Myself with the old team - Graeme White, Suga and Mark Gillman - pic by Greg Chalkley

I popped over to the GHFM studios in Sea Point today, with the station in the hands of some of the 'legends' for a few hours, namely Mark Gillman on 6-9am, Graeme White from 9am to 12pm,  Dimitri Jegels from 12 to 3 pm, Nigel Pierce 3-6 and Bongani Njoli from 6pm. I used to do sport on the Mark Gillman Breakfast Show in the 90's, and it was amazing to pop in and see some of the 'old faces'. A blast from the past to reconnect with a few of my former collegues.

Vicky Van Der Merwe, above, is back in Cape Town and ready to contest the 2009 African Triathlon Union Championships in Durban this weekend. She's moved recently to the Australian Gold Coast, where she's burning up the miles in the company of some of the top triathletes as she continues to work towards the next Olympic games. Following the weekend event, she jets off to Spain for the next leg of the World Series, before returning to her schedule in Brisbane. I spent an hour with Vicky in Tableview today, shooting images, and interviewing her about her crazy schedule. An awesome athlete, and a smiling, positive person that just bubbles with energy and enthusiasm..we look forward to tracking her progress to the Olympics..below, a natural in front of the camera! -Images by jeff Ayliffe

Sliding up to the lip - Image by Jeff Ayliffe

The O'Neill Cold Water Classic rolled into Cape Town over the past weekend, and on Saturday, Misty Cliffs was scoffing as the coldest, wettest, baddest contest on the surfing planet dished up a gently day of blue skies, warm sunshine and mediocre surf. On Sunday, the giant started to awaken, the ocean breathed, and a cold wind swept out of the north..and on sunday, the classic awoke! The sets thundered through, spray from the huge cutbacks blasted back past the surfers, as spectators huddled for warmth. Jordy Smith crused into town from Reunion, and immediately found his form to take both heats. Tuesday was called off, and Wednesday is a potential Kalk Bay day. The swell are growing by the hour, and some of the worlds best are in town, so if you get a break, go and catch the action. See you on the beach. Below- Kelly & Mickey catch some sun, before the weather arrived - Image by Jeff Ayliffe.

Eye of the Tiger - Image by Jeff Ayliffe.

The Ultimate Muaythai & MMA fight night played out to a packed venue at Grand West on Saturday night, realising Sifu Kru Quentin Chongs long-time dream, and what a night it was..some great fighting action was enjoyed by the crowd, and it should be the first of many evenings at this venue. The highlite was Jason 'The Bull' Roberts defending his SA Pro Title. The girls get stuck in, image below by Jeff Ayliffe.

Sad aftermath - image by jeff Ayliffe

On Saturday morning, I recieved a call from Sarah of Dive Action, asking me if I was able to go to Kommetjie and assist with a mass stranding of False-Killer Whales. I was told to keep it quiet, apart from contacting fellow divers who may be able to assist. Enroute to the beach, I heard a radio broadcast requesting a 'front-end loader', and asking that people stay away! Well, in the event that you want to attract people to a beach by the thousand, just get a major radio station to tell the story..and request that people stay clear. It was like bees to a honey pot, as the vehicles and crowds arrived by the thousands.

I'm not going to go into detail here about the day, suffice to say that I was left irritated and at times, just plain furious by blaring sirens, and hysterical 'officials' ranging from security guards to neighbourhood watch, all of whom wanted to exercise their little piece of authority on the beach. 

My heartfelt thanks go to those who tried to do what they could in the water, and what a difficult call it must have been for Mike Meyer and the avaliable team who were tasked with dealing with the situation. Remember that the top minds made the call to kill the animals based on having exhausted all options. I trust in that call, and as I said on air, to those who scream from the sidelines about the shooting, remember that in 3 weeks time, when all is forgotten, Mike and his team will be continuing to work on saving and assisting other marine life and mammals, as they do day in and day out.

To those who cry out about blasts, human interference, etc, remember that in 1928, on this same beach..100 False Killer Whales beached themselves in the SAME WAY! Helpers swam them out, and like this weekend, they RETURNED to the beach. No blasts were factors, no overpopulated human interference, just nature. Unlike Saturday however, those 100 were left to die the natural way, and the reports tell of moaning and cries from dying whales, in agony for for 4 days! Nature caused the beaching, perhaps the sea-state was similar and played a role, but at the end of the day, it happened before..and it WILL happened again. Man does'nt understand. But the calls on saturday were made by those with more understanding, and more compassion than most.