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The first strong South-Easter of the summer, which is predicted to peak at near gale force tomorrow, bringing up waves in excess of three metres in False Bay before subsiding on Thursday, has broken a six week spell of outstanding surf on the Atlantic coast of the Peninsula.

Surfers in the Deep South will be able to get back to their run-of-the-mill activities for the next week or so after two to three swells a week from the Roaring Forties have seen them down tools and take to the many different world-class surf breaks in the area.

Big wave chargers and the tow-in brigade have enjoyed an exceptional spring and, despite several tales of bone-breaking, ligament tearing and lung-burning wipeouts, there have been epic sessions and phenomenal rides to be had at Sunset, Dungeons and numerous other open ocean reefs.

A rare weekend without a surfing competition somewhere in the Western Cape was followed by the Volcom Baboonfish event at Melkbos, which ended in blown-out, sand blasted waves on Sunday. Kommetjie's Brett Shearer was the pick of the local contingent in the event, winning the junior category and reaching the final of the Pro-am division.

Up against a strong entry of national contenders, Adrian Gouws (Clovelly) made a welcome return to contest surfing by reaching the quarter-finals of the Pro-am, finishing equal seventh overall along with 13-year-old Matthew Bromley (Kommetjie), who was also runner-up in the Groms division, where world junior champs hero Klee Strachan (Sun Valley) ended third in his first event since returning from California.

Another in his first contest since returning from competing internationally was Kommetjie's Dave Richards, who also reached the quarters of the Pro-am event that was won by Durban's Stanley Badger. Six weeks in Europe and the Canary Islands saw Richards improve his ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) rating by nearly 250 places to just inside the top 300.

"The European leg of the WQS is a great learning experience and anyone who can do it should make the effort," enthused the 19-year-old Kommetjie resident while packing for the Quiksilver Good Wave event in Durban, which is on standby to take advantage of the sizable SE swell and offshore winds on Tuesday.

"Conditions were very different to home and parts of the Canaries were like living on the moon, but it was all good and I recommend it to any surfer who wants to improve his ranking," he added.

Richards will be one of the top contenders in the u/20 division of the 2005 Western Province Surfing Championships that resume this coming weekend and conclude the following Sunday. The junior divisions were completed two weeks ago and keen competitors from u/20 to over 55 will be giving their all to capture the coveted WP titles, which are amongst the oldest in SA surfing history, dating back to the early 1960's. See www.wpsurfing.co.za or call the WP Surfing Infoline (082 233 4001) for info.

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