wano (Piha), 4

Heat 2
Jacob Kohn (Gis), 1, Tyler Lawson (H-Bay), 2, Elliot Paerata Reid (Piha), 3, Nat Hughes (Rag), 4

Heat 3
Fintan Cram (Whmata), 1, Keone Campbell (Tara), 2, Paul Moretti (Mimiwhangata), 3, Subarn Linklater (Auck), 4

Heat 4
Zen Wallis (Piha), 1, Sid West (Gt Barrier), 2, Adam Grimson (Gis), 3, Jimmy Thomas (Rag), 4

Under 20 Men's Quarterfinals

Heat 1
Johnny Hicks (Gis), 1, Tyler Lawson (H-Bay), 2, Alex Dive (Mnt), 3, Todd Doyle (Mnt), 4

Heat 2
JC Susan (Mnt), 1, Ben Poulter (Rag), 2, Jacob Kohn (Gis), 3, Braedon Williams (Whmata), 4

Heat 3
Sean Peggs (Tairua), 1, Tim Thompson (Auck), 2, Sid West (Gt Barrier), 3, Fintan Cram (Whmata), 4

Heat 4
Keone Campbell (Tara), 1, Tane Wallis (Piha), 2, Joe Moretti (Mimiwhangata), 3, Zen Wallis (Piha), 4

Under 20 Men's Semifinals

Heat 1
Johnny Hicks (Gis), 1, Tyler Lawson (H-Bay), 2, JC Susan (Mnt), 3, Ben Poulter (Rag), 4

Heat 2
Tane Wallis (Piha), 1, Sean Peggs (Tairua), 2, Keone Campbell (Tara), 3, Tim Thompson (Auck), 4

Under 20 Men's Final (To be surfed on Sunday)

Johnny Hicks (Gis), Tyler Lawson (H-Bay), Tane Wallis (Piha), Sean Peggs (Tairua)

Open Women's Round 1

Heat 1
Jayda Martin-Fitzharris (Gis), 1, Grace Spiers (Whmata), 2, Mischa Davis (Auck), 3, Marguerite Vujich (Napier), 4

Heat 2
Jessica Santorik (Rag), 1, Ella Williams (Whmata), 2, Rachel von Zalinski (Auck), 3

Heat 3
Laura Rishworth (Mnt), 1, Alexis Poulter (Rag), 2, Rosa Thompson (Auck), 3

Open Women's Semifinals

Heat 1
Jessica Santorik (Rag), 1, Grace Spiers (Whmata), 2, Ella Williams (Whmata), 3

Heat 2
Alexis Poulter (Rag), 1, Laura Rishworth (Mnt), 2, Jayda Martin-Fitzharris (Gis), 3

Open Women's Final (To be surfed on Sunday)

Jessica Santorik (Rag), Grace Spiers (Whmata), Alexis Poulter (Rag), Laura Rishworth (Mnt)