Jordy Smith and Jeffreys Bay
Category What's on in Jeffreys Bay
Jordy Smith and JBay
It's always great to have Jordy Smith at an event at JBay. You just know that he will do something crazy and unpredictable on any set wave that he lucks into. However, he knows the wave so well. He is so incredibly comfortable that he has space to relax and charge into incredible airs, barrels or other high scoring manoeuvres.
His record speaks for itself at JBay. Here are four highlights.
Wildcard Semis
In 2006, as an eighteen-year-old wildcard, Jordy made the semi-finals. He was on his way to a final berth when he over-powered a rail turn just before the gulley and fell.
First Victory
His first win came in 2010 against Australian Adam Melling. When they paddled out for the final in tiny surf, the onshore started puffing, and Jordy caught as many waves as he could off the bat. It was a wise move, a local knowledge move, because the onshore soon destroyed the last clean waves, and Melling couldn't find a wave to ride. This was Jordy's first CT win at JBay.
Second Victory
The following year's final against Mick Fanning was onshore and raining and a real battle to find scoring waves. Still, Jordy used his fitness and unlimited talent to take his second event victory. These two wins, back-to-back, prove that Jordy had something special going with the waves of Supertubes in JBay.
Twenty-Point Heat
Just to prove how good he is at Supers, he achieved a rare 20-point heat in 2017 against Leo Fioravanti. Two bombs from way out the top of the point, and Smith could do no wrong.
"That was an incredible heat, and I am so stoked to have surfed that heat today," said Smith in a post-heat interview back then. "There were such unbelievable waves out there. To do it, to get 20 points in front of all my friends and family and all these local fans is just an amazing thing."
So where to from here? Could this be his third win at JBay? Could he get two 20-point heats? With Jordy, the sky literally is the limit.
Author: Craig Jarvis, St Francis Today
