Jeffreys Bay. This is what the Dream Tour looks like. Photo: ASP/Cestari
J-Bay is one of those waves that just defines the entire Dream Tour concept. Long, fast overhead rights, and barrels. There are a lot of barrels. Besides Pipe, it’s my favorite stop on the tour to watch, simply for the near perfection of the wave itself. Unlike Pipe, though, we get to see the boys bring out some serious rail game. And some classic moments occur when you put the best of the best in one of the best waves on the planet. Technically we could say that about most of the stops on tour, but you get the point: J-Bay is just special. So I present to you, from the days of the Billabong Pro to the J-Bay Open, the contest’s top moments:
1999: Parko Notches a Win for the Wildcards
Joel Parkinson was built for J-Bay. Or maybe J-Bay was built for Parko. Either way, they’re a lovely couple. He didn’t join the World Championship Tour full time until 2001, but in 1999 the 18-year-old Aussie made a name for himself by winning the Billabong Pro as a wildcard.
Wildcards don’t often make it out of the early rounds of ‘CT events, let alone go on to win the whole thing. But are you really surprised Joel Parkinson pulled it off? According to Parko, he arrived at the contest fresh off a first round loss in a contest in Reunion Island. He’d just placed 364th in a ‘QS contest, and paddled out at J-Bay expecting to get bounced early again. That ended up not happening. After winning the contest, he took to the town for some ceremonial celebration. Coming home late that night, “blind drunk,” (his words) he greeted a man carrying his board bag, which included the board he’d just surfed the contest on. Assuming it was just a friendly local packing his hotel room before his upcoming flight, Parko greeted his new friend with a “hey mate” and a hug. He didn’t think much of the man rolling out his board bag until long after he’d let his new buddy steal a coffin’s worth of surfboards. That must’ve been one hell of a party.
2004: Andy Wins it All
Andy Irons was my surfing man crush during his reign. I’m pretty sure I’ve said that a time or two. 2004 was the end of that three-peat, a feat that rarely happens in any sport. He’d come up just short in two finals earlier in the year (Gold Coast and Fiji), but he got over the hump at J-Bay before winning again in France that fall. Andy wasn’t as dominant as his previous two titles seasons, appearing in four finals and winning two. In 2002 and 2003 AI made it to a total of eleven finals combined, only finishing in second place two times in that stretch. His run made him one of the most dominant athletes of any sport over any stretch of time. So seeing the elder Irons brother back on top once more was a sweet, sweet sight.
2005: Andy and Kelly Meet in the Final
Andy Irons and Kelly Slater will go down in the books as surfing’s greatest rivalry. Fueling the fire for a title like that is the fact that Andy is the only surfer to ever have Kelly’s number on a regular basis. He made Kelly look human in ways that nobody else ever could. In fact, up until the finals of the 2005 J-Bay Open, Irons had surfed laps around Slater since his return to competition just a few years before. And this heat was pivotal in shifting the balance of that rivalry. Of all their classic moments in the water together, this was the first time Kelly Slater and Andy Irons faced off in a 2-man final. Andy had this one all but wrapped up in the final seconds, with Kelly needing a 9.23 to win.
It’s Kelly. Just by my mention of what score he needed before the buzzer, you know he got it. Andy watched him notch a 9.5. In fact, when it was all said and done for the 2005 season, Kelly edged Andy out for the World Title by less than 100 points in the final standings. This heat was the difference between a 4th World Title for Irons and Slater’s first since 1998.
2014: Curren’s Perfect 10 Proves He’s Still Got it
As if the duel itself wasn’t asking for its own place on this list, Tom Curren apparently didn’t want to share my praises (because I’m sure making this list was a motivating force. You’re welcome) with another of J-Bay’s elite. And putting Curren and Occy together in a heat wasn’t a flashback, it was the first heat of the WSL’s inaugural Heritage Series.
I love the claim. The claim tells the whole story. This, coming from a guy who’s entire style is based on keeping and looking cool. He doesn’t even wait to fly out of the barrel before his arms go up in the air.
