Reflections of Home: Jordy Smith Talks About Durban
Jordy Smith is having the best year of his career. Currently sitting
in sixth place on the tour rankings and making his first ever podium on
the WCT with a third at Bells Beach. The demand for the South African
superstar is at an all time high. We caught up with him in the
freezing blustery conditions of Cape Town, during the O'Neill Cold Water
Classic to get the low down on surfing at his hometown in Durban.Tell us about surfing in New Pier?
Yeah New Pier, all my friends and family are down there so its kind of fun going back there and getting some great waves. The spot is an amazing wave, there's a little jetty going out which produces perfect rights, and there is also another perfect bowl that has lefts where you can get a couple of little barrels every now and then. You can go out there on any given day and see all groms pushing and shoving to get a wave, its great to see I love it.
Who do you usually surf with out there?
I usually surf a lot with Travis Logie, Warick Wright, those guys are my best friends, also Damien and Chad, so we all kind of just hang out, surf and eat all day.
Any new grommies that we should be looking out for at New Pier?
Yeah there are plenty of groms, too many to mention. You have Bryson Barnes who is a big name coming up. He is actually the son of Michel Barnes who was a really famous surfer from back in the day. Yeah it will be good to see how they are performing once that hit 16 to 18.
When was the last time you were home?
I was back home about 5 months ago, just before Snapper started, I just went home for my birthday to see my family and hang out with some friends.
Hopefully I get to go home in the next two to three months depending on my schedule, but probably more like next year.
What's the water temp in Durban?
The water temp is like 23 degrees, so its board shorts and every now and then on a cold morning I'd wear a steamer but that's about it.
How has New Pier and Durban changed over the years from when you were a grom to now?
It's definitely changed, they actually broke down a large part of our history there, they took down the surf shop and the coffee shop. I think they are trying to re-structure it, putting in new car parks and making it all nice and modern so it will still be a great place to go and hang.
And the waves are still the same?
Yeah the waves are still the same; they used to pump sand back in the day so it made like a little right point that kind of bent around the point. I think they only pump like once a month now so it's not as good waves as there used to be but you can still get a wave every single day.
What was it like growing up there?
Growing up there was pretty hard, a couple of years back it wasn't the safest place to hang out, but we would always hang out there all day anyway and protect each other and have some fun.
I heard you used to run a muck, any stories you want to share with us?
Yeah! Many stories, we used to run a muck up and down Point road, which is just behind New Pier and one of the most dangerous roads in Durban. Yeah we would hang out, egg prostitutes and cars and have fun.
I usually surf a lot with Travis Logie, Warick Wright, those guys are my best friends, also Damien and Chad, so we all kind of just hang out, surf and eat all day.
Any new grommies that we should be looking out for at New Pier?
Yeah there are plenty of groms, too many to mention. You have Bryson Barnes who is a big name coming up. He is actually the son of Michel Barnes who was a really famous surfer from back in the day. Yeah it will be good to see how they are performing once that hit 16 to 18.
When was the last time you were home?I was back home about 5 months ago, just before Snapper started, I just went home for my birthday to see my family and hang out with some friends.
Hopefully I get to go home in the next two to three months depending on my schedule, but probably more like next year.
What's the water temp in Durban?
The water temp is like 23 degrees, so its board shorts and every now and then on a cold morning I'd wear a steamer but that's about it.
How has New Pier and Durban changed over the years from when you were a grom to now?
It's definitely changed, they actually broke down a large part of our history there, they took down the surf shop and the coffee shop. I think they are trying to re-structure it, putting in new car parks and making it all nice and modern so it will still be a great place to go and hang.
And the waves are still the same?
Yeah the waves are still the same; they used to pump sand back in the day so it made like a little right point that kind of bent around the point. I think they only pump like once a month now so it's not as good waves as there used to be but you can still get a wave every single day.
What was it like growing up there?
Growing up there was pretty hard, a couple of years back it wasn't the safest place to hang out, but we would always hang out there all day anyway and protect each other and have some fun.
I heard you used to run a muck, any stories you want to share with us?
Yeah! Many stories, we used to run a muck up and down Point road, which is just behind New Pier and one of the most dangerous roads in Durban. Yeah we would hang out, egg prostitutes and cars and have fun.
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