Taranaki’s Farr takes out open men’s final
Taranaki surfer Daniel Farr has cut through another set of waves in Auckland to bring home his third major win from three competitions over the past 12 months.
Aotearoa Surf Pro was the fourth of seven events that make up the NZ Surf Series.
The two-day competition at Te Arai Beach, just over an hour’s drive north of Auckland’s CBD and to the south of Mangawhai Heads, had a top field of pro surfers, including Olympian Billy Stairmand.
Farr’s latest major surfing title pushed him to his limits.
“The nerves were there all weekend, seeing the guys you were coming up against,” he said. “But going into the finals, I felt a bit more prepared than the first heats. And at the start, that first wave popped up for me perfectly, then I got that good one at the end to finish it off.
“Great to back up from the win at the national champs in January, but it actually didn’t come easy. It is always tough coming up against the likes of Caleb (Cutmore) and Billy (Stairmand) and all the top guys – I am glad we were all here to make it a good challenge this weekend.”
The final day of surfing on Sunday featured 1m waves and moderate onshore winds that persisted all day, challenging Farr and his fellow competitors to show their best skills in pursuit of points.
The open men’s final capped off a fantastic two days of action with a highscoring encounter that saw Farr post a
17.34 heat total for the win. His performance was bookended by a 9.17-point ride in the dying stages of the final for a big two-turn combo, the highest score of the event.
“We got some waves today, not the best, bit onshore but heaps of fun” said Farr, who will base himself in Australia from later this month.
Cutmore, from Raglan, took out second place after pushing Farr until the end of the final.
Jack Hinton, of Mt Maunganui, cut his way to third place in the final, with Taranaki’s Spencer Rowson fourth.
Earlier in the day, Rowson and Farr eliminated Billy Stairmand (Raglan) and Jackson Peak (Auckland) in the first semifinal.
Rowson will represent New Zealand in the Under-18 division of the World Junior Surfing Championships in El Salvador in early May.
Farr has a commanding lead in the series but is expected to be overtaken in the standings through missing the final three events.
Mt Maunganui’s Elin Tawharu took out the open women’s division, having just returned from a lengthy time out with injury.