Corona Open J-Bay 2023: Day 2 (and a bit)
Corona Open J-Bay 2023: Day 2 (and a bit)
Well, they finally jagged one.
After a year of biblical skunkings, the Woz luxuriated in a dreamy day of 6-8ft J-Bay. The first couple of heats which polished off the abandoned Women's Round 1 of yesterday looked almost surreal as pastel light bathed silky lines steam-rolling down the point. The normal morning devil wind was absent and there was a visceral feeling watching surfboard rails cutting into the buttery walls.
Caz Marks rode a pair of possibly the most perfect waves ever ridden in competition, hucking huge turns high in the lip. The slo-mo was still a little unkind on the style but in real-time the rides looked superb. In the presser, Caz started the dominant theme of the day and one we haven't heard all season. I just want to get out there for more, or words to that effect.
Caz (WSL/Van Gysen)
At the time, the sentiment stood in stark contrast to Tyler Wright's post-heat stint on the glass after an impressive heat win. Tyler had expected her period and was experiencing cramping. Fair enough. That's a major issue for female athletes which Tyler is bringing to the public consciousness.
The rest of the interview was a little more remote from everyday experience. She was tired, she said. It was easy to “want to go home”. Everyone was “exhausted” and “kind of frayed out” after all the pro surfing work they had been doing.
Tyler's last day on the job site as a professional competitive surfer was July 1 in the Final at Saquarema. She came runner up and netted $63,000 USD. In the interim, people close to me have done 14 days straight of 12 hour night shifts at one of Australia's biggest mine sites for a fraction of that purse. It's very, very hard to relate to someone who makes pro surfing in perfect J-Bay sound like a page out of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich*. But there you go; Tyler breathes rarefied air compared to the fans who support her livelihood despite the ongoing trauma it seems to cause her.
I thought Kelly Slater was a fair chance to best Jack Robinson in the prevailing surf. To be fair, the surf did go a little weird as a strange kind of morning sickness wobble infected the line-up. Still plenty of opportunity though for the GOAT. He started OK, a turn here and there found its mark. As the heat went on he looked weirder and wobblier. Arms were waving everywhere, legs and core didn't look strong and controlled. Every turn didn't quite look right. The only thing keeping him in the heat was a nervous, chaotic performance from Robinson. Jack surfed like a man battling raging head noise. Went to the air a couple of times, fell on big end section hits, didn't quite nail his rail turns and there was a helluva lot of unnecessary arm-movement and body-twitching.
Jack (WSL/Van Gysen)
The preternatural composure we saw last year from Jack is long gone; he seemed like a cornered animal in his first appearance on the glass since Bells. He got through against Leo in his Round of 16 heat but this is a man who looks like he needs to spend a few months in the desert preparing for fatherhood, not in the glare of the public eye performing for a handful of shekels.
Slater won one heat last year in three efforts at 6-8 foot J-Bay. He finishes this contest dead last with a heat total of 12.76, which would have been enough to win one heat out of the Elimination Round - against Barron Mamiya, the same guy he beat last year.
A low energy Slater later stated, “It was one of those heats. It probably could have gone either way. It went his way.”
That's true enough on the face of it. But he never looked likely and there were much stronger contenders for heats that could have gone either way, especially later in the day when a certain type of decision fatigue settled onto the judging panel.
KS (WSL/Van Gysen)
Quick rewind of the tape though: Italo was looking strong against a rampaging Ian Gentil before a huge lip floater went horribly wrong and his knee was wrenched apart. The passive pose on the ski suggested a major knee injury and a likely end to a poor season for Italo. He's found himself out of favour with the judges and his surfing unfashionable.
Back to heats that could have gone either way.
Part 1: Liam O'Brien v Kanoa Igarashi. LOB had the waves to win but falls cost him. The bigger issue for me was the contrast which occurred between LOB and Jordy Smith, who's heat was just finishing as LOB hit the line-up. Jordy wrapped every turn back into the pocket. LOB had a tendency to snap and only get halfway through the turn. Despite the speed and power in the turns, it was Kanoa whose turns were fuller in terms of rotation and were just favoured by the panel. Righteous victory for Kanoa IMO.
