Jordy dominates at J-Bay
Tricky fourth-round clash awaits on-form Durban surfer
Paul Botha
JORDY Smith has dominated the two heats he has contested at the J-Bay Open at Supertubes in Jeffreys Bay, moving into round four of the R8 million World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour event.
Fully fit after an injury-plagued 2015 season and with strategically astute coach Chris Gallagher in his corner, the lanky Durban man is surfing with the confidence and style that took him to backto-back victories at his favourite wave in 2010 and 2011.
“I’m just so happy to be home and surfing good waves – it’s been absolutely firing,” said Smith after his crushing round-three victory over Kolohe Andino, of California.
“There’s a lot of history here for me, so it definitely brings up a lot of emotions.
“I’m just going to stick to the same things I’ve been doing – surfing, waiting for the good ones and having fun with it.”
Smith showed his composure in his opening encounter by posting a pair of excellent eight-point rides after falling behind to a near-perfect 9.50 by Wiggolly Dantas, of Brazil.
He then displayed flair and finesse in racking up an 18.20 heat total against Andino.
He will next face John John Florence, of Hawaii, and Australia’s Josh Kerr in what has been dubbed the “super heat” of round four.
The winner will progress directly to the quarter-finals but the surfers finishing second and third will need to contest a round-five duel in order to advance.
Elsewhere in the draw for stop No 6 of 11 on the tour, Mick Fanning returned to Supertubes with style and panache despite his traumatic encounter with a shark during last year’s final.
The three-time world champ and three-time event winner faced further adversity by injuring his ankle while free-surfing at Jeffreys Bay last week, but after rest and expert medical care, Fanning won through with a great tube ride and his patented high-speed manoeuvres.
Julian Wilson, of Australia, who was in the abandoned final with Fanning last year, is another who has been on fire at the event, delivering the highest two-wave heat total of 18.77 in the pumping overhead waves on Wednesday.
The J-Bay Open has a contest window that runs until next Sunday.
All the action can be watched online at WorldSurfLeague. com. THE Ballito Pro culminated in stunning mid-winter weather and pristine 1.5m waves at Willard Beach in KwaDukuza last Sunday, with Australia’s Connor O’Leary pocketing the R600 000 winner’s cheque and 10 000 precious rankings points.
O’Leary defeated France’s Jean Duru in a high-scoring, tightly contested final that had the jam-packed beach roaring with appreciation as the two goofy-foot surfers exchanged the lead with outstanding rides. Goofy-foot surfers ride with their right legs in front.
uMhlanga local Beyrick de Vries kept the South African flag flying until the final day, ousting Jordy Smith on his way to the quarter-finals, where he was defeated by Duru.
The status of the Ballito event’s QS 10 000 rating was underlined by O’Leary and Duru moving into second and third spots in the Qualifying Series rankings. De Vries jumped from 98th to 12th thanks to his fifth-place finish at the event