Surfing-Ferreira, Moore win New Zealand Pro after photographer suffers 'wildlife injury'

May 25 : Hawaiian Carissa Moore and Brazil's Italo Ferreira claimed wins in top quality surf at the New Zealand Pro in Raglan on Monday, after a delay caused when an in-water photographer was injured by what was thought to be a shark or a sea lion.

Hosting a full world championship tour competition for the first time, Raglan's famously long left-handers turned up in perfect form on Monday, with glassy, overhead green walls wrapping around the boulder-strewn point.

Olympic and five-times world champion Moore scored the highest two-wave total of the year, 19 out of 20, in her semi-final on Sunday.

She started strongly in Monday's final against 20-year-old Californian Sawyer Lindblad, kicking off with an 8.50 out of 10 for a series of powerful carves on her backhand.

Lindblad kept in touch with a 7.67 for some speedy turns on her forehand on the wave behind and then took the lead with an even better 9 point ride on a clean, steep wall.

But Moore, making a comeback after taking time off to have her first child, fought back on a bigger wave and powered her way to 9.4 and a two-wave total of 17.9.

"When I walked away two years ago, I didn't know if I'd ever get this feeling back or this opportunity to surf perfect waves with only one other person out, in front of a beautiful crowd and at a beautiful place, with my family on the beach," said the 33-year-old.

"And in that process, you doubt yourself so much, so the win, it means so much to me."

Ferreira's final against Morgan Cibilic was an exercise in contrasts, with the goofyfoot Brazilian repeatedly taking to the air on the long left-handers, while the Australian employed sharp turns on his backhand.

Cibilic took the early lead, following up an early 7-point ride with an excellent 8.8