LOB (WSL/Van Gysen)
Part 2: Medina v Callinan. Goofy-foots had looked amazing with the big, vertical, high hook. Medina bought variation to the attack. A longer, rounder bottom turn which created an impression of one continuous carving line from bottom to top. Judges responded to the power and novelty. R-Cal went straight up, occasionally losing control of the tail in carves but was very close to Medina. The crux of the heat came down to R-Cal on the biggest set wave of the heat. He sliced and diced out the back before hitting the inside section, which had grown to an impressive size. His bottom turn seamlessly broke the vertical track to go past midnight, carving straight through the hook to repeat the dose on an even bigger section. The strength, magnitude, and perfect execution of those two turns had 9+ point ride written all over it. Even the most risk averse commentator on the planet, Joey Turpel, agreed. Judges went 8.70. A tight victory to Medina should have gone Callinan's way. Softened somewhat by a very gracious Medina interview when he called R-Cal “an inspiration”.
Part 3: O'Leary vs Florence. Judges went gaga on JJF's opener. An insider which he shredded and threaded a neat little barrel. The 9.23 was way, way over-cooked. Then they under-scored a much stronger ride late in the heat for an 8. In that topsy-turvy environment, Connor's last ride didn't look the required 8.43. Judges took an age to sort out the mess. Long enough for Connor to come in, have a chat with coach Dog Marsh (“Needed another turn, don't think you've got it”) and shower off. By the time they'd reviewed all the rides they gave him the win. True coin toss.
JJF (WSL/Ryder)
Apart from the Caz Marks display in Heat 2, the highlights of womens heats were Lakey Peterson's full-blown attack, Gilmore's repertoire (the double-hand layback made the cut), but undoubtedly Carissa Moore stole the show. She rode three mediocre waves with safety surfing for 6's - clearly surfing within herself, the great Carissa 'flaw'. A snapped board after a badly mis-timed closeout hit saw Carissa - for the second year in a row - deal with pumping surf, rocks, a long slow jog back up the beach, grabbing a new board, and a second rock-off. Again, she looked totally gassed.
Riss (WSL/Ryder)
It seemed to galvanise her though, break her out of the comfort zone of safety surfing. For mine, her two rides following the test of physical conditioning were the best of the day. Savage turns, huge spray fans, and total repertoire. It was Moore in full attack mode, such a wonderful sight.
Finals Day in pumping surf beckons. I've got Ewing for the back to back win. He smoked Jordy with turn speed and said he still has higher gears to reach. I believe him. Carissa with the bigger turns for an even more emphatic run into Trestles.
Who you got?
// STEVE SHEARER
*Account of a day in a Siberian Gulag from Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Comments
Jeez I used to be a Tyler fan, but she’s just become insufferable now. 4 events in 7 weeks, so 12 days of work in 7 weeks, assuming you surf every day of competition, which she didn’t.
Maybe her off-season training regime should be to shadow a nurse in Lismore hospital, commute everyday, work 12 hour shifts and then compare the two?
Someone in her camp really needs to have a word with her.
Sorry for the rant, otherwise great day of surfing and great write up as usual Steve!
Really look forward to your write ups Steve and this one didn’t disappoint. Thankyou.
Jack was lucky to come up against Kelly, otherwise he would been out. How time changes things when you can causallly say someone is lucky to get Kelly in a heat. Anyways hope Jack finds his way back because so much to love about him.
I think Kelly was lucky to get Jack also. Otherwise he would have looked well and truly smoked.
Italos knee bend just looked season ending.
And Connor was way over scored. One judge gave him a 9.20 for that wave. WTF!!
Ian Gentil for the mens.
Steph for the womens.
She clearly does with ease what Carissa forces.
Appreciate the write-up Steve. Was hard to drag myself off to bed.
Agree on Kelly looking weird. Although maybe the judges have fatigue over his repertoire?
I'm on Ethan but won't discount Medina
Having finally watched a good portion of the contest have to say, again, another great write-up and pretty spot on.
x2 on Ian Gentil. I really enjoyed his surfing. A pleasure to watch. I think lanky guys past and present really look good out there in the bigger stuff.
The girls were amazing, Lakey really impressed and Steph too. Carissa all over it. Have to agree regards Tyler. FFS, never done a real days work in her life. Her surfing is great but I reckon she could be a little more grateful for the privileged life she leads. Just saying.
Finally R-Cal was reamed. That last wave was one of the biggest of the contest and I fail to see how it could have been surfed any better. Unfairly low-balled for the elimination imo.
Hope the finals are pumping. EE and Steph for the wins hopefully.
Didn't get to watch much, but glad I caught Steph's heat.
I’ve got Ian Gentil as a dark horse for the win. He seems to be improving every wave and is really gaining some serious
Everyone was “exhausted” and “kind of frayed out” after all the pro surfing work they had been doing.
Bit harsh FR.... What with the sispyhean nature of pro surfing.....
