Jay Davies, Corona La Casa resident, Byron Bay

This week, Stab‘s been residing in Corona’s La Casa residency in Byron Bay. Among the beer-swilling, photo-shooting, film-capturing crowd, sits Mr Jay Davies, who’s also dumping his formidable frame on one of La Casa’s many beds every evening. As soon as he arrived, late evening, he cooked a generous pasta dish for the entire house, which is real telling of his general presence here. In the water, Jay’s been the star of every session (twice-daily) at a protected corner – the whole lineup turns to watch each of his waves, always to be rewarded with either a sheet of spray or a wildly high air (with a level of commitment that’s really hard to fathom). He talks to everyone in the lineup and only ever becomes serious when he’s scratching for a set. And, how he manhandles those sets. “Parts of the rip bowl, at times, is like Rabbits at home,” says Jay. “It has good ramps in the onshore (a northerly’s been huffing into it every afternoon), but it’s really good for turns when it’s smooth in the mornings.” And on those ramps, Jay’s been slinging it like it’s nobody’s biz, more often than not, out into the flats, which he says is sometimes easier due to the shortness of the remaining rotation. Much like y’see here. – Elliot Struck