J-Bay Is Very Flawed

Heaven exists, but you’ll need a wetsuit. They’ll have you believe J-Bay embodies everything you’ve ever dreamt of, that waves could never be any better than this. That’s not true. 

J-Bay is full of flaws. Walls that potato their way down the point. Sections that race too fast. Tubes that pinch too quick. Still great by all standards, but certainly not perfect.

Even the best waves have chops and flat spots and they might even pinch. But, when synchronised with the right person, they create the illusion of perfection. That’s surfing. It’s raw and it’s real and it’s complex and beautiful. I’ll piss in your wave pool.

Round three and some of round four ran at J-Bay today and they want you to believe it was perfect, but it was flawed. Therefore, I loved it. Highlights:

Goofy Feet vs Regular Feet 
It’s been over 30 years since a pair of calloused, goofy feet clunked their way onto the podium at J-Bay. Nevertheless, in the first three heats, Joan Duru beat Adriano de Souza, Gabriel Medina beat Bede Durbidge and Owen Wright beat Ezekiel Lau.

Then Frederico Morais beat Connor O’Leary and the world went back to normal. I still don’t believe that a goof will win the event this year, so I’m inventing the Stab Occy Of The Event award. Winner gets a new spring suit, sixteen beers and a backstage pass to the next Grinspoon concert. So far, Owen is in the lead.

John John Florence vs Jadson Andre 
John’s 18.27 seemed soft for him, somehow.

Jordy Smith vs Leonardo Fioravanti
Jordy’s score: 20/20. A perfect heat. Raw power mixed with wave telepathy and a mega floater for good measure. Michael Jordan, who Jordy is named after, recently said that the ceiling is the roof. Still not sure what that means, but I think it applies to Jordy in this event.

Due to Slater’s injury, the next heat was never surfed and Filipe Toledo got a free pass to the next round. It was the best Kelly’s equipment has looked all year.

Julian Wilson vs Jeremy Flores
Julian Wilson is no stranger to pulling into 10s. He found himself deep inside another today, after a series of big turns. Does the world owe this talent a Title? Sometimes, I truly believe it does.

Conner Coffin vs Joel Parkinson
Conner is a kind, mellow young man whose must some weird fucking demons beneath that blonde hair and occasional fedora because I don’t know how else you can explain some of those turns he does.

Matt Wilkinson vs Jack Freestone
Wilko is a big contender for the Stab “Occy Of The Event” award, and the hair definitely helps. Our fearless Jeep leader just keeps on going strong.

Gabriel Medina vs Joan Duru vs Owen Wright
This was the first heat of round four. No losers, no problem, right? Not so fast, sunshine. If you lose here but still want to win the comp (you do), you have to surf four heats with limited time rest in between. In waves like this, that’s a big factor.

Now, the heat. It’s so much easier to judge when everyone’s got the same stance. Goofy footers tend to stay tight in the pocket and do snappier turns to get a big score. In this heat, Gabriel stayed tightest in the pocket, did the snappiest of turns and got 18.74 points. He could win the Occy award too, though he’s a little too spry.

John John Florence vs Frederico Morais vs Mick Fanning
Then, a regular foot affair. Unlike the goofs they collect their 9s by getting out in front of the wave and doing big carves (unless they’re in the tube). John John got a 10. Mick got a 9. Frederico got two 9s and won — if every wave on tour was a big righthand pointbreak, he would be top five.

Julian Wilson vs Filipe Toledo vs Jordy Smith
This heat was won by a shark. Not even a great white, just a mako shark — a true underdog if you will. Get that full story here. 

If all went according to plan, we would have finished round four today and likely ended the event tomorrow. Not sure if that’ll happen anymore though — we’ll just chalk that one up as a flaw.

Round Three Results:
Heat 1: Joan Duru 15.50 def. Adriano de Souza 14.40
Heat 2: Gabriel Medina 15.83 def. Bede Durbidge 12.57
Heat 3: Owen Wright 16.83 def. Ezekiel Lau 9.67
Heat 4: Frederico Morais 13.07 def. Connor O’Leary 12.16
Heat 5: Mick Fanning 14.24 def. Caio Ibelli 12.67
Heat  6: John John Florence 18.27 def. Jadson Andre 9.94
Heat  7: Jordy Smith 20.00 def. Leonardo Fioravanti 16.17
Heat  8: Filipe Toledo vs. Kelly Slater INJ
Heat  9: Julian Wilson 18.27 def. Jeremy Flores 15.30
Heat 10: Conner Coffin 18.67 def. Joel Parkinson 15.90
Heat 11: Michel Bourez 16.73 def. Italo Ferreira 16.07
Heat 12: Matt Wilkinson 16.54 def. Jack Freestone 13.47
 
Round Four Results:
Heat 1: Gabriel Medina 18.74, Joan Duru 16.07, Owen Wright 13.10
Heat 2: Frederico Morais 19.07, John John Florence 17.17, Mick Fanning 14.90
 
Upcoming Round Four Match-Ups:
Heat 3: Jordy Smith, Filipe Toledo, Julian Wilson
Heat 4: Matt Wilkinson, Conner Coffin, Michel Bourez