It was an unforgettable day at the World Surf League (WSL) J-Bay Classic Presented by Corona with offshore winds and six-to-eight-foot sets rolling through from sunrise to sunset on Friday.
The Bonus Round determined the overall leader board with the top four men and women advancing to the bracket stage. The final rounds are being held on Saturday.
The energy in the air was unlike anything else and it reached a tipping point when the competition got called on, pulling competitors and spectators out of their dream state.
It was nearly impossible to take any eyes off the line-up. The buzzer sounded the start of the first heat as an eight-foot set rolled through, catching everyone out of position.
Frederico Morais (POR) got a bomb, carving down the face and setting up for the barrel. Morais got tubed twice, all the way through the Impossibles section and rode out.
The judges dish out an excellent 8.43 (out of a possible 10), and Morais advanced to the semifinals.
SA surfing legend Sean Holmes scratched into an eight-foot wall of water. He tucked into the barrel and squeaked out before producing some beautiful lines as he drew out his turns on the open face to get an 8.27.
The next heat started as a set arrived and Michael February (SA) was in position. February swooped down the face, into a huge arching turn.
As a professional free surfer, February is known as the style master and it showed why. He found the tube and got the exit, making it look effortless.
The beach erupted when the judges dropped a 9.17.
The bonus round score got doubled before being added to a surfer’s total score and February found himself at the top of the leader board with a score of 35.01 (out of a possible 40).
Taking off right behind February, the 1999 world champion Mark ‘Occy’ Occhilupo (AUS) went vertical under the lip of a huge wave, before laying into his classic backhand style.
“Today’s absolutely firing J-Bay which is exciting when you’re surfing with just two other people out,” February said. “I was stoked to get a good score on my first wave. I wasn’t even sure if the heat started, but I saw a green flash from the tower and just started paddling as hard as I could. It was such a fun wave, I think anyone who surfed it would’ve had a good score.”
“Surfing with Occy and Josh Kerr is very special. It’s weird because it doesn’t feel like a serious event but you still get a bit nervous and that contest feeling kicks in. You kind of just want Occy to surf any wave he wants and watch him surf. It’s a really cool experience,” February said.
Josh Kerr (AUS) was happy to be back on his twin-fin surfboard. Rolling into a huge set wave, Kerr tucked into the barrel, glided down and set up the next section to get barrelled again. He came out flying for an 8.90, and with a total of 32.64 cemented his spot on finals day.
In a battle of the goofy surfers, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) snuck into the fourth spot on the leader board when he scored a 6.73 in the final seconds of the heat against local youngsters Tide-Lee Ireland (SA) and Joshe Faulkner (SA).
Patiently waiting for the wall of the wave to stand up, Wilkinson went vertical with his manoeuvres, completing it in the most critical section of the wave. His total bumped local hero Sean Holmes (SA) down the leader board as the Australian advanced.
Despite some seriously powerful surfing, 2015 world champion Adriano De Souza (BRA) didn't make the cut.
The eight-time world champion Sarah Baum glided into her first wave, driving off the bottom and off the top with beautiful turns back into the pocket, whipping around her bright yellow surfboard.
The judges handed out a 7.67 sending Gilmore into the top position on the leader board with a total of 28.68, overtaking Coco Ho (HAW) who also locked in her finals day slot.
“There’s really not that many places in the world where you take off on a wave and you see the longest line of water bending all along the coast,” Gilmore said.
“The world is your oyster, at that point, you can do whatever you want.”
“To get to share it with two girls that I really admire, I love Coco and Sierra (Kerr). I spent my whole career on Tour with Coco and now Sierra is the future, so it’s a cool moment to share some great waves together,” Gilmore said.
Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) had some work to do going into the bonus round, coming up against Sarah Baum (SA) and Sage Erickson (US).
Baum already had an excellent score in her total, making it a bit easier to advance to the semifinals.
Fitzgibbons gladly accepted the challenge and paddled into a gem to churn out powerful, but snappy turns in the pocket for a 7.10.
Double that score and she edged out Sierra Kerr (AUS) by the smallest of margins, with Erickson finishing at the bottom of the table.
“It was crazy to be out there with Sarah Baum and Sage Erickson,” Fitzgibbons said.
“That would’ve never happened 20 years ago, to sit out there in golden hour and surf pumping J-Bay. To see everyone just enjoying their surfing is so meaningful, it goes beyond getting a result. It just shows how far women’s surfing has come. I’ve only had a few runs at this break and it’s one of my favourite to watch, so I want to keep learning it and the only way to do that is to surf more, so I’m really grateful to be here,” Fitzgibbons said.
The day wrapped with a special Heritage Heat, giving surfing legends like Mark Occhilupo, Greg Emslie, Grant Baker, Sean Holmes, Shane Thorne, Warren Dean, Trevor Hansen, Michael Burness and Seth Hulley the chance to share a pumping Supertubes line-up once again. — WSL
Unforgettable day unfolds at WSL J-Bay Classic
Image: WSL / Tostee
It was an unforgettable day at the World Surf League (WSL) J-Bay Classic Presented by Corona with offshore winds and six-to-eight-foot sets rolling through from sunrise to sunset on Friday.
