My annual pilgrimage to the Billabong Pro in Jeffrey’s Bay did not disappoint. After all it was a trip with extreme epicness patched together by a lot of nothingness in between. Stretching a surf trip over 10 days doesn’t do one’s bank balance good, especially with so much entertainment on offer and seemingly the only final destination on a lay day to be the factory shops. I think this town was laid out exactly with this in mind, with the end of the road (Da Gama) being my credit card on the sales counter, literally. At least I scored a new suit at a decent price.
I have to mention that live tweeting an event is hard work. I tried to keep up most of the time, but I’m not sure I’ll do it again. I might find solace in the fact that this is a new twitter account (@beachbumsa) and that one can call it some brand awareness…
I took two boards, both purchased second hand off a desperate buddy that wanted cash for his fishing trip in the Kei. One’s a fish and one’s a longboard that I ‘light footed’ because of a crease that I still need to get fixed. The typical catch 22 of either surf or watch surfing applied and I opted to take some photos as it’s a fun hobby. On the lay days I managed to scuff some waves off snaking Brazilians and Frenchman (Internationals were roaming the water everywhere and Capetonians acting as if they’re the local insider at the Gat in Llands). I got Seals on a decent 3-4ft swell after 4×4’ing the makeshift earth bridge that Craig Jarvis (@red_elvis) is moaning about so much. I now understand what he’s on about and it seems with all the rain following the comp it’s gonna be a while before they get it sorted. There I met up with some local West Side crew that were just to glad to be rid of their wives to let loose a little. A classic quote to be heard was ‘It’s so weird being out’ one night in the Mexican…
I of course (being a 6th year veteran) know the ins and outs of Billabong time and made sure every moment was enjoyed to the full. The music fest was great, some excellent bands (Evolver, Jack Parow, Jeremy Loops, Taxi Violence) played to great crowds. On the night that Evolver played I bumped into another Big Bay crew and we literally tried to drink all the beer in the ‘Dolly Jolphin’. Dutchie almost succeeded only to be escorted off the premises. At that stage I had left already so can’t vouch for the authenticity of the hearsay. A shout out also to Kai (the MC for the music fest at the Jolly Dolphin) and our shared double whiskey at the bar early evening. He’s a cool guy and always smiling, and rocked the stage making sure we were amped for every band that came on.
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Now yes, I was actually here for some surfing action and the first day I arrived (the 15th) I actually missed Jordy’s heat as I was flying up the coast from Mossel Bay upon the call and missed it by 10 minutes #FML. Anyway, I started clicking away… I’m not going to comment on every day, you know what happened in the end and check out Billabongpro.com for highlight videos. It was sad that Kelly and Bobby didn’t show up, but I understand Kelly’s point that it was possibly the best waves in 20 years in Fiji and after 10 titles I would have done the same. It was also one less competitor Jordy had to worry about and congrats goes out to him for taking the win in difficult conditions and to Mick Fanning for his well deserved second.
Stand outs for me was Alejo Muniz, Michel Bourez, Josh Kerr, Julian Wilson, Matt Wilkinson (that pop shove-it attempt or whatever you call it was just insane), Dusty Pane, Mick (still the fastest in the Supers lineup aka White Lightning) and especially Adam Melling (very impressive form) and I’ve got to mention Parko for his sweet carving style which was sharply honed.
If I commented a pic wrong, lemme know…
15 July 2011
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18 July 2011
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21 July 2011
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23 July 2011
Yes, yes, I know there were 20 heats run this day, but the lighting was just so crap and I was drinking beer all day winning prizes with Black Label…
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24 July 2011
The conditions were really shit that day, so I decided to stay warm rather than shooting onshore slop. Some pics are from my cellphone and lower in quality…
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