South African surfer Jordy Smith clinched the Billabong Pro JBay in highly testing conditions, becoming only the second person in surfing history, along with Jake the Snake Patterson, to hoist the JBay trophy back to back.
From early this morning the final 16 contenders put on a display of incredible surfing despite the high seas. With the wind pumping onshore, the rain pelting down and solid waves unloading on the Supers reef, Jordy Smith took on Damien Hobgood in the first heat and immediately found some rhythm, letting the shape of the reef do the work and funnel the waves on the inside into something that offered scoring potential. From the start Jordy set the pace.
In the next heat, Aussie rookie of the year hopeful, Julian Wilson, was dispatched by fellow countryman Ace Buchan while Joel Parkinson ended the dream of Brazilian rookie hopeful Alejo Muniz. In the last Quarter Final, Mick Fanning ended Josh Kerr's dream run and set up a highly anticipated duel wtih his good mate Joel Parkinson.
In the semis, the in form Ace Buchan's backside attack was stopped dead in it's tracks by a focussed Jordy Smith, who turned out a controlled and highly technical display, nailing a 9.63 ride to ease his way into the Final.
The other semi pitted current world ranking's leader Joel Parkinson against his old mate Mick Fanning. Despite some excellent surfing, Joel's high 7s were not enough to best Mick Fanning who nailed a 9.80 and followed it up with another high 7 to knock Joel out of the event and line up a final duel with South Africa's favourite surfer.
After a brief hiatus, the hooter sounded and the final got under way, starting immediately with a paddle battle, which Mick Fanning won and dropped into a big soupy Supers wall. He delivered a series of big crisp turns and was rewarded with a strong 8 point ride by the judges. It was the perfect start and immediately swung the pressure back to Jordy Smith.
On Jordy's first scoring wave he went straight into a huge fins free reverse and followed it up with a huge turn, then kind of bogged at the top of his third turn but still manageed to come off the bottom and smash another massive turn before finishing on the bricks. It was typical Jordy Smith blending raw power with progressive moves. The judge's rewarded him with an 8.60 to his nose in front.
The exchange continued. Mick Fanning snagged a set wave and nailed a big floater and a series of power turns down the line but the judges only saw it as a 6.83 ride. Jordy got the next one, a slightly smaller wave but kicked off with a huge roundhouse cuttie and another big connecting turn before finishing it off with a nice double grab punt into the air and landed it on the bricks. Again, he keeping his nose just ahead with a 7.0. It's obvious the judge's are rewarding Jordy's mix of powerful progressive surfing, over Mick's speed and precision.
From then on, with just 5 minutes remaining, Jordy just worked down the clock. Despite a look in on a couple waves, Mick wasn't able to nail the high 7 point ride he needed to win the event and the hooter sounded to the elation of both Jordy Smith and the South African crowd.
It's a fitting end because right from the start of the Billabong Pro JBay, Jordy set the pace; matching power with technical and progressive surfing moves and some beautiful railwork. And no one can argue that he had an easy ride into the final. In round one he nailed a massive front side stomp to squeeze out Sean Holmes and Adam Melling. In Round 3 he needed to best his good mate Travis Logie. He broke his favourite board at the end of that heat, and on a new board, stumbled into a Round 5 elimination against the powerful Aussie, Bede Durbidge. But Jordy bounced back and comfortably booked his place in the quarters, and the rest is history.
The final hooter was punctuated by flag waving, shoulder rides, salutations and big smiles on the beach. There's only one South African world title contender on the dream tour and he always seems to revel in his backyard (#homegroundadvantage).
On the podium Mick Fanning was magnanimous in defeat. "Great surfing. You got the 10 grand watch. You can give it to me if you like…" He quipped and then continued. "Inspirational stuff mate. Well done!"
Jordy was lost for words. He thanked everyone who mattered and then summed it up like this. "I've been coming here for a while. Since I was 7. I just want to say thanks to all of you. Mick you surfed amazing. Always an inspiration to watch. And it's always hard paddling against the rip... I'll talk more when I see you guys at the Mexican!"
And just like that, the curtain came down on the 2011 Billabong Pro JBay, much to everyone's satisfaction.
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