SURF SCENE with Andrew McKinnon

IT'S ALMOST 12 months to the day that world tour pro Bede Durbidge will make his long-awaited return back to Hawaii and pull on the jersey to compete again.

Last year's horror wipe-out at the Banzai Pipeline in the opening rounds left Durbidge in a wheelchair with a broken pelvis and multiple broken bones. He's been pretty much sidelined all year but did take up an interest in coaching with Hawaii's new world champion John John Florence. That interest in coaching started earlier in the year when sending professional advice to his club, the Point Lookout Boardriders from his bed during the national Battle of the Boardriding Clubs at Cronulla where PLB almost finished top ahead of eventual winners North Narrabeen.

Bede was back in action at the Straddie Assault recently as a coach and manager for the PLB and was putting on a red hot display of free surfing as seen in Adrian Bort's photos, sending down the gauntlet that Durbo is back!

Looking tall, trim and extra fit, Bede is pumped about his return to competition and will be start his Hawaiian campaign by entering the Hawaiian Triple Crown events at Haleiwa and Sunset before taking on the final event at Pipeline.

"Final month of preparation till I pull the jersey on again at Haleiwa. So much has gone into my comeback and I'm beyond excited to compete again!” said Durbo on his social media page, obviously itching to get back into action again. His first event since last year will be the Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa from November 12-23.

Bede is a previous winner of the Hawaiian Triple Crown, the next best thing to a world title in terms of prestige. Following Haleiwa is the Vans World Cup at Sunset Beach from November 24 to December 6 which was previously won by his close mate Mick Fanning who has elected not to compete in Hawaii this year.

Bede posted an emotional tribute to Mick after the loss of his second brother and loss of the world title. It is such a touching tribute and gives an insight into Durbo's inner thoughts and feelings.

"Mick Fanning is my inspiration,” Bede posted on Facebook.

"I don't know a mentally stronger person in this world. This poor guy has been dealt so many bad cards in 2015 and he just picks himself back up and dusts himself off and moves on with his life. He not only moves on with his own life which is highly demanding, he helps people along the way in all walks of life. Mick has really helped me show more emotion and tell people I love them more, which I have always struggled with. He is one hell of human and I'm just honoured to be able to be his friend. Love you mate.”

Best of luck to you in Hawaii Bede!

Meanwhile, the Queensland leg of the Australian Boardriders Battle was held at the Spit over the weekend with Burleigh taking the win from last year's champs Point Lookout, with Snapper in third and D'bah in fourth. All four have qualified for the nationals in Newcastle from February 17-19, 2017.