Lifeguards have closed Mt Maunganui beach after a surfer's close encounter with a shark.

His face smashed apart, an injured surfer struggled to shore ... and into hours of high-tech surgery.

Kiwi friends of American surfer Andy Irons have remembered him for being 'one of the boys' and for the time he gave to help boost NZ surfing.

Surfers everywhere are in shock as they battle to comprehend the death of three-time world champion Andy Irons.

Police are investigating whether the death of three-time world surfing champion Andy Irons may have been caused by an overdose of methadone, according to a report.

Three-time world surfing champion Andy Irons has died of dengue fever at age 32.

Aussie surfer Mitch Coleborn faces up to six months in jail after allegedly exposing his genitals to a group of children.

Living in Piha is a dream come true for serious surfers, but it's the sense of community, too, that makes it Craig Levers' favourite place to be. He tells his story to Peta Stavelli.

Jack Johnson's most adventurous album yet is a heartfelt tribute to his late father, the man who introduced him to the sea.

An autopsy in Bali has established that wounds inflicted on NZ surfer Jordan Lucas's face, hands and body would have killed him.

A former girlfriend of murdered New Zealander Jordan Lucas says he was a generous, mellow man.

Family members of a NZ surfer found dead on a surf beach in Bali are on their way to Indonesia and are being helped by the NZ consulate there.

A new film celebrating New Zealand's extreme sports history arrives on the big screen as a surfing doco about riding the monster waves off Fiordland heads to television. Scott Kara investigates.