Round two (and some of round three) of the 2015 J-Bay Open

Round two, and a chunk of round three, were finished in smallish but clean conditions at the J-Bay Open today. With the forecast not looking as great as it could, Commissioner Kieren Perrow made the most of the contestable lineup and ran 16 heats, which saw plenty of very good performances, as well as a bunch of casualties. Hot off a 20-point final or not, Owen Wright couldn’t get past semi-South African Ace Buchan (even if there was a 0.10 point difference – a win’s a win, right?). But he wasn’t the only person to exit the event today.

Joel Parkinson and Ricardo Christie surfed the day’s best heat during round two. Parko was on point, clocking an 18.84 combined total. And to Ricardo’s credit, if you’re gonna lose, it doesn’t get much better than doing so with an 18.13 combined total (he’d have won every other heat today but one, which would’ve been a tie). Losing sucks, but just one memorable performance in your rookie year is worth a whole lot.

Alejo Muniz was electrified today. Coming off a win in Ballito, Alejo’s energetic and sharp frontside work is perfectly suited to the long J-Bay walls. He equalled Ricardo’s score of 18.13, only he did it against Taj Burrow, who put solid scores on the board but not enough to catch Mr Muniz’s 8.83 and 9.30.

The injured, two time J-bay champ and local fav, Jordy Smith lost to Adam Melling in round 2. Dishing out a meager 8.03. Mello offered Jordes a dish best served cold, payback for his lost to him in the 2010 J-Bay final. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Smith told the WSL prior to his round 2 loss. “The fire inside of me says I can surf but another side of me is thinking what else could go wrong.”

Gabriel Medina got his sweet revenge on Micro Hall for Snapper by beating him with a 6.93 and a 9. Gabs’ performances this year have been patchy, with moments of brilliance but lacking the consistency he’s shown in previous years. Today he looked like himself. At least Micro’s pupil fared better than he did…

Seems that Micro’s tutelage is paying off for Matt Wilkinson, who clocked a 9.37 and backed it up well enough to beat Seabass in the last heat of Round two. Wilko’s backhand tagging was like clockwork on the near-perfect ride, winding up down the point just like J-Bay wants. Nat Young, another goofy-footer who knifed his way into Round 4 told the WSL “It’s obviously a difficult wave on your backhand.” He says, “it slows down and speeds up and it’s kind of hard to read.”

There was plenty of other action today, all of which you should dig on over here. And keep your eyes peeled for the call tomorrow. Things are just starting to get interesting.

J-Bay Open Round 2 Results
Heat 1: Adriano De Souza (BRA) 14.33, Slade Prestwich (ZAF) 13.04
Heat 2: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 12.00, Michael February (ZAF) 8.00
Heat 3: Owen Wright (AUS) 16.17, Tomas Hermes (BRA) 13.77
Heat 4: Alejo Muniz (BRA) 18.13, Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.83
Heat 5: Nat Young (USA) 17.10, Brett Simpson (USA) 12.10
Heat 6: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 15.96, Dusty Payne (HAW) 15.16
Heat 7: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 16.00, Glenn Hall (IRL) 10.44
Heat 8: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 18.84, Ricardo Christie (NZL) 18.13
Heat 9: Adam Melling (AUS) 14.90, Jordy Smith (ZAF) 8.03
Heat 10: Kai Otton (AUS) 18.10, Jadson Andre (BRA) 17.07
Heat 11: Wiggoly Dantas (BRA) 17.77, Miguel Pupo (BRA) 15.23
Heat 12: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 14.80, Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 13.93

J-Bay Open Round 3 Results
Heat 1: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 15.50, Owen Wright (AUS) 15.40
Heat 2: Kai Otton (AUS) 15.50, Italo Ferreira (BRA) 12.83
Heat 3: Julian Wilson (AUS) 17.94, Freddy Patacchia Jr. (HAW) 8.40
Heat 4: Nat Young (USA) 16.87, Adam Melling (AUS) 8.03

J-Bay Open Round 3 Match-Ups
Heat 5: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Wiggolly Dantas (BRA)
Heat 6: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Dane Reynolds (USA)
Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS), CJ Hobgood (USA)
Heat 8: Gabriel Medina (BRA), Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Heat 9: Kelly Slater (USA), Kolohe Andino (USA)
Heat 10: Josh Kerr (AUS), Keanu Asing (HAW)
Heat 11: Bede Durbidge (AUS), Michel Bourez (PYF)
Heat 12: Filipe Toledo (BRA), Alejo Muniz (BRA)