Dunedin builder Luke Murphy has been surfing for 15 years but had never reached the podium at a major interprovincial event before the weekend.
He broke his duck at the South Island championships at St Clair beach yesterday when he won the men's open event and the $1000 winner's purse.
Murphy (29), who grew up in Dunedin, made good use of his local knowledge to master the messy and inconsistent waves and win the event with 11 points, from Nat Parsons (Dunedin) with 9.6, Kaikoura fisherman Levi O'Connor (8.8) and Kaikoura plumber Sam Dunfoy (7.8).
Murphy's best wave came with 12 minutes to go, when he scored a 6 and he added a 5 on his second-best wave three minutes later.
"It was a left-hand wave with two big turns," he said.
"It was what the judges wanted and it carried me through."
Parsons (25), a roofer, has spent the past two years in Australia and was having his first competition for two years.
He won the South Island title in 2004.
"It was terrible conditions for the final. I couldn't get any rhythm," he said.
In a closely fought longboard final, Leroy Rust (Dunedin) won with 16.5 points from his two scoring waves in the 25-minute time limit.
Shayne Baxter (Christchurch) was runner-up with 13.3, while Dan Warren (Christchurch) with 6.3 and Levi O'Connor (Kaikoura) with 5.5 took the minor placings.
The longboard judges were looking for something special and Rust's skill gained him a nine on his first wave, which took him into the beach.
"I was very happy with that ride," Rust said.
"I did a series of critical manoeuvres inside and then a long hang-five that took me into the sand."
Rust (18) has been competing on the longboard since the age of 14.
In his first attempt he reached the final and came fourth.
He had never bettered this until yesterday.
He backed up his first wave with a second wave of quality.
It was a long hang-10 at the start followed by two big turns before he became unstuck on the third turn.
Baxter (32) has been surfing since he was 7 and was defending the South Island title he had won for the past two years.
Haley Coakes (Dunedin) won the women's open with 13 points from team-mate Tash Civil (10) and Kristi Zarifeh (Christchurch) on 4.5.
Lalani Morgan (Kaikoura), the other finalist, failed to catch any scoring waves.
Coakes (26) caught a left-hand wave with 14 minutes left but she left her best and winning wave until the last minute.
It scored 8.5.
There were 120 competitors at the three-day championships.
The other winners were: cadet (under-17), Coby McCuskie (Dunedin); junior women, Kristi Zarifeh (Christchurch); grommets (under-14), Harrison Whiteside (Christchurch); grand masters, Neil Robb (Christchurch); masters, Lyndon Fairburn (Dunedin); senior, Anthony Hema (Westport); junior men, Sam Courtney (Christchurch).