They only have 21 days off before going to that despot of depression,Tahiti, for 9 days,then having to "front up again"
20 days later at Trestles..
I can only hope that the Poisson Cru is yellow fin and not that cheap mahi mahi crap...
Who wouldn't be a mental wreck at the mere thought of all that!
Great write-up as always....
I've been busy catching up on sleep, wife time, surfing (surprisingly good!), and chores. Looking forward to sitting down and watching replays.
In the meantime, thank you for another great Day in Review.
Hmm, the Tyler interview is interesting.
I'm a woman and I do sympathise with Tyler. I also have extremely bad cramping/periods. Ended up in the foetal position on my bathroom floor many times and usually after a lovely vomit due to the pain.
PMS could have been at play here as well, it can mess with your head mentally and really affect your emotional response to sometimes the most smallest and simplest of situations.
This isn't meant to be an info dump on all things menstrual, just trying to shed some light on what could have possibly be going on behind the scenes a bit.
However, having said that, I have noticed Tyler's ego getting bigger and bigger the last few years. There's something that feels a bit off. I don't know if it's narcissism, 'yes people' around her or this position she has put herself in to be the spokesperson for all things LGBTQ+, but something seems to have shifted.
I played it to my wife this morning and had a chat. Aside from the delivery, she's of the opinion that we'll be seeing much more of this in coming years as it becomes normalised in pro sport.
As for gender balance, I can recall Anthony Mundine speaking grandiosely about how he doesn't have sex or 'lose his seed' a week before a fight so as not to lose the edge. Wasn't asked about it, yet willingly brought his bedroom issues to the press conference.
Reckon I'd prefer to hear Tyler's complaint than Mundine's brag.
As for Tyler's other complaints, too much work etc., that's NOT something you'll hear in many other pro sports, especially those that are receiving govt funding through development programs or AIS dollars. Media people will snuff that out quick smart.
Whatever Tyler might think it is, pro surfing is just one arm of the fantasy being sold to us.
Not much of a dream when the winners act tormented.
With all due respect, Stu, from your post it sounds like Mundine did NOT brag about his bedroom prowess, rather the opposite. And it least he showed a bit of sass.
Tyler, it seems, wants to turn everything into a negative. She shows a total disregard for, and disconnect from, 99% of surfers.
No, he bragged. And it was more crass than sass.
perhaps bragging is cultural in boxing, role modelled by great such as Ali, Tyson, Mayweather.
It's gonna be a thrilla, a chilla, and a killa, When I get the gorilla in Manila.
Stu, might be showing my age here but the "save the seed" thing started with Cheyne Horan back in his weird hippy four-ways period
Predates him by a fair bit. Has some cultural/spiritual connotations, but abstinence has also been used by military leaders before battle to increase aggression - which was Mundine's angle.
Interesting. Didn't help Cheyne or Choc come to think of it :)
Roy and HG used to ask their guests the simple question: Sex before the big one?
Cheers for the reply Stunet!
I think your wife is right and to be honest it's long overdue. What our bodies go through on a monthly basis is insane. We've just all collectively been told to shut up about it and get on with the job.
I think the less said about Mr Mundine the better. Not the greatest example of manhood ever produced, however, probably the most appropriate individual to highlight the outrageous double standards between female and male athletes.
Agree on Tyler, that's why I think it is something ego based. All the other athletes on tour are either super focused, or just trying to enjoy it. I'm not sure what point she is trying to prove here?
You mention her woke crusade as leader of LGBT...+++. Seems the interview is her playing some kind of victim, which seems to be the basis of modern leftism/wokeism.
Haven't looked at bracket, Medina v Ethan final be nice. Tyler needs to come back to planet earth if what she said in the above was legit!
Finally some good waves on show. Seems like forever since we had a cooking CT event.
I watched as much as I could before it got too late and was pretty impressed.
One thing that absolutely pisses me right off is the shitty “highlights” edits the WSL post each and every time. It’s a 1/2 second of a turn or snap or float or anything. It’s more vid of pros laughing or high fiving or some brazo with his hands on his head or some stupid effing lifestyle shot.
They need to get back to showing the full wave instead of this quick edit shit show. That’s where the dramas at. Not a fucking snippet of an air reverse or someone’s uncle upset over a score.
FFS no wonder no one watches this shit anymore.
Oh and a long standing compromise I have now with my wife, I have to watch CTs with tv on mute (or on phone or tablet or in other lounge room)
Thanks again Joe Turpel and your annoying voice.
Another thing that pisses me off. Get Potts back in the seat.
