KEY POINTS:
Wellington's Titahi Bay crew took advantage of strong surf to take a slender lead after the third round of the New Zealand Surf Boat Series at Piha.
It was very much a case of being at the right place at the right time as swells of nearly two metres kept the crews on their toes.
Several crews sustained gear damage and officials reduced the round robin competitions to two before holding semifinals and final on Saturday.
Top Australian crew from Jan Juc in Victoria won the final ahead of Mt Maunganui with champion Wellington boat from Titahi Bay third.
The much fancied Piha A boat managed only sixth, which has caused a points logjam with just one round of the New Zealand series remaining.
Titahi Bay have 42.5 points followed by Mt Maunganui on 41.5 and Piha on 40 points.
"We didn't have a great day in the office but neither did our close rivals," said Titahi Bay sweep Paul McVicor. "The conditions were difficult and without much practice in heavy surf we took a while to get our rhythm."
The surprise performance came from the Mt Maunganui Makos crew, who were the best performing New Zealand crew in the final.
"The Mount has jumped into second place after three rounds, but there are only a couple of points between us, the Mount and Piha," said McVicor.
But the relatively calm conditions expected at Waihi at the final round next weekend could be leading to a false sense of security for the crews. Weather forecasts are predicting big east coast swells by the time these boats start the final round.
Anticipating smaller surf could be a mistake, although the conditions at Piha were a good forerunner to Waihi after the surf was borderline unmanageable on Saturday.
Mt Maunganui women were too strong for their rivals, while Paekakariki gave the more fancied crews a lesson.
