Whakatane women grab surf boat title

The Whakatane women's surf boat crew emerged victorious from a day of carnage at the final round of the national series in Piha on Saturday.

With the contestants buffeted by 2m swells and onshore winds at the West Coast beach near Auckland, a flurry of DNFs turned the competition into a matter of survival.

Whakatane was one of just a handful of women's crews to get through to the final relatively unscathed, finishing just behind crack Australia crew Jan Juc to claim the series title by just two points from Mount Maunganui.

Whangamata finished third in the final.

Whakatane, swept by ageless veteran Warren McGougan, will look to complete a perfect season when they host the national surf lifesaving championships in the Bay of Plenty in March.

With the men's series title all wrapped up and champions Titahi Bay absent preparing for a trans-Tasman assault, Piha used to opportunity to regain some pride and also get ready for next month's national championships.

On their home beach, with sweep and former Kiwis rugby league player Mark Bourneville calling the shots at the back of the boat, Piha came through for the win and secured second place for the series.

Gisborne's Midway club continued their late-season revival grabbing second while Whangamata, despite a huge spill in the earlier rounds, finished third.

Piha's under-23 men's crew also claimed a series title with a win yesterday, heading home the club's B crew and East Coast rivals Orewa.

Results from the Piha Big Wave Classic, the fourth and final event in the national surf boat surf lifesaving series in Piha on Saturday:

Open men: Piha (Bruce O’Brien, Craig Knox, Matt Kirk, Ben Scott, Mark Bourneville) 1, Midway (Andrew Barrett, Chris Bell, Andrew Briant, Brett Derry, Robert Dyer) 2, Whangamata (Cameron Corkill, Jonathan McElwee, Daniel Murtagh, Liam O’Halloran, Michael Tames) 3.

Under-23 men: Piha Pistols (Cedric Bourneville, Ludovik Bourneville, Theo Commissaris, Shamus O’Halloran, Jean-Paul Smit, Mark Bourneville) 1, Piha Pirates (Andrew James, Logan Flutey, Nicolas McKenzie, Jed Wright, Shamus O’Halloran) 2, Orewa White (Jake Griffiths, Christopher McCarthny, Dwayne van Den Berg, Jediah Franich, Stuart Handford) 3.

Open women: Jan Juc (Australia) (Scarlett Blewett, Lara Jeffery, Mel Russell, Shea Grant, Scott Tannerhill) 1, Whakatane (Carla Linton, Annette Hahipene, Annette Rio, Grace Whytnee, Monty McGougan) 2, Whangamata (Hannah White, Courtney McCain, Honor Young, Kathryn Harris,  Steve Pipe) 3.

Final series standings:

Open men: Titahi Bay 45 pts 1, Piha 43 2, Midway 41 3, Bethells Beach 33 4, Lyall Bay 32 5, Mount Maunganui 31 6, Whakatane 29 7, Mairangi Bay A 28 8, Mairangi Bay B 25 9, Muriwai 25 10.

Under-23 men: Piha 20 1, Orewa 20 2, Paekakariki 15 3.

Open women: Whakatane 41 1, Mount Maunganui A 39 2, Waihi 36 3, Titahi Bay 29 4, Mount Maunganui B 28 5, Paekakariki 24 6, Orewa A 22 7, Orewa B 19 8, North Beach 18 9, Lyall Bay 18 10.