J Bay

freeride76 wrote:

Who is going to step up and fill the Slater void?

Julian?
Jordy?
JJF?
Medina?

They all look under-qualified in some fashion or other.

Fanning looked sensational in my eyes!!!

freeride76 wrote:

Sheepdog, he rode the most bog standard thruster imaginable yesterday.

A board anyone anywhere on the planet could go into a surfshop and buy.

It was clearly the wrong choice for those waves then Steve. It just looked wrong under his feet. Nothing predictable or stable about it whatsoever. The fact he didn't even freesurf it there first is testamont to the fact there's other things going on other than board choice, but after his first wave on that board he should have hightailed it into shore and changed boards.

Yep, the couple of good pulses for the end of the waiting period are still on the cards, biggest arriving on the final day.

freeride76 wrote:

Sheepdog, he rode the most bog standard thruster imaginable yesterday.

A board anyone anywhere on the planet could go into a surfshop and buy.

Free ride.... He's been ferkn around alot the past couple of years.... That's my point.... Over analysation.. Too many changes..... It has possibly cost him another title......

"The void".... Yep, I think we are entering a similar period to the post Sampras pre Federer era, which was quite exciting..... Over the next 3 to 4 years, there will be many contenders, some old, some new.... A rotation of world champs...... Good for surfing on a world scale.... Maybe a romantic title for a seasoned pro - ( Jordy, taj etc)..... Maybe a couple of young guns ( jon jon, medina etc)...
I look forward to the end of Slater era..... Now if we could have a comp at Sunset beach where real world champs surf, That'd make my year ;)

Craig wrote:

Yep, the couple of good pulses for the end of the waiting period are still on the cards, biggest arriving on the final day.

Peak of the swell could be too late for the waiting period??

JJ has a way to go before he fills old Baldy's shoes!!!! JJ can't come from behind easily. Is too erratic going for 10's when all he needs is a good solid 8!!! His performance at JBay was woeful.

Crap, the whole time I thought it ended on the 22nd, yep peaking on 21st, bugger.

The "void" will be exciting if these contenders can lift and bridge the performance gap.

Based on yesterdays performances in what, by any measure was very, very good surf, it could be more akin to daytime television.

Still will be solid though on Sunday...... Light winds too.....
Free ride - Wilko surfed really good..... Parko wasn't too bad either....I think the conditions has something to do with it...

Mate, if they can't turn on and produce across the board elite performances in four to six feet J-bay then questions need to be asked.

This wasn't closeouts in Rio.

lot of luck picking the right ones,as in not chasing it from behind,the big scores are coming from the slower set waves.Gotta say Kelly looks out place a bit with no sponsors logos anywhere.

Fark ! he's human after all and makes mistakes like the rest of us.
Really if you look at Kelly's heat score it stacked up pretty well against most of the other heats and in fact would have won 9 out of the 12 heats, so he's probably unlucky he scored Wilko on fire for his heat.
He may be on the run down to retirement but I'm sure most of the pros still shit when they score him in their heat and nobody will ever come close to what he has achieved in surfing over his career. Hail King Kelly!

freeride76 wrote:

Who is going to step up and fill the Slater void?

Julian?
Jordy?
JJF?
Medina?

They all look under-qualified in some fashion or other.

One heat, one round. There was doubters to Slater when he'd go down to the likes of Tony Ray in France in the early days too. I'm calling some tricky surf , most punters , no matter how po faced , wouldn't have made most of the sections on the faster waves. Give the young fellas a chance. Don't forget that the age of maturity is a few years on from the nineties. Imagine Medina in a couple of years. He still travels with his parents for fucks sake....

Hey Seal im not ruling slater out ,best surfer ever ,just saying its weird looking at the best surfer ever with no spono logos anywhere.

Well there you go, blind Freddie could see that no one can surf at an elite level without sponsors logo''s.

It's all falling into place now!
He's ditched the spono stickers, next comes the beard, long hair and open wettie vest, then the 70s style single fin and before you know it, Kelly has reinvented himself into the new breed of surfer gracing all our beaches and points the Hipster! Think of the millions of $ he'll generate with that new cool look and no longer have to surf a contest in shitty waves like J-bay, Pipe, Cloudbreak etc just style it out at any number of spots worldwide and get his boards at the local garage sale! Smart man that Slater.

I think he might struggle a bit with the long hair Seal.

http://www.aspworldtour.com/events/2014/mct/674/j-bay-open/results

The average heat wave scores really give away the problem. There were only 2 heats out of 40 that managed to get into the excellent range ie 8 and above. With the waves on offer this is a massive surprise. I am pretty sure the judging wasn't toned down. All rides were rewarded if they went into the excellent range. Given the waves this points to positioning in the lineup and ultimately unforced errors like falling off.

