source : www.jbaynews.com

Jeffreys Bay delivered perfect waves for the final day of the JBay Open and Australian Mick Fanning took full advantage of the huge surf to win the event, from fellow Aussie Joel Parkinson.

Around 10 000 spectators crowded the beach and boardwalks of Supertubes to watch the huge waves break along the Point on a day that has been described as one of the best ever in Jeffreys Bay.

Schools of dolphins also enjoyed the giant surf and thrilled the crowd with spectacular displays of bodysurfing the waves breaking hard through the car park section.

Fanning looked in sync from Round One and was a popular winner, after all the local surfers like Jordy Smith and Dylan Lighfoot were eliminated earlier in the event.

The big surf in the morning with the higher tide saw some of the surfers getting caught too far up the Point, in solid 8 – 10 foot surf.

However, the experience of both Fanning and fellow finalist Joel Parkinson was evident, as they chose to race down the line and set up Impossibles for high scoring waves and surf all the way to the final.

Both surfers had lots of support from the beach, with Fanning finding his rhythm early on in the final and set the tone with a solid 9 point ride on his first wave.

Parko battled to get waves and was clipped in the barrel on a few occasions, while Fanning looked in control with solid carves in difficult sections, as the waves just kept rolling through Supertubes.

“I couldn’t find the waves I was looking for, however it was an amazing day of surfing, and well done to Mick, “said Parkinson afterwards.

Fanning was the form surfer of the JBay Open and a deserved winner of the Jeffreys Bay stage of the Samsung Galaxy WCT tour.

“It was a good start but against Joel Parkinson anything is possible as he is a great surfer and capable of pulling off anything,” said Fanning.

“We train for big days like today and paddling back watching big sets pouring down the point just made me want to catch more waves.

It is amazing to have a contest back in JBay and huge thanks to Koffie Jacobs and the crew for bringing the WCT back to JBay,” said Fanning.

The JBay Open is one of the events of the JBay Winterfest, which saw skaters take to the streets of Jeffreys Bay; extreme swimmers challenge the 11 degree C water of Marina Martinique in just speedo’s and swim caps and cyclists slipping and sliding in the muddy conditions during the JBay Mountain Bike Open.

JBay is July – book your accommodation for 2015 – its going to be bigger and better!

J-Bay Open Final Result:

Winner: Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.00

Runner-up: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 13.60

J-Bay Open Semifinal Results:

SF1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 18.83 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 15.54

SF2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.00 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 12.50

J-Bay Open Quarterfinal Results:

QF1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 14.50 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 10.33

QF2: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 17.83 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.44

QF3: Owen Wright (AUS) 17.40 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 16.07

QF4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.66 def. Alejo Muniz (BRA) 9.67

J-Bay Open Round 5 Results:

H1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 10.33 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 9.04

H2: Taj Burrow (AUS) 12.83 def. Kolohe Andino (USA) 9.34

H3: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 11.17 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 11.10

H4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.67 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 8.13

JBay Open Heritage Series Results:

Tom Curren (USA) 18.83 def. Mark Occhilupo (AUS) 12.16

ASP World Championship Tour Rankings (after Stop No. 6 – J-Bay Open)

1. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 36 150 points

2. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 34 400 pts

3. Mick Fanning (AUS) 32 650 pts

4. Taj Burrow (AUS) 31 950 pts

5. Michel Bourez (PYF) 30 500 pts

12. Jordy Smith (Durban, ZAF) 18 400 pts

27. Travis Logie (Durban, ZAF) 7 750 pts