SPEED, POWER AND FLOW: Kalani Hansen on his way to winning the unique Remember Days surfing trophy.
SPEED, POWER AND FLOW: Kalani Hansen on his way to winning the unique Remember Days surfing trophy.
Kalani Hansen delivered a textbook display of local knowledge when he took out the Remember the Days surfing contest at Ahipara on Saturday.
Most of the event was run at Muke 1 with the finals run at the break on the inside bay at Te Kohanga (commonly referred to as Shippies) over the high tide that evening.
Contest director Wayne Clarke said the win was deserved with Hansen showing his class and local knowledge throughout the day.
"He pretty much took out the comp from the get-go. Surfed really well all the way through."
The final was a closely fought affair in which the lead changed hands between Hansen and one of his early local heroes, Liam Morrogh. An onlooker noted each wave the duo picked off in the final had been a potential winner but Hansen managed to catch last wave out before the final hooter and belted out a sequence of six big turns including a vertical reo as the wave closed out.
The other placegetters in the final were Nikki Nathan in third and Yates Gordon in fourth. There was also a prize for Wipeout of the Day, donated by Kiri Desborough, which went to Kalani's dad Paul for getting pitched on one ambitious take-off.
Kalani Hansen with fellow finalists Liam Morrogh, Nikki Nathan and Yates Gordon. PICTURE/SUPPLIED
The Remember the Days contest was open to anyone with only one division, with no sections for women or under 18s, and only a local surfer could claim the unique, articulated, tin-metal trophy (in which a spring loaded surfer can be shot out of a barrel) created by Clarke. This year's events attracted a total of 12 surfers all up, who surfed in four three-man heats with the top two progressing to surf in the two semi finals and from there, the finals.
Clarke said there was a bit of to-ing and fro-ing on Saturday morning looking for the right place to kick things off. While the swell wasn't huge, it was solid in the blustery winds which made conditions a tad ropey. Clarke towed the porta-loo used in the event out to Muke 1 then back to the Bay as the tide ebbed lower and lower from the day's 6.30m high, looking for the best break as the swell began to jack in the dropping tide.
He eventually returned to start the event at relatively uncrowded conditions at the Mukes 1 line-up where Hansen began to carve his way to this year's title against a quality field made up entirely of local boardriders. The contest venue was relocated over the incoming tide to Te Kohanga, a decision which allowed everyone to go home for the night and not end up trapped around the reef by the high tide rather than being a call based on wave quality.
"Mukes was good, cleaned up when the tide dropped and some good walls came through."
Clarke noted the competitors shared the two line ups used in the event with other surfers - a good number of whom were from out of town but up in Ahipara for the big weekend swell - but said no-one interfered, snaked or dropped in, pretty much giving the competitors priority when set waves came through.
As a Far North ex-pat now living in Melbourne but back home for 10 days to catch up with family and friends, Clarke said he had set the date for the comp earlier this year on social media and had been pleased with the response.
"I'm happy to run this comp as comps were run for us when we were younger. That doesn't happen very often any more."
- The Remember the Days surfing championship is dedicated to the memory of the many great Far North surfers who have since passed away and who served as the inspiration to the current crop of local surfers living and residing in the area. Previous winners of the event include, 2012 Pete Mitchell (held at the Bluff), 2013 Gary McMeekin (Te Kohanga), 2014 Kingi Brown (the Bluff), 2015 not run.