Seal is spot on though, Kelly would have won 9 of the other heats. He looked fast through his turns and had the cleanest wave face conditions of the day.

CJ tactics were really interesting. He paddled up from Impossibles and sat wide of the point (and Jordy) and got all the waves. He is a clever tactician and watching the waves he figured out where to sit. Same with Medina. Medina doesn't surf at the top of the point he sits further inside. I mentioned that in a previous post. Jordy didn't get a wave until the 18th minute and fell of 3 times. Maybe got cold, anxious. The crowd is a factor, they whistle when sets approach but can't really claim to be a factor, thats more internal pressure.

Having said all that surfing the wave in the 3-5 foot range its super quick. At low tide it has two sections at this size but at high tide you can take off at the top race the first section and have speed to burn through the main section. As the tide dropped yesterday this is where I think the guys got caught out. Some waves let you through, some don't. This is where the experience comes in, but in the free surfs at the same size all the guys where making the same sections and dominating especially Jordy who really is incredible out there. I guess that's why its so bizarre. But hey that's competition.

Wilko superb and Owen Wright and Medina where the standouts out there yesterday.

Sunday looks to be the finals day light winds and good swell. Taj has the opportunity to put a nail in Medinas world title hopes.

Agree with Shaun for once Kelly really needs some stickers.

You know, the judges disgraced themselves with Kelly's scoring rides.

Go back and look at the heat analyser.

Kelly fell after second turn on both his scoring rides which meant judges effectively scored him for less than half the scoring potential of each of those waves: a mockery of their criteria for judging J-Bay.

Kelly's final heat score was not indicative of the heat he surfed.

Go and look for yourself.

zenagain wrote:

Mick, you been in the water? Hows the wave for an average punter? What's the local vibe like and have you checked out any other waves in the area? Cost of living too, how does that compare? Be interested to hear a bit more detail about life in J-bay, allbeit with the circus in town.

Zen,

Its cheap half price compared to Oz, fuel same price though. Interesting with tour in town most locals have bailed Supertubes anyway so lineup has 20 - 30 at most, so you can get some. Having said that unlike yesterday the pros don't really fall off so you have a small window to get a few waves.

Apparently when its real good everybody is on to it with forecasts so crew fly in from Durban and Cape Town and there can be 50 - 100 people in the lineup. But the wave will link up and from Boneyards to the end section its 1.5 - 2kms long. So there's plenty of room.

Jbay town is pretty big and looks like most of the residents don't really care about surfing. They seem like bogans and laid back country-like townsfolk. Maybe bit of a retirement village. Its a lot safer compared to Joburg Capetown for crime. But definitely having the events and this year the Winterfest brings much needed coin into the town. Much more cash in Cape St Francis and St. Francis, with rich residents.

The wave is something special. It just runs. There is no sweep either so the lineup gets swamped with people as its easy getting out. It would be great to spend a winter here and get it dialed. It's pretty soft though - think Currumbin sand bottom like wave but is fast. Haven't seen it big yet so looking forward to weekend. Heaps of waves around, I mean there are 10 sections on the stretch at Jeffreys. Seals at Cape St Francis was described as best ever by a local the other day and you have dunes when its small.

Yesterday, I sat with the locals Supertubes foundation made up of a lot of the Billabong people who employ a shit load of locals. They are particular about keeping it clean as the local municipality doesn't do much. They all friendly people and very welcoming. Its a super cool vibe at contest site, though the locals were devastated for Jordy.

It's a great trip that you have to do Zen book it just bring your bottom turn.

Zenny, job prospects and affirmative action is something to consider also. I'm assuming though that, like many others, you're white; teaching English; and always thinking about somewhere new. Are you?

So Mick whats the vibe in S.A like in general,do you feel safe over there?and cost of living is what ,half price of aus so travelling around would be cheap?

Mick, thanks heaps for your detailed answer. I'd love to get there one day and where I surf, I'm not averse to a little cold water. Such a beautiful looking wave. Also, thanks for your updates, great to hear from the man on the spot.

Mitch, white, blue-eyed, dopey expression and easy-going. Unlike other English teachers, I actually own the business with a staff of 5. Ha ha! Wide-eyed Imperialist has turned the tables on those sandal-wearing goldfish-tenders.

I'm working towards getting my little project going back in Oz, but that won't be for a few years yet. But as the missus loves to travel, we've got Europe and Hokkaido this year, Oz and the USA next year and not sure after that. Gotta try and squeeze Indo in somewhere as I'm probably the only Aussie that's never been there. J-bay is wishful thinking at the moment but would love to check it out.

