Picture a sunny Winter morning in Durban… the surf is about 4ft with a cool offshore breeze blowing. I am standing on the end of the pier, waiting to paddle out for a heat against Jordy Smith and 2 other competitors. I am as ‘cool as a cucumber”. For two reasons …… One, I am surfing against Jordy Smith and it would have to be an absolute miracle to beat him and secondly, he is nowhere to be seen!
The five-minute flag (To indicate I can paddle out) is up and I hop off the end of the pier, paddle into position and wait patiently for the end of the previous heat. The siren sounds the start of our heat and Jordy is still nowhere to be seen!
I am having one of the best heats of my (short-lived) ‘wannabe surfing career’. I have two of my best waves in an event and the clock is winding down and I am leading the charge. Chuffed I glance over towards the pier with 5 minutes remaining and I see a yellow vest sprinting down the pier. It is Jordy! He jumps off the end of the pier, paddles straight into the lineup. By this time there are about 2 minutes remaining in the heat, to my delight as I keep telling myself, “I am about to beat Jordy Smith!”.
A set pops up with seconds remaining in the heat, Jordy hustles us all silly, grabs a very average looking right-hander and does what he does best. He absolutely smashes the wave!! Scoring a near 10-point ride. This last minute wave score was higher than my top two scoring waves combined and he successfully knocks me into second place and out of the event (as it was knockout rounds) I hastily had to change from saying: “Remember that one time I beat Jordy Smith” to ” I almost beat Jordy Smith”.
I am sure if when we sit down and I remind him of that day we would have a good laugh at me!
He and I had many heats together in the future, of which I did not win a single one (Obviously). It was great to catch up with an old schoolmate in-between his hectic schedule and asked him to answer a few questions on what’s been happening in his life…
For those fans who are unsure of where you originate from:
I was born and raised in Umbilo, Durban, South Africa, which is about 25 minutes inland.
Who got you interested in surfing and how long have you been surfing for?
My dad (Graham Smith) is a surfboard manufacturer and he got me interested at the really young age of 3, which makes it, that I have been surfing for 26 years now.
You spend a lot of timing travelling, but where do you call home?
I don’t really live anywhere at this point, I spend around 8 months of the year on the road but I have a house in Cape Town and in California so I spend the first half of the year basing myself from South Africa and then the second half from California due to the way the tour works.
What is your favourite wave on tour?
I would say j bay .. not only cause the wave is amazing but I get a chance to surf with friends and family.
Your favourite wave to free surf?
I would say Durban new pier.. for the same reason and it’s where I grew up so I’m really comfortable out there.
Who is your favourite surfer in the World?
Well, it changes from time to time but overall I would say, Kelly Slater.
One piece of advice to a learner surfer:
Be persistent and have fun coz if you not having fun, then it’s not right for you!
Thanks Jords for taking the time out for a quick catch up.
If you are interested in following Jordy’s World Title Campaign, head over to www.worldsurfleague.com to watch him in action on the 4th of June in Fiji, where he will be showing us and hopefully everyone else on tour how to win another event and grab that Number 1 spot in the World Rankings!
