FOUR North Devon youngsters have been proudly flying the flag for British surfing at the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in New Zealand.

Alex Baker, Laura Crane, Beau Bromham and Lucy Campbell are among the 12-strong team whose progress has been followed live online by an army of family, friends and fans.

The opening day saw Baker and Bromham in action in an under-18 boys field full of future champions.

Sadly the chunky 6ft-plus onshore conditions were far from ideal on the messier, more-exposed podium two peak and both failed to progress past round one.

Baker said: "There were some really hard heats. Everyone was on the second podium and the conditions were changing every minute."

The second bite of the cherry came in the repechage, where the boys got a chance to show how well they can surf on the better podium one wave.

Baker had the best run, making it as far as round four where he came unstuck against hot favourites Tim McDonald, of Australia, and Hawaii's Keanu Aising.

Along the way he put in strong performances with a round-one heat win which included a cracking 7.25-point wave and two second places against stiff opposition.

"The first heat was on the second podium and as I've been in Indo for the last two months I haven't gone right once," said Baker. "So I found it hard to adjust to surfing an unperfect right in a wetsuit.

"Then I had my repechage heat on the first podium which is a really fun wave, kind of like Croyde. I was really comfortable with the wave and the fact it was a left, but it is one of those waves where if you don't get a good start and get in a good rhythm anyone can lose.

"I'm really enjoying it but there is a lot of pressure as it is my last year (as a junior) and I want to get a good result.

"My winter training definitely helped. I felt so much fitter and more confident with my surfing."

Bromham made it through the first round of the repechage but was unlucky to be drawn against fellow countryman Matt Chapman and two of the best French surfers in round two and failed to progress.

The girls had an even tougher time. With stacked heats against the world's best, it was a baptism of fire.

The far from ideal conditions continued — it looked like Croyde on a stormy, wet, spring day — and both girls struggled to post convincing scores.

The repechage was no easier but Campbell progressed to round two.

Before setting of for New Zealand she acknowledged how tough it would be but knew it would be a great learning experience, a chance to push her surfing and prepare for future competitions.

As

Lineup

went to press, Team GB were lying in 12th position.

Back on the home front, the north shore has seen plenty of swell with some quality sessions going down. With the swells predicted to keep on rolling through it's a happy time for most surfers.

However, many visitors to Croyde this week have been shocked and saddened by the appearance of a fence that now obstructs the reef viewing spot on Moor Lane, as reported on page 15. What happens next is anyone's guess, but let's hope it's not the end for this popular spot.