Starring Byron’s own Taj Richmond, Jhamil Coorey and Joel Paxton, Activated Aquatics captures the memorable moments of a surf trip down the coast with mates. “Just a couple of activated humans approaching some aqua related, high intensity sport.”
A short film created by local filmmaker Georde Grigor (Grigs), capturing the simple but most memorable moments of their recent surf trip down to the coast.
Presented by Afends.
The new issue is out. You can get it delivered to door for by hitting this link here.
“They all do the same, only their names change honey You can join their club if you’re born in to money.”
Sam Fender, Hypersonic Missiles
It’s a weird world out of the water at the moment. Fortunately when I’m Out Of Office I tend to be either in the water or out of signal and staring at the water. It wasn’t something I was particularly aware of until recently when someone said: “You still here?” It was two foot onshore and I’d been at my spot for four hours. Time just passes. I watch the waves – the way they break, the different wave patterns and fetch. The way the swell hugs sandbanks or travels down the coast. I watch the wonder of kids who see the ocean for the first time. The joy of the groms and learners going straight on foamies in the whitewater. The fishing boats out at sea going about their work following the diving birds. I look for dolphins and clues as to why one tide with little swell can change a whole beach of sand. I wonder how the ancient Polynesians navigated the oceans by the stars, and observations of birds, ocean swells, and wind patterns; all passed down through memories and by word of mouth from generation to generation. I wonder why tiny moments of time spent wave riding, swimming or just absorbing salt-heavy sea breezes can have such an impact on our lives? Why can we all remember our first wave, tube (if you are lucky), sunrise and sunset sessions? Or even that kinda shitty turn in two foot surf that made our day? I think we are all connected to the ocean to various extents. And at the same time our coastal distractions disconnect us from from what goes on ‘inland’. It gives us a sense of release and perspective of what matters. Time and tide wait for no one, but our ancient connections are highly preferable to the politics and economics of 2022. And it reminds us how lucky we are just collecting memories in a mad world.
“All the silver tongued suits and cartoons that rule my world, Are saying it’s a high time for hypersonic missiles.”
That may be, but I’ll mainly be out of signal.
Steve
Editor
The day of days happened at Ma’alaea freight trains! Some of the best and biggest waves in the past 20 years peeled across the reefs of Ma’alaea creating huge tunnels of mind-blowing perfection. Here are some of the raw best clips during the pulse of the historic swell.
I’ve a hangover, which has nothing to do with this clip, but I’m finding it very soothing to watch Torren Martyn and co sliding through Nias, hop on board with one of the best rights in the world. Can you pass the headache tablets please.
Tatiana Weston-Webb and Ethan Ewing Win Corona Open J-Bay
• Australia’s Ethan Ewing Wins Maiden CT Event
• Tyler Wright and Jack Robinson Finish Runner-Up at Stop No. 9
• Tatiana Weston-Webb Jumps Into WSL Final 5
• More Available at WorldSurfLeague.com
Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) and Ethan Ewing (AUS) won the Corona Open J-Bay, Stop No. 9 on the World Surf League (WSL) 2022 Championship Tour (CT), after three massive days of competition at the world-famous Jeffreys Bay (J-Bay) in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The competition embraced two new winners, Weston-Webb, the first female goofy-foot to claim victory, and Ewing, who earned the first CT win of his career.
Ethan Ewing Wins Maiden CT Title in J-Bay
Ewing had a stellar run through the early rounds in J-Bay, facing major opposition in South African Matthew McGillivray (RSA) and Jordy Smith (RSA) as well as Yago Dora (BRA) to reach his first-ever Final on the CT. The stylish regular-foot from Stradbroke Island peaked at the right time on Finals Day where he posted his biggest scores of the event. In his third year on tour, Ewing seems to have finally found his recipe for success as he posts a huge result that will see him move into third on the rankings.
“I’ve been so inspired by Jack (Robinson) this year, he’s had really an incredible year,” Ewing said. “I hadn’t had a win yet but coming here I didn’t put any pressure on myself. Jack started well and I tried to keep my composure. I still feel like I had a lot left in my tank, but this event is one of the dream events to win, so it feels incredible.”
“It’s been such a good year for me,” Ewing continued. “My first year on tour I got so smoked and last year was kind of a warm-up but I feel like this year I’m really showing my surfing and feeling comfortable. Going to Chopes next, I haven’t spent too much time there but I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.”
