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Keanu Asing of Hawaii (pictured) winning his Round 1 heat at the JBay Open at Jeffreys Bay, South Africa on Friday July 10, 2015. Photo: Kirstin Scholtz/WSL
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ichel Bourez of Tahiti (pictured) advanced directly to Round 3 of the JBay Open at Supertubes, Jeffreys Bay, South Africa today, defeating Brett Simpson (USA) and Taj Burrow (AUS) in Round 1 with a heat total of 12.00 points (out of a possible 20.00). Photo: WSL/Cestari
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Adrian Buchan of Australia (pictured) advanced directly to Round 3 of the JBay Open at Supertubes, Jeffreys Bay, South Africa today, defeating Nat Young (USA) and Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) with a heat total of 12.60 points (out of a possible 20.00). Photo: WSL/Cestari
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Ricardo Christie of New Zealand (pictured) competes during Round 1 of the JBay Open at Jeffreys Bay in South Africa on Friday July 10, 2015. Photo: Kirstin Scholtz/WSL
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Bede Durbidge of Australia (pictured) winning his Round 1 heat at the JBay Open in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa on Friday July 10, 2015. Photo: Kirstin Scholtz/WSL
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Mick Fanning of Australia (pictured) advanced directly to Round 3 of the JBay Open at Supertubes, Jeffreys Bay, South Africa today, defeating wildcards Michael February (ZAF) and Tomas Hermes (BRA) with a heat total of 15.67 points (out of a possible 20.00). Photo: WSL/Cestari
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Dane Reynolds of the United States (pictured) advanced directly to Round 3 of the JBay Open at Supertubes, Jeffreys Bay, South Africa today, defeating Adam Melling (AUS) and Filiple Toledo (BRA) in Round 1 with a heat total of 13.33 points (out of a possible 20.00). Photo: WSL/Cestari
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Kelly Slater of the United States (pictured) advanced directly to Round 3 of the JBay Open at Supertubes, Jeffreys Bay, South Africa today, defeating Australians Matt Wilkinson and Glenn Hall with a heat total of 17.00 points (out of a possible 20.00) which included two high scoring 8.83 and 8.17 point rides (both out of a possible 10.00). Photo: WSL/Cestari
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Jordy Smith of South Africa (pictured) placing third during Round 1 of the JBay Open at Jeffreys Bay in South Africa on Friday July 10, 2015. Photo: Kirstin Scholtz/WSL
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Nat Young of Santa Cruz, California, USA (pictured) during Round 1 of the JBay Open on Friday July 10, 2015. Photo: Kirstin Scholtz/WSL
J-Bay is a wave that favors serious rail work–when it’s on, that is. The first round of the J-Bay Open, however, did not favor serious rail work. And, as is usually the case, when the best in the world can’t lay it on rail, they take to the air.
While the forecast called for “challenging” conditions (read: bad), the most surprising thing about the first day was just how unsurprising it was. Save for two losses, the day was pretty predictable. The first loss came when CJ Hobgood took out a very in form Owen Wright. While CJ is always a threat, Owen looked seemingly unbeatable after his performance in Fiji. Although Wright held the lead for nearly the entire head, CJ snuck by him in the last minute of the heat.
“I just want to surf good and it was kind of a slow heat and Owen’s been going hard out there,” said Hobgood. “Owen’s surfing is so smooth. His turns look a lot bigger than mine so I know I have to catch bigger waves than him.”
In the second surprise, wildcard Dane Reynolds took out Filipe Toledo, who is currently sitting at number two in the world. In conditions like the ones on the first day of surfing, Toledo excels. And although Reynolds is one of the best aerialists in the world, he’s famously unable to show just how good he is while judges are watching. Toledo, on the other had, seems to have just about every move above the lip dialed to perfection.
Slater, who has been dragging his feet a bit this year, showed up to the J-Bay party with bells on. In his heat against Matt Wilkinson and Glenn Hall, he managed to pull down a 17.00 heat, the highest of the day.
“I feel really good and I took a lot of time off this week,” said Slater. “I didn’t chase that last swell and I took some time for myself. I also felt really good in my freesurf yesterday. I felt calm and I watched it a couple hours beforehand to see where to sit and which waves to catch and who’s doing what. I don’t feel like anyone’s been able to stand out today. I’ve got to do something, you know? Got to keep these guys on their toes while I’m here.”
See the full results HERE.
