I promised myself I’d go 100 per cent local this week – go Noosa boys Josh and Jive, among many others, at the Nats on the Tweed Coast as I write! – but last Friday night at Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa, surfing’s global pointy end ramped it up to a level that can’t go unremarked, possibly surpassing its own extravagant hype.
As the World Surf League likes to put it, you couldn’t script this. Finals day at J-Bay in clean, pumping double-overhead bombs offered so much stoke and entertainment that it kept this old fan boy up after midnight, hooting and hollering as the surfers rose to the occasion, cursing the judges for their mean spirits (in the main) and slurping generously on the product of the Adelaide Hills.
The last time I broke curfew to watch the J-Bay final in the middle of the night was a decade ago and I cried like a baby at Mick’s sheer guts as he punched the shark and at Julian’s valour as he kept paddling towards his mate in trouble. This time mine were tears of joy, particularly for Connor O’Leary, the Irishman from Cronulla Point who surfs for Japan, and a magnificent bastard if ever there was one, who kept lifting the bar higher and higher, grinning all the while.
More about Connor later, but first a brief recap on the Corona Fake Beer Pro, for my money the best finals day since Kelly won at Pipe aged 49 and 300 days, ah, nearly four years ago. Neither of the winners last Friday night has won a single world title, let alone Kelly’s 11, but the performance level they set was the stuff that champs are made of. Let’s go to the girls first.
The best of the women fought out the finals day draw with three of ours still alive, all of them capable of delivering in pumping conditions. While it was disappointing to see Tyler Wright go down to Gabby Bryan in the first quarter, it’s been the way of the late seaon for Tyler, who’s still got it in spades but sometimes can’t dig it up when she needs to. Bella Nichols surfed beautifully throughout the event and looked like a potential winner if she could get around Molly Picklum, which she couldn’t. And that left Pickles and Gabby, one and two in the rankings, to fight out the final.
Gabby has been the shining light of the season for the women, all power and speed, but Pickles had her measure, until she didn’t. After Gabby turned the heat in the closing minutes, Pickles needed only a mid-range score as the clock wound down with a small set approaching. And she let two waves and the title pass her by. Brain fog? Faulty Apple watch? Who knows but she can’t let it happen again.
Rankings leader Yago Dora was the man to beat, as he showed in taking down a rampaging Leo Fioravanti and Griff Colapinto to get to the final. But on the other side of the draw something remarkable was happening. Connor O’Leary was fired up and improving heat by heat, from the moment he took out Ethan Ewing after a beautifully-surfed quarter with a closer that went excellent and prompted world number two Jordy Smith to scream himself hoarse from his beachfront balcony.
Connor’s backside vertical smashes were getting ridiculous, but surely Filipe Toledo would finish his run. It certainly looked that way until Connor eyed off a deep takeoff, and powered his way through two barrels before lip-bashing his way down the line for a 10. Could he do it again against Yago? He looked completely spent, but adrenaline is a funny thing, and it got him home with just three waves surfed in the final.
With a first CT win under his belt at 31, the affable giant took a jump up the rankings and was the happiest winner I’ve ever seen. J-Bay 25, one for Connor and one for the ages.
Sharky waters of Pelican St
Politics is a funny game, you only need to look across the Pacific to be convinced of that.
But last Friday, just a few hours before Connor went crazy at J-Bay, our Noosa Council was producing its own brand of nuttiness.
If you’re a surfer or an ocean swimmer you will be well aware of the ongoing debate about shark netting. This is often an emotional argument, particularly for older surfers who have seen so many shark fatalities over the years and are sometimes stuck in the technology of a previous century while so much has changed in shark mitigation. But one councillor, who is also a surfer, has pushed for a review of our netting arrangements almost since she was elected in 2020.
Last year Cr Amelia Lorentson presented a “notified motion” to council calling for a netting review which passed unanimously. She later wrote: “The use of shark nets and drumlines is a topic that divides our community. Although research suggests that nets may be effective, many scientists believe relying solely on them is misguided. Therefore, it is crucial to explore other options based on current technology and data.”
Good point. Last Friday Mayor Frank Wilkie did just that, moving a resolution for the “trial removal of mesh nets during whale migration season”. Only one councillor opposed it. Amelia.
Why? A case of playing the man, rather than the ball? We may never know, or maybe we will.