Robinson absolutely nailed his first wave of the Final with a variety of carves and vertical hits on a drainer down the Supertubes point to claim an excellent 8.83 (out of a possible 10) and take the upper hand early on. Ewing answered with a wave that seemed lacking sections at first but offered him a great opportunity to score major maneuvers down the line, scored 7.17 by the judging panel.
Both surfers wasted no time to back up their first scores, with very different approaches to surfing the long rights of J-Bay. Ewing continued with razor-sharp carves while Robinson went with dynamic, fin-drifting turns into the lip. Ewing got the nod on that second exchange with a 7.67 against Robinson’s 6.93 but the West Australian kept the lead of the heat.
Ewing continued to flare up as he found another gem in the J-Bay lineup to push every single turn harder and post a massive 9.13 to move into first. Robinson kept his head up and fought back but came up shy on his next few attempts and Ewing claimed his first CT win.
Robinson’s sophomore year on tour has been a dream run, collecting back-to-back wins in his home state of Western Australia and G-Land, as well as a handful of good results that see him cement his second spot on the rankings and clinch his ticket for the Rip Curl WSL Finals.
“It’s nice to hear that,” said Robinson. “We keep working for it and trying to get the best position I can, so I’ll keep on working. It felt good to be back in South Africa, I just had a good feeling as soon as I got here.”
Weston-Webb Earns Second CT Win for 2022
In her seventh season among the world’s best surfers, Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) comes off her strongest showing, ranked second in the world in 2021, and trying to make the rankings Top 5 for a fighting chance at the World Title again.
“I love surfing on my backhand, a lot of people know that, but it’s just been a while since I’ve put it all together and had things go my way,” Weston-Webb said. “This event I just really felt in rhythm and flow and the whole time I was just having a blast, maybe that’s what set me apart.”
With a win early on in Portugal, a couple of Semifinals in G-Land and Rio and her win today, the Brazilian holds the right cards as the tour heads to Tahiti where she has spent time developing a relationship with the Teahupoo lineup. Today’s result will see her move up to third on the rankings before the CT’s final stop.
“We had such perfect waves for this event and I’d like to thank the locals for sharing their lineups with us for a week, it was just phenomenal,” Weston-Webb added. “I’m really excited for Teahupoo but right now I’m just living in the moment here at J-Bay.”
The women’s Final started with fireworks from the get-go, both surfers opting to go on the very first set that came through, and rewarded with similar high-7 scores. Weston-Webb was first to get a second opportunity, starting on a bomb and applying her radical, under-the-lip backhand turns for an excellent 8.50 to pressure Wright.
Weston-Webb continued to build momentum and shredded another big right with incredible control in the critical sections to post a 9-point ride, pushing her opponent against the ropes as Wright needed either a perfect 10-point ride or two new scores to regain the lead.
The two-time World Champion fought back around the 10-minute mark, finding a good wall to work with and combining long-arching carves with powerful snaps all the way to the closeout section. Wright earned an excellent 8.17 to bring her requirement down to a 9.33 with only a few minutes left on the clock. Time ran out without any more opportunities coming through the lineup and Weston-Webb claimed a career-fourth win on the Championship Tour.
“Runner-up is good, there’s a lot of hard work that went into that,” Wright reflected. “Tatiana was really for me the standout of the event, she put so much work in. I knew I had my work cut out for me but honestly a second, from where I started my week to where I ended up is a huge improvement.”
A veteran on the CT where she has spent 11 seasons competing, amassing an incredible 14 wins, Wright had a solid start to her 2022 campaign for a third world title but was injured and sat out the last two events. Coming into South Africa ranked 10th in the world, Wright’s runner-up finish bumped her up to 7th position, with still a mathematical chance to make the Rip Curl WSL Finals at Trestles.
Former J-Bay Winners Moore, Gilmore Drop-out on Finals Day
Wright had previously eliminated the 2018 J-Bay winner and seven-time World Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) in their Semifinal matchup. Gilmore’s wave selection was uncharacteristically off and she only put her first good score on the board after more than 30 minutes in the lineup. She eventually ran out of time to try to overcome Wright’s lead and placed equal third but held onto her position as No. 4 on the rankings.
