Andy Irons' absence has had an impact on this year's Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay. Photo: ASP/Kirstin
It’s a different Billabong Pro this year. Having said that, the world’s a different place this year. Things have changed so much in the last 12 months that it’s sometimes hard to comprehend the amount of change we are going through. This year at Supertubes Jeffreys Bay it seems like a different place to last. It’s a nice place, just a very different place.
One change for the better is that Billabong South Africa has been very firm and positive about their environmental campaign. The event is green. From their reusable coffee mugs, to the information brochure advising the public how to go greener, to using biodegradable food and beverage containers. This was initiated years ago, but this year it’s a lot more serious, and showing more intent. It’s still such a pity that people use opportunities like this to place all sorts of advertisements under car window wipers and hand out endless flyers at the stop streets. The resulting pollution is evident all over the entrance to Pepper Street – paper blowing in the southwesterly, and collecting in the vacant lot walk through accessed from Da Gama. There should be a law against people advertising like this. If they are in any way involved in the surf industry, they should be called on it.
A really strange change has been the surfers for the event. No Kelly Slater. He chose to chase the biggest and best swell to ever hit Tavarua, and the AV evidence of this is absolutely mind blowing. Dane Reynolds removed himself from the event, which definitely removed the “loose” element from the contest. Dane is a favorite, and always pulls a big crowd. Bobby Martinez is an amazing backhand surfer at J-Bay and his absence was a bit unusual. Whilst Slater and Reynolds were accounted for, Bobby’s situation was unexplained. I’m sure all will be revealed eventually. By not being there, the South African contingent of Travis Logie and Shaun Joubert got the nod, with Travis now sitting in the third round, and Shaun getting eliminated by Bede Durbidge. Another person missing is GT. For many years he strutted around the contest tower interviewing surfers, having a few laughs, going for a quick surf in the morning and wearing some outlandish gear. He was loved and hated, but he was a persona, and this year he’s gone, along with long time contest director Mike Parsons. Out of the two, I miss GT more. Now working with Kolohe Andino, Parsons has been replaced by the very capable Eric Stedman. GT has also been replaced, apparently…
Talking of contest directors, the weather has gone weird on us as well. After the longest, most brutal and swell-infested pre-winter season in twenty years, including flash floods and bridges washed away, the weather has turned to summer. Hot days and light winds. There have been cloudless skies and no rain for weeks. The weather has been cold and the swells perpetual since Easter, and it seems that summer has come early. Like, really early. It has been a tricky couple of opening days, with Supers not really playing ball in any way. Still, round one is under the belt, half of round two has gone, and there is a bit of potential for later on in the week. It’s just a bit extraordinary. As one pro mentioned, “There are so many smiling faces this year. All the locals seem so stoked.” You would be too after the non-stop bombing surf we’ve had since early April.
It’s also a bit unusual to see less people around at the beach so far. With the charts and forecasts showing bleakness, it seems that not too many people have made the trek to J-Bay.
Not yet.
The car parks do have their fair share of out-of-town plates, but it’s not really “buzzing” in Pepper Street.
Not yet.
The final thing that I would deem unusual was Shaun Holmes in his heat against Taj Burrow. I don’t know if Holmesy doesn’t surf Supers enough when it’s small, or whether he had the wrong equipment underfoot, but he didn’t cut it. Last year, in that dismal morning surf, he trounced Slater, yet this year he was at a loss against Taj. His timing was out and he surfed very unlike he has been surfing all year. Holmes’ timing is never out at Supers. On his worst day, he is the best guy in the water. It’s a whole bunch of strangeness going on this year at Supers.
Maybe everyone is just missing Andy Irons so much this year that the energy has gone all fucked.