I got the TV room to myself for exactly the same reason
The new pommy bloke they have in commentey is worse than Joe even
100%
Great notes Steve on an epic day of surfing. The tight heats all could have gone either way, so I'm comfortable with it. John was shredding, but was a bit to lateral in his entry to a lot of his carves. Love how Ethan really varies his entry to his turns and the turn speed. Hard to see him losing, although with strong offshores it may favour the goofies ability to wrench their boards back down the face. So I'm going Gabs and Caz.
Great day of surfing, great write up Steve.
Nathan Florence: Join me brother the Slab tour awaits!
John John Florence: It might be time lol.
what a great night (day) of surfing- so many top notch performances and very hard for the judges to split hairs when the standard is so high all around- enjoyed the absence mostly of airs too
although possibly ‘un-australian’ i was hoping slater would best jr - it was close although neither of them surfed as good as many of the others…- still it’s no reason for all the vitriol he seems to cop - he’s still the biggest drawcard and i do my best never to miss any of his heats
thx steve, great write up
Great write up as per usual.
Loved the Ivan Denisovich reference.
2 and 1 in the mines are pretty cushy though mate. Spend a few weeks shifting brick and mud for a brickie if you want your back broken.
Good to see periods becoming less of a taboo topic and being talked about more openly.
Hopefully it continues to pump
I felt sorry for Kelly - and the WSL. The double-ended way they treat him - give him a free kick in, then belittle his 50-year-old body with very average scores. No disrespect to Jack; but Kelly's posturing to the judges, hitting the water etc - nah, end of an era - it felt like watching Muhammad Ali being taken down by Larry Holmes, his former sparring partner. For the greater good, the WSL needs to phase Kelly out, as Hawthorn did with Micheal Tuck.
BTW I loved watching Liam O'Brien - obviously, he's got to be good to be on tour, but I'd never seen how unique his lines can be. I'm lucky to have had a winter at J'Bay and bar Jordy's well-earned wave knowledge, Liam picked the nuggets and did the most critical turns between Boneyards and Super's for me.
I'm a renowned WSL hater (bring back the Dream Tour!) but last night was the best day of WSL surfing i've watched since slater won at pipe. That is because it was premium conditions at a premium location with premium surfing!
I watch on mute so am saved from the commentary bs and interview vomit. Not a fan of Tyler as a StyleMaster or Signaller of Virtue, but respect her attempts at activity even though i think she falters when delivering the message and misses the mark most of the time. I cant quite put my finger on it (after all i am a white, middle class, 35-45 year old male) but there is a sense of her feeling like she has been treated unfairly (or more unfairly than everyone else) and she is fighting a more important cause than others by surfing on tour so we should support her. To me it comes across as a lack of understanding, empathy and humility.
Anyway - I will be watching tonight. Ashes Test 4, le Tour, JBay.....how good is sport!
Fair write up in my eyes. Immediately, I thought the judges got carried away with John's 9.23. Small wave, for which it seems the judges had to rectify at the end of the heat, giving Connor the win. Conner was much more vertical. John's last wave showed two vertical moves. Ryan's final two turns on a large wave were so sick but the preliminary work was lacking. One more big move was required to get the score, imo. Gabriel surfing much more vertical & in the pocket all round. Very sizzling. Judges went with the vertical moves in both heats it appears. Ryan is often zooming under the lip onto the open flat shoulder of the wave. Gabriel super tight; although slightly manic. I prefer the former Gabriel with the thicker boards but the Maresias wizard is still sick.
Great Waves. Carrissa doesn't complain works hard stays on point. Tylers orbit seems to wobble in a dissatisfied path. Seems to be still troubled with her identity. But good on her for being honest! John John the human carver shame to see him go! Maybe he should call the brazillins they know about underscoring. Which i feel is all over the shop. Sport always talks up its favourites hot or cold. Great waves though !
It’s going to be hard to go past Medina for the win . He was absolutely mind blowing last night sharper than a surgeon’s scalpel.
So good to see the pros in proper surf, I'd almost forgotten how good they are. As for Tyler, someone really needs to pull her aside and have a quiet word.
I remember watching an interview with Layne Beachley on some morning show or something.
She’d just got back to oz after winning a world title .
Saying how hectic it had been surfing every day and couldn’t wait to just escape up the coast and …. go surfing.
What a legend.
No whinging there.
Massive respect for Layne and what she had to overcome in her life. She’d probably be someone who would be able to give Tyler a bit of guidance
But would Tyler listen to her? She seems like she is well entrenched in her own cosmos.