In the second Semifinal, five-time World Champion Carissa Moore (HAW) made a priority error midway through the heat and with a discarded second score, her mission to overcome Weston-Webb quickly became impossible. Weston-Webb increased her lead and shut down the heat, advancing to the Finals and perhaps got revenge over Moore who defeated her at the Oi Rio Pro. Moore will continue to wear the leader’s yellow jersey heading to the Outerknown Tahiti Pro.
For highlights from the 2022 Corona Open J-Bay, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.
Corona Open J-Bay Women’s Final Results:
1 – Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 17.50
2 – Tyler Wright (AUS) 15.67
Corona Open J-Bay Men’s Final Results:
1 – Ethan Ewing (AUS) 16.80
2 – Jack Robinson (AUS) 16.30
Corona Open J-Bay Women’s Semifinal Results:
HEAT 1: Tyler Wright (AUS) 14.26 DEF. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 11.00
HEAT 2: Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 9.60 DEF. Carissa Moore (HAW) 5.50
Corona Open J-Bay Men’s Semifinal Results:
HEAT 1: Jack Robinson (AUS) 15.80 DEF. Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 13.17
HEAT 2: Ethan Ewing (AUS) 17.04 DEF. Yago Dora (BRA) 16.87
Corona Open J-Bay Men’s Quarterfinal Results:
HEAT 1: Jack Robinson (AUS) 12.83 DEF. Samuel Pupo (BRA) 7.83
HEAT 2: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 15.43 DEF. Italo Ferreira (BRA) 15.00
HEAT 3: Yago Dora (BRA) 15.00 DEF. Connor O’Leary (AUS) 10.83
HEAT 4: Ethan Ewing (AUS) 11.50 DEF. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 7.03
Next Stop: Outerknown Tahiti Pro
The next stop on the 2022 Championship Tour will be the Outerknown Tahiti Pro, which opens on August 11 and holds a waiting period through August 21, 2022. The Outerknown Tahiti Pro will be the final stop on the 2022 CT ahead of the one-day Rip Curl WSL Finals to decide the 2022 World Champions. The competition will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com, the WSL app, and on WSL’s YouTube Channel. Also, check local listings for coverage from the WSL’s broadcast partners.
JEFFREYS BAY, Eastern Cape, South Africa (Friday, July 15, 2022) – The Corona Open J-Bay, Stop No. 9 on the World Surf League (WSL) 2022 Championship Tour (CT), is ON for the final day of competition. The Corona Open J-Bay will start at 7:35 a.m. SAST with the men’s Quarterfinals, followed by the women’s and men’s Semifinals, and women’s and men’s Finals. Four-to-six foot waves are on offer at Supertubes with light, variable winds for what promises to be another memorable day.
In the opening men’s Quarterfinal, World No. 2 Jack Robinson (AUS) will meet Samuel Pupo (BRA) for their first CT matchup. Robinson has the opportunity to gain some ground on World No. 1 Filipe Toledo (BRA) after he was eliminated in the Round of 16.
South Africa’s Jordy Smith is in his third Quarterfinal of the season but has yet to advance to the Semifinals. The two-time event winner will be up against World No. 3 Ethan Ewing (AUS) who has also produced superb performances at Supertubes this week.
The first women’s Semifninal matchup will see two-time World Champion Tyler Wright (AUS) take on seven-time World Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS). The Corona Open J-Bay is Wright’s first CT event back since the Roxy Pro G-Land, and despite it being her first time competing at J-Bay, she’s looking poised for a great result.
The 2019 Corona Open J-Bay winner Carissa Moore (HAW) will face a big challenge in the second Semifinal against Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA). Weston-Webb showed her comfort in bigger conditions and put on a goofy-foot masterclass at J-Bay to book her spot for Finals Day.
For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.
Corona Open J-Bay Men’s Quarterfinal Matchups:
HEAT 1: Jack Robinson (AUS) vs. Samuel Pupo (BRA)
HEAT 2: Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs. Kanoa Igarashi (JPN)
HEAT 3: Yago Dora (BRA) vs. Connor O’Leary (AUS)
HEAT 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Ethan Ewing (AUS)
Corona Open J-Bay Women’s Semifinal Matchups:
HEAT 1: Tyler Wright (AUS) vs. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)
HEAT 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) vs. Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA)
Watch LIVE
The Corona Open J-Bay will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com, the WSL app, and on WSL’s YouTube Channel. Also, check local listings for coverage from the WSL’s broadcast partners.