Hey Zen, lived there for a few years, well worth going but not for short time. Pm me for more info,.It's not as cold as it used to be. Mick the very best seal point is nothing to write home about, lot of frothers live there.
There's a bit more than a thousand people live there, did you notice all those coloured people that live just south of kitchen windows?

Haha good to hear. Teacher retention must be much higher when someone from a familiar background is the boss.

Agree seal point and kitchen windows are in the same class b grade waves. Though SP beachy was pumping this morning. Though you feel like you are always on the menu out there.

Simba the general vibe is of suspicion. It's weird everyone stares like they are trying to work you out. Had a week in cape town and week in Namibia. Cape Town crime rate is out of control. You don't feel safe there. Namibia is a safe country and easy to travel around. In SA you can't address the issues without segregation of communities. Ie being a racist and I'm not keen to do this. Shanty towns exist as Shaun said and then next block there's wealthy whites with their electric fence and BMWs. Then the coloureds are around the corner. It's a land of contrasts. Rich and poor and a corrupt govt not sorting it out. It's depressing as shit.
Add to this the uncontrollable HIV infections. Then Jbay which is also as infectious. The most perfect right hand point wave.

Zen I can hook you up if you want to climb Mt. Yotei in Hokkaido. Best run you will ever do.

Googled the population for j/bay, 27,000. I would have said 15 but it's been a while and it was the fastest growing town in SA. That shanty town is an established town has been there from the word go, was the location(coloured section) in the dark years, the shanty town is on your right as you leave town heading for Aston bay.
Dunes used to be called Shark Attack years ago.
You would have to spend a bit of time there to just scratch the surface of j/bay, it has a dark underbelly and when the circus is in town only the clowns can be seen.

Hey Shaun love this sentence..You would have to spend a bit of time there to just scratch the surface of j/bay, it has a dark underbelly and when the circus is in town only the clowns can be seen.

Sunday 20th is looking quite tasty!!!

Yeah Simba LOL, local and imports.

Mick, might have to hit you up for your Yotei san contact a bit closer to the date.

Cheers.

Yotei, really Mick, wow that would be stupid!! For those unfamiliar, here is a shot of it in all it's glory earlier this year..

Why.....? Stupid Craig.

A bit off topic, but Zen san, thought you would of conquered that puppy....?

Back to J Bay, good info there Mick cheers ;)

Yeah, back to the forecast and as Don said, the system for this weekend has ramped up significantly and we're looking at great waves to finish the event!

Probably 6-8ft J-Bay!

Go Parko!

He's got to bag this one.

I agree Freeload76. three to the beach like the 80's with emphasis on that last move. I actually thought the only heat I disagreed with was Jordy/CJ...but of course, Jordy fell on the final move.

yeah Jordy blew it again but he was ripping the bag,love those big turns he does...shame really but hes won the last 2 times so im with freeride GO PARKO!

Yeah but, Jordy's 8 looked 2 points better than CJ's 7? I'm not with Freeload76. I say go Owen Wright.

as long as an aussie wins it i dont care......but if medina wins it, well could be shut the gates.

If the latest forecast comes off and they run it in the big swell this weekend I think the goofies will struggle. It's a tough wave to read on ya backhand when its big and fast.

hope your right Don.

Craig Saturday looks to be a beast of a day 6-7m swells with strong offshores.

Yep bound to be Saturday now as I'm goin out Sat night and hence won't be able to watch it!!! Feck it!!

donweather wrote:

Yep bound to be Saturday now as I'm goin out Sat night and hence won't be able to watch it!!! Feck it!!

Ha, busy even when you want to watch a swell from afar!

donweather wrote:

If the latest forecast comes off and they run it in the big swell this weekend I think the goofies will struggle. It's a tough wave to read on ya backhand when its big and fast.

Really? I don't understand the logic behind this.. it's not like they're surfing Skeleton Bay.

Maybe what Don was getting at was that when J-bay is big, the natural footers historically tend to have the edge over the goofies?

That's possible, but this year's event has shown that nothing's certain, no matter who's surfing. All of the shoe-in natural footers (Kelly, Jordy, Michel, Julian, John John) are gonski. Wilko's been the standout for me.

It's finally flat at the bay. Gee its pretty dynamic the swell here. This big swell wasn't even on the radar last Thursday. It was looking flat for the final weekend....and now, crew here are all buzzing for crazy conditions.

Shaun there is a bombie off seal point, not the lighthouse point the other one. Do you know any details about the wave?