Ash Barty would be a great mentor for Tyler (and other young athletes for that matter) as she is more contemporary than Layne.
Novak Djokovic would too, but I have a sneaky suspicion they wouldn't hit it off.
I am happy it was Connor who got through but it was a monumental fuck up by the judges. JJF was robbed.
So was RCal. The last two turns on his final ride were huge. It should have been a 9.
The judges really shit the bed.
Mind blowing surfing all day.. unreal!
RCals 8.7 and CLearys 8.7 are interesting to compare the parts of the wave where they are doing their turns.
Robbo seemed to play himself out of his funk.. will be interesting to see what he brings today.
Hope the swell direction stays the same.
Just watched the highlight reels... Epic surfing and waves, thanks for write up.
As far as Tyler goes, I think it was Andre Agassi who said that one of the Williams sister's should use some of the prize money she'd won to buy a perspective when she was whinging about a game.
Geez tough job getting paid to surf J Bay.....
Great write-up Steve! Appreciated as always. Positive and insightful but critical where it needs to be. I think it's great to call out the material interests of surfers having a whinge - all else aside, could there be a more blessed foundation to live life from than being a wealthy professional surfer from a multi-millionaire family?
Also noting that the consensus is that "good waves and good surfers is good, but everything from the judges to the commentators to the broadcast to the interviews to the edits is terrible". Seems like the only saving grace that pro surfing truly has is that a beautiful wave with less than 6 people in the water will nearly always keep us entertained.
+1
+2
Best waves the Tour has seen this year, by far and equally impressive performances -
Yep jsc
Put great surfers in great waves and ……
Talk in athletes zone was rcal way underscored on the big wave vs Medina
Many thought wave worth mid to high 9
Matt mcgilvar said it was as big a wave that jbay can hold
Many dumbfounded when score came in including some Brazilians
Dog marsh threw his water bottle
Rcal questioned head judge who said heat could have gone either way
Costly for rcal.will miss Olympic spot
Seems tatic of Brazilians complaining of judging at surf ranch and letters to WSL now bearing fruit as Brazilians will get rub of the green for close heats
WSL don’t want fan death threats
Costly loss
Great waves ridden
Thanks for the write up Steve.
Hope Italo heals quickly; Deus abençoe
Italo's dodged a bullet..
"It hurts just to look at it
So had some tests done and found a bruise in the medial collateral ligament - no signs of tearing. ( strong leg )
I'm returning to Brazil for new exams and to start the physical therapy process.
Thanks a lot for the kind messages."
Phew, good on him. Lucky lucky fella.
Great summary of the action Steve. Like many, I've enjoyed your analysis of the tour and its various moods.
The standard of surfing in incredible waves was inspiring. Judging at that level and timeframes they're given to come up with scores must be incredibly difficult. My exposure to judging the odd heat when my daughter stepped into the local comps for a few was hard enough, let alone hordes of fans and vested groups and individuals scrutinising every decimal point. Still, they are only human and as we've seen in every sport, remaining objective can be difficult.
On Tyler. like you, I tabled her comments about periods with my partner who said "go her, it's about time it was normalised". I guess if someone had the flu or a virus that affected their performance they might mention that, so why not???
With regards to her awkwardness in interviews. I do find them just that, awkward. I feel for her however. Cast into the spotlight as a prodigy from a very young age and pretty much growing up, or trying to, with the eyes of the surfing world set upon her every move. In every sport we like our champions to be our heroes also (unfairly) and when they exhibit anything less we can be scathing.
I also don't mind a different personality expressing themselves however they like. Do we want everyone to be an extremely grateful, polite, smiley poster perfect identity for the sake of professionalism, or, is there room for colourful characters and individuality? Personally, I prefer the variety.
totally agree JJ, normalise periods - it's a thing like the flu that affects performance; we want diversity of characters, etc. Last thing we'd want is for female surfers to feel they need a beauty-pageant paste-on smile to stave of dino-males saying 'cheer up luv'. I don't think it's a gender thing, so I agree JJ, keeping period giggles to a minimum would be to most people's taste.
But when you have a lifelong love of surfing, and see a young-gun with talent and opportunity earning good money travelling the world, you want them to kinda seem like they are enjoying it a bit..
Totally agree basesix, I'd love to see all of them savouring every second of what would be a dream gig for most of us if we only had the talent, when compared to what we actually do to earn a buck. Especially fresh off the back of pumping J'Bay.
She rips but it's painful having to listen to Tyler W virtue signalling and constantly moaning about herself.
Love reading your honest no bullshit posts Steve. They cut through!