Billy Stairmand and Kehu Butler put on a masterclass in big, stormy, unruly Manu Bay as a new guard rises to nip at their heels at the Backdoor King and Queen of the Point.
Backdoor’s King and Queen of the Point surf competition attracts most of the best surfers in New Zealand and this year even a few internationals. The great Tom Carroll, Jesse Starling, Joel Vaughan, Dimity Stoyle and Coco Cairns all made the trip over for this one.
After a run of back-to-back weekend swells at Raglan in the previous five weeks the Tasman Sea had other ideas for the event weekend. Instead it was taking a break from the lined-up corduroy perfection we have come to know and love. Instead, a giant mass of swell pushed right below the South Island and sent its energy up our East Coast and toward Tahiti (the Teahupo’o WSL event made hay with that one).
The glancing blow meant we had two days of 1-2 foot lazy swell at Manu Bay with increasingly pesky onshore winds, swarms of squalls, and a finals day of junky 3-5 foot 10-second period sloping walls. It was bad, but somehow the surf contest was actually a real thriller.
One of the highlights was getting to see Tom Carroll still ripping at 62. And stoked on surfing in the pretty miserable conditions. Love that energy. One of the biggest highlights was seeing Billy Stairmand and Kehu Butler going wave for wave in the final. Billy ended up winning the event with some incredible in-the-pocket turns in some of the few waves that bowled right up for him.
A few hours after winning it Billy was on a plane and off to Indonesia for the Krui Pro. Then he’s back for a day and off to Tahiti right in his countdown for the Olympics.
A couple of other standouts from the King & Queen of the Point were in the Under 20s with Taranaki’s Spencer Rowson, Ohope’s Tai Murphy, and Raglan’s Navryn Malone and Van Camenzind all showing their intentions for future crowns.
We also saw the continuation of the changing of the guard in the women’s with Raglan’s Alani Morse, Pauanui’s Lola Groube and Piha’s Kyra Wallis making both the Under 20s finals and Open Women’s finals. All three can throw it down in the bigger conditions and took the fight to eventual Open Women’s winner Aimee Brown.
Even with horizontal rain squalls and junky waves, Raglan still manages to weave some of its charm into the weekend.
One moment that really resonates with us came after the final prizegiving when the carpark had cleared out and the lineup was returned to the people of Raglan. A sole figure was spotted walking around the entire Manu Bay site collecting any rubbish that had been inadvertently left behind. It was Geoff Hutchison – the owner of Backdoor and arguably the most powerful person in New Zealand surfing right now. The respect he showed in that act reveals his love for Raglan and is testament to the character of the man.
Backdoor’s King and Queen of the Point in 40 Frames:
Full Results Backdoor King and Queen of the Point
Manu Bay, Raglan
May 24-26, 2024
