Looking Back

The Billabong Pro J-Bay 2012 was far from a perfect event. There were problems that come with staging a professional sporting event, from staff to catering to theft (two spectators got drunk and attempted to walk off with one of the huge flatscreen tv’s, then tried to bribe a security guard, before ending up in chookie for the night to sleep off their brandy). There were the problems with the webcast, and the rampant online haters, and there were other problems that will never make it into the public domain. Luckily they were all completely overshadowed by the perfection.

A six-foot wave that comes as a straight line from up somewhere near Boneyards and runs all the way through to Impossibles is perfection in the eyes of a surfer. It also possesses some sort of perfect natural symmetry to the non-surfer. When they observe a Supertubes bomb even the most inexperienced pair of eyes will comprehend that there is something special going on, that there is something beautiful in nature going down in front of them. Old people as well – they are in awe of a Supers racetrack when it is pointed out to them. It’s what made the Bong pro what it was this year.

Three days of perfect Supers surf does some strange things to surfers. They become a bit complacent with it all. They look at the most perfect wave in the world, with a talented surfer racing at full speed and sitting deep in the tube, and they look away and pay for their sandwich or chat to a friend. A solid set appears on the horizon and where most people would run down to their favourite view spots to watch then waves unfurl down the best right-hand pointbreak in the world after a few days of it they find themselves looking away, checking their Instagram accounts, tweeting some inane status, as they become accustomed to perfection and assimilate it into their everyday movements.

Supers had a good run of perfect surf. It lasted for three incredible, sublime days of world-class surfing and howling waves.  Then it was over, in average onshore waves, and the assembled pros started shuffling off, to their next destination, their next boat trip, their next photo shoot or back to their loved ones dotted around the globe. Adriano went home with the bacon despite his unattractive style that was one of the few blemishes on the perfection that was Supers.

In hindsight, one cannot quantify the value of scoring pumping Supers for an event like this. It is quite unfathomable, hard to break down, and the chances of it happening again are slim.

Those people who got to surf in the Billabong Pro J-Bay 2012 were so lucky, and should be very thankful.