Billabong Pro Opens

No mention was made of 10x world champ Kelly Slater's absence. He has been chasing a swell at Tavarua and said a few hours ago that he was not in SA but if there was surf coming, he would be on the next flight. He posted a photo (above) from his iPhone and commented: "slight rub-in for jbay but funny. Sometimes swells don't line up for events and I'm always wishing I was elsewhere. Couldn't miss this one." Are those silent sighs of relief, with Kelly and Dane out the picture?

Billabong pulled out the stops for the opening function, hosted by 3 Fat Fish in Da Gama Road and sporting great local music and good food. The guest list normally gets interesting, and this was no exception, with heaps of reporters and photographers, Kouga Tourism Council, the new mayor of Kouga, Booi Koerat, Cheron Kraak, several surf industry kingpins, some tag alongers and even a visiting member of parliament.

After some words by Mayor Booi Koerat, who seemed a little out of his comfort zone but gave a heartfelt speech, a representative of Kouga Tourism welcomed everybody again.

He made mention and expressed his concern over the plans to build a Nuclear Power Station at Thuyspunt and the impact it will have on tourism and future events. There was a loud roar from the audience, which made it obvious what the surf industry thinks.

On the stage was Adriano de Souza, who took out the previous stop in Brazil and is ranked Number One on the WCT. Next to him was Jordy Smith, who needed no introduction and then the other usual suspects; Parko, Mick and Taj. Last but not least, Sean Holmes, the last person to surf a heat with Andy Irons in Jeffrey´s Bay. Sean has been dubbed "The Nemesis" by friends and surf media for his cunning ability to eliminate big names at Supertubes.

After an epic run of swell this season, Jeffrey's Bay has slumped into a mid-winter lull, with a few flat days, and the question about the lack of surf was on everybody´s mind. The new contest director, Eric Stedman, who has been shadowing Mike Parsons for several years, and lives in St. Francis Bay, set everybody at ease and said that the event will definitely have enough waves to run, but that it may get "interesting". However, for now, the forecasts have not set the surfing fraternity alight, with small dribbly lines and soft onshores forecasts til the weekend.

Stedman also mentioned a swell that was due to arrive on the weekend but it would coincide with a hanging high pressure system that might mess things up with a fair amount of onshore wind, though it looked like there was a follow-up swell that pulsed next weekend. (However, of course, anything more than five days out can be a bit of a lottery at J-Bay.) Stedman closed off by saying that a bad wave in Jeffrey's Bay is better than a good wave in many other places. Being contest director is no easy task, but it helps to have the gift of the gab, as they say.

Jordy Smith, when asked about how he feels coming into the Jeffrey's Bay event this year, stated that he felt confident in the fact that he had good boards and really looked forward to surfing uncrowded Supertubes - one of those unique perks of being a pro who gets to surf the best right pointbreak on the planet.

(He did not make any mention of wedding plans and nobody dared ask, but looking at him and Lyndal Jarvis earlier the evening, they sure make a great couple.)

Adriano de Souza (Brazil) said that the first time he came to Jeffrey´s Bay was when he was 11 years old and that he really looked forward to the event. Adriano never managed to progress further than the quarter finals in Jeffreys Bay and when asked about it said that he definitely wanted to improve on those results. He stated that it was nice to be in the lead, but that the tour had several stops to go till the end of the year.

De Souza also mentioned that he twisted his knee while doing a backside air reverse and that the doctor said he must wait 30 days for it to heal properly (which was 10 days ago) leaving him with 20 to go. Jokes were made about how he would not need to put ice on the knee because the water in Jeffrey´s Bay would be cold enough and he said that he was just going to do his best.

On the topic of injuries, Parko remarked that he was still in hospital with his heel injury by the time the opening function went down in 2010 and that he was very stoked to be at the 2011 event. Parko has a soft spot for Supertubes, because he also had his maiden victory in Jeffrey's Bay back in 1999 as a wildcard, and he got his second J-Bay victory 10 years later in 2009.

Taj Burrow mentioned that being a runner up was hard to swallow, and that it just made you more hungry. He hoped to get a couple of first places during the rest of the year. He also mentioned that the forecast said that the first few days were going to be onshore, which would present good conditions for high performance surfing and boosting of airs and that he looked forward to that.

Mick Fanning was all about being a tourist in the Eastern Cape region and expressed how much he enjoyed surfing there, but also liked the fact that one could go down the road and see real wild animals. He made mention about another wild creature prevalent in the waters - "The men in the grey suits" - and also told a story of how scared he was when his wife did a photoshoot inside one of the Nature Reserves, with rhino and cheetah right next to them.

Sean Holmes was a man on a mission, acknowledging that he had eliminated some big names in the past, but also stating that even though Mick Fanning managed to take him out several times, he had worked on his fitness this time around and wouldn't be making any excuses for his surfing. Expanding on his physical condition, he said that he had an injured back in 2010 after an "over ambitious yoga stretch", and that he is ready for the 2011 event armed with smaller, more chunky boards to match the forecasted waves.

Sean also mentioned that he loved representing his country, and that he would like to get one back at Jordy, who beat him in the recent Mr Price Pro. This statement caused a silent stir among the crowd and competitors alike. It seemed that the top seeds fear him at Supertubes.

After the official proceedings, some of the party shifted to the Mexican restaurant next door, while friends and foes shared a couple of bears and did some catching up before the real battle begins. Stedman will make the call tomorrow morning, and looking at coditions, competition may start as early as tomorrow afternoon, although Wavescape forecasts intermittent and small 2ft lines in crumbly onshore breezes.

The Billabong Pro J-Bay 2011 is proudly presented by South Africa’s adventure province Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency and further supported by Carling Black Label, Monster Energy, Coca Cola, Amarok, Vida e Caffe, Tavcor, VonZipper and Nixon.