Durban surfer ready for JBay Open
Durban's Slade Prestwich and Jordy Smith will be taking on the JBay Open next week.
THE world’s best surfers are just a week away from competing in the acclaimed waves of Supertubes at Jeffreys Bay for stop number six on the 2015 Samsung Galaxy World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), the J-Bay Open.
Universally regarded as one of the best waves on the planet, Jeffreys Bay boasts a quality righthand pointbreak that delivers unparalleled high-speed consistency, making it the perfect platform to test the world’s best. The event holds a competitive window of 8 to 19 July and is the only CT stop on the African continent.
Durban's Slade Prestwich earned a coveted wildcard entry into the event with a win at the JBU Supertrials on 14 June, and the Durban-based Qualifying Series (QS) surfer will battle Adriano de Souza (Brazil) and Adam Melling (Australia) in round one.
“I have nothing to lose and will give everything I have in the J-Bay Open. I love surfing at Supertubes and to get another chance to surf Supers with just one or two other guys in the water is going to be really cool. I cannot wait to surf against the likes of Kelly Slater, he’s a total legend,” said Prestwich.
Jordy Smith, South Africa’s sole CT representative and a two-time winner at Jeffreys Bay (2010 and 2011), will be keen to return to his favourite event after dropping to No. 18 in the rankings following injury induced withdrawals in the last two events in Rio de Janeiro and Fiji.Adriano de Souza (Brazil) and Filipe Toledo (Brazil) continue to hold first and second place on the WSL Jeep Leaderboard heading into the J-Bay Open with Fiji Pro standout Owen Wright (Australia) close behind in third place.Defending event winner and three-time world champion Mick Fanning (Australia) currently sits in fourth place on the rankings and victory at Jeffreys Bay this year would see him equal 11-time world champion Kelly Slater’s (USA) record of four wins in South Africa. Fanning matches up against compatriot Kai Otton (Australia) and wildcard Dane Reynolds (USA) in the opening round while Slater will take on Jadson Andre (Brazil) and Fredrick Patacchia (Hawaii).
The J-Bay Open will be webcast live on WorldSurfLeague.com
