SURFING SOAPBOX: Big battle at Jeffreys Bay in South Africa

Although the ocean remains flat along the Laguna Beach coast, the sun is still shining and water temps remain in the mid- to upper 60s. However, in South Africa it’s been blistering cold both in and out of the water, but with a new swell arriving at the famous right-hand point break known as Jeffreys Bay.

The site is the fifth stop on this year’s Assn. of Surfing Professionals (ASP) world championship surfing tour, which thus far has been dominated by who else but eight-time world champion Kelly Slater.

Slater, who has won three out of the four contests this year, was in devastating form Wednesday on his way to a quarter-final matchup against Brazilian upstart Adriano de Souza, posting heat scores of 19.14 in Round 3 and 18.03 out of a total of 20 while dismissing the likes of Travis Logie of South Africa and Tom Whitaker of Australia.

With the swell forecast to increase overnight there was a great chance the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay champion would be crowned Thursday — and he has.

Slater sealed up the match with a 16.73 win over defending world champion Mick Fanning, who scored 9.40. Slater has now won four of five events in the championship tour.

Joel Parkinson, currently ranked No. 2, narrowly avoided an upset loss to fellow Australian Kai Otton who needed a score of 8.2 on his last ride and came up with a 8.1.

As Parkinson moved on to the quarter finals, he will now face yet another Australian, current No. 3 surfer Bede Durbidge.

And my pick for the year’s 2008 Jeffreys Bay champion was — who else but Slater.

Until next time, keep surfing.

Peace.

JAMES PRIBRAM is a Laguna Beach native, professional surfer and John Kelly Environmental Award winner. His websites include AlohaSchoolofSurfing and ECOWarrior Surf.com. He can be reached at Jamo@Aloha SchoolofSurfing.com