The first day of WQS competition at Fistral Beach took place in excellent conditions with sunshine, offshore winds and clean 3 foot surf. Around 100 competitors were greeted with ideal conditions for the start of the Rip Curl Boardmasters, and with a total prize purse of $60,000, it looked like Cornwall was about to show its true colours to the surfing contingent gathered from around the world. Nineteen surfers from Britain were entered, competing against some of the best up and coming riders fighting their way up the WQS ladder with the ultimate goal being a place on the World Championship Tour. Australians again dominated the first and second rounds with the standout being Paul Parkes scoring the highest wave of the first day. Welshman Carwyn Williams proved that age is no object, by scoring an amazing 9 point ride to take him through to the next round, joined by Jake Boex, Steve Winter, Sam Lamiroy and Dan Joel. Into the third round and still left in the event were 28 Australians, 20 Europeans and an assortment of surfers from such countries as Brazil, South Africa, The USA and Hawaii, making up the final 64. Sam Lamiroy had a good heat to defeat 21 year old Tiago Pires from Portugal, and Steve Winter also progressed, beating Spain's Iker Fuentes. The big moment of the day however was the appearance of Russell Winter, surfing on his home turf for the first time in a year. Russell certainly kept the massive crowd on tender hooks, as with only five minutes to go he was lying in third place and needed a high scoring wave to stay in the contest. He picked up a good looking right hander, delivered his trademark cutbacks right down the line to the beach to score an 8.0. The relief was immense as the judges score was announced; "I was lucky to find that wave. It held up nicely for me. I thought I'd lost, but now I've got the first heat over I hope I can find my rhythm for the next round," commented Russell. The wind picked up on Saturday as competitors battled for a place in the quarter finals, but despite the weather Russell dominated his heat with big power moves in the difficult waves. Russ was the only British surfer to get through, and the only other European is Jonathon Gonzales from the Canary Island. Ten of the sixteen surfers to get through are from Australia, showing once again their dominance of the sport. For finals day the weather was superb. Hot, sunny, blue sky, and yes a light cross shore breeze was fanning clean 3-4 foot waves. The beach was packed full, and for the first time in several years conditions were looking ideal for the finals of an ASP event at Newquay. The smiles on the organisers faces almost outdid the glare of the sun. But all eyes were on the local boy. Could Russell pull out the stops and surf as well as his followers thought he could. Only a few weeks before he had beaten Occy at Jeffreys Bay, and this time the pressure was on in his home town. Russell's first quarter was tight, but he managed a second place with Glenn Hall taking first. Jonathon Gonzales won convincingly to join Russ in semi 2, up against James Santos from Brazil, and Glenn Hall. Throughout most of the heat Russell led, and finished ahead with Santos in 2nd place. From the other semi Adrian Buchan from Australia won with Edgar Bischof from Brazil in second. Of only three surfers entered from Brazil, two had made it through to the final, to meet 18 year old Adrian Buchan from Australia, and the crowd's favourite Russell Winter. By the time they had reached the waters edge thousands of spectators were gathered, egged on by the commentators, and caught up in the excitement. The lifeguards did their utmost to keep the contest area clear, as Buchan paddled wide to the left and Bischof to the Little Fistral end. Buchan's first wave scored a 7.5, Russ a 6.5, the Brazillians scoring very low in the 2 point somethings. Buchan's second was a 7.0 taking him way into the middle of the beach and the bathers. Bischof pulled off an amazing 360 but that was all. Russell's second wave was very strong, with powerful, vertical moves, earning him a 6.8. Good scores but were they going to be good enough as Buchan scored a 7.1 on his third wave. Needing an 8.4 scoring wave to take the lead, Russ took off on a meaty right hander riding all the way down the beach but only scoring a 6.9, followed by a much stronger 7.37. Buchan's lead was reduced, meaning that Russ needed 'only' a 7.3 to win his first WQS event, but with only 5 minutes to go. You could almost feel the crowd willing him to catch a wave, and the final minute he got to his feet, caught the rail, and that was it. Victory was to go to the young Australian, winning his first ever WQS contest. Russell was to be content with second place. Buchan was said to be 'over the moon' at his result, and he is now intending to do the rest of the Tour events in France. Following the prizegiving the Davidoff Cool Water Expression Session was held with Russell earning himself $2000 for the most powerful manoeuvre, and Australian Kirk Flintoff produced the most futuristic air. The 2001 Rip Curl Boardmasters event was without doubt a huge success, and both the sponsors and organisers were hopeful for the future of professional surfing in the UK. The only slight blot on the landscape was the fact that this year's event clashed with the US Open at Huntingdon Beach in California, meaning that some of the big names were not at Fistral. Hopefully the ASP will see the error of their ways

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