The Bonus Round determined the overall leader board with the top four men and women advancing to the bracket stage. The final rounds are being held on Saturday.
The energy in the air was unlike anything else and it reached a tipping point when the competition got called on, pulling competitors and spectators out of their dream state.
It was nearly impossible to take any eyes off the line-up. The buzzer sounded the start of the first heat as an eight-foot set rolled through, catching everyone out of position.
Frederico Morais (POR) got a bomb, carving down the face and setting up for the barrel. Morais got tubed twice, all the way through the Impossibles section and rode out.
The judges dish out an excellent 8.43 (out of a possible 10), and Morais advanced to the semifinals.
SA surfing legend Sean Holmes scratched into an eight-foot wall of water. He tucked into the barrel and squeaked out before producing some beautiful lines as he drew out his turns on the open face to get an 8.27.
The next heat started as a set arrived and Michael February (SA) was in position. February swooped down the face, into a huge arching turn.
As a professional free surfer, February is known as the style master and it showed why. He found the tube and got the exit, making it look effortless.
The beach erupted when the judges dropped a 9.17.
The bonus round score got doubled before being added to a surfer’s total score and February found himself at the top of the leader board with a score of 35.01 (out of a possible 40).
Taking off right behind February, the 1999 world champion Mark ‘Occy’ Occhilupo (AUS) went vertical under the lip of a huge wave, before laying into his classic backhand style.
“Today’s absolutely firing J-Bay which is exciting when you’re surfing with just two other people out,” February said. “I was stoked to get a good score on my first wave. I wasn’t even sure if the heat started, but I saw a green flash from the tower and just started paddling as hard as I could. It was such a fun wave, I think anyone who surfed it would’ve had a good score.”
“Surfing with Occy and Josh Kerr is very special. It’s weird because it doesn’t feel like a serious event but you still get a bit nervous and that contest feeling kicks in. You kind of just want Occy to surf any wave he wants and watch him surf. It’s a really cool experience,” February said.
Josh Kerr (AUS) was happy to be back on his twin-fin surfboard. Rolling into a huge set wave, Kerr tucked into the barrel, glided down and set up the next section to get barrelled again. He came out flying for an 8.90, and with a total of 32.64 cemented his spot on finals day.
In a battle of the goofy surfers, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) snuck into the fourth spot on the leader board when he scored a 6.73 in the final seconds of the heat against local youngsters Tide-Lee Ireland (SA) and Joshe Faulkner (SA).
Patiently waiting for the wall of the wave to stand up, Wilkinson went vertical with his manoeuvres, completing it in the most critical section of the wave. His total bumped local hero Sean Holmes (SA) down the leader board as the Australian advanced.
Despite some seriously powerful surfing, 2015 world champion Adriano De Souza (BRA) didn't make the cut.
The eight-time world champion Sarah Baum glided into her first wave, driving off the bottom and off the top with beautiful turns back into the pocket, whipping around her bright yellow surfboard.
The judges handed out a 7.67 sending Gilmore into the top position on the leader board with a total of 28.68, overtaking Coco Ho (HAW) who also locked in her finals day slot.
“There’s really not that many places in the world where you take off on a wave and you see the longest line of water bending all along the coast,” Gilmore said.
“The world is your oyster, at that point, you can do whatever you want.”
“To get to share it with two girls that I really admire, I love Coco and Sierra (Kerr). I spent my whole career on Tour with Coco and now Sierra is the future, so it’s a cool moment to share some great waves together,” Gilmore said.
Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) had some work to do going into the bonus round, coming up against Sarah Baum (SA) and Sage Erickson (US).
Baum already had an excellent score in her total, making it a bit easier to advance to the semifinals.
Fitzgibbons gladly accepted the challenge and paddled into a gem to churn out powerful, but snappy turns in the pocket for a 7.10.
Double that score and she edged out Sierra Kerr (AUS) by the smallest of margins, with Erickson finishing at the bottom of the table.
“It was crazy to be out there with Sarah Baum and Sage Erickson,” Fitzgibbons said.
“That would’ve never happened 20 years ago, to sit out there in golden hour and surf pumping J-Bay. To see everyone just enjoying their surfing is so meaningful, it goes beyond getting a result. It just shows how far women’s surfing has come. I’ve only had a few runs at this break and it’s one of my favourite to watch, so I want to keep learning it and the only way to do that is to surf more, so I’m really grateful to be here,” Fitzgibbons said.
The day wrapped with a special Heritage Heat, giving surfing legends like Mark Occhilupo, Greg Emslie, Grant Baker, Sean Holmes, Shane Thorne, Warren Dean, Trevor Hansen, Michael Burness and Seth Hulley the chance to share a pumping Supertubes line-up once again. — WSL
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