Red hot: Reigning world champion Kelly Slater flies at Bells Beach on Wednesday.
ERIN PEARSON
A car crash and forecasts of big waves set a dramatic stage for the start of the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach this week.
Brazilian surfer Jacqueline Silva, 31, suffered minor injuries in a head-on collision outside Torquay Police Station on Tuesday morning as she drove to Bells.
Competition organisers were still unsure whether Silva would compete in the event when the Independent went to press on Wednesday.
Surf forecast website Swellnet predicted waves up to 2.5 metres across the Easter weekend as the world’s top surfers competed for the Bells title and points toward the world championship.
Swellnet predicted waves of one to 1.5 metres on Friday morning, with two-metre surf in the afternoon.
The swell would remain a similar size on Saturday in offshore winds, with the chance of 2.5-metre waves on Sunday afternoon.
Swellnet forecast an easing swell early on Monday with an unfavourable north-easterly wind in the afternoon.
Competitors include reigning 10-time world champion and defending four-time Bells winner Kelly Slater, world number-two Taj Burrow and 2010 ASP rookie of the year Owen Wright. Reigning four-time women’s world champion and defending three-time Bells winner Stephanie Gilmore has also returned.
