Blackpepper rides luck

Blackpepper made the most of the some bad luck for his opponents to ease away and win the overall title in the fourth round of the national surf cross competition at Waipu Cove.
The win pushes driver Scott Radley and co-driver David Hamilton up the ladder in the overall series to compete with competition leader Smuggler Marine, who could only manage third place overall in yesterday's racing.
Henderson Demolition, with Zane Randell and Anthony Coombes on board, finished in second place, easily their best result of the season to date.
The event drew hundreds of spectators - many of them sheltered under beach umbrellas to escape yesterday's hot sun - with 10 heats run before the final.
Smuggler Marine, with driver Logan Pringle and co-driver Chris Wells, won the final, but it did little to improve their overall standing. They suffered gear failure earlier in the day which cost them valuable points in the event.
The swell had dropped away at Waipu yesterday to about 1m, a marked contrast to the previous day, which saw huge waves cause problems for competitors during Saturday's 100km endurance race.
Smuggler Marine came through to win that race, in one hour 24 minutes, ahead of Blackpepper in second place with Incon Automation not far behind in third place.
An indication of just how well matched the top boats are in the competition, the top five finishers completed the 100km race within 50s of each other.
The race also involved a number of compulsory stops onshore, which proved to be the most challenging part of the racing after Cyclone Wilma had stirred up the ocean.
The fifth and penultimate round of the series is at Piha on February 10.