In the second episode of 'Silver Linings', Jordy Smith spends winter back home in South Africa for the first time in 14 years. After qualifying for the Championship Tour in 2008, the Tour veteran has spent every winter on the road and in the jersey. When the pandemic shut down global travel in early 2020, Smith knew this was his golden ticket back to the homeland.
But it wasn't quite that simple. Smith, along with some 300 other South Africans, did not have a guaranteed trip home. There were only two flights back out of Hawaii and Smith and his wife Lyndall were among the lucky few to get back into the country.
"We only got approved to get on the flight 30 minutes before boarding, and we had been standing in line for about 12 hours," Smith explains.
After an exceptionally long and difficult journey home, he was rewarded with a pulsing Atlantic swell in the familiar cold, teal water of Cape Town. Having just spent the nothern-hemi winter on Oahu, Smith looked especially comfortable in cooking South African surf. He made the waves look half the size as he tends to do quite often.
"The South African winter... I swear you don't want to be anywhere else in the world than right there," Smith shares.
Watch Smith knife into heaving beach break barrels, launch massive airs into the flats, and throw buckets of water. He looks as good as he's ever looked at home and we'll see what he's got in store when the CT kicks off on the North Shore in January.
In episode 3 dropping November 22nd, follow Smith as he heads east to Jeffrey's Bay to catch a southwest swell and offshore perfection. And keep up with the rest of the series here.
There's No Place Quite Like Home For Jordy Smith
Bryan Benattou
In the second episode of 'Silver Linings', Jordy Smith spends winter back home in South Africa for the first time in 14 years. After qualifying for the Championship Tour in 2008, the Tour veteran has spent every winter on the road and in the jersey. When the pandemic shut down global travel in early 2020, Smith knew this was his golden ticket back to the homeland.
But it wasn't quite that simple. Smith, along with some 300 other South Africans, did not have a guaranteed trip home. There were only two flights back out of Hawaii and Smith and his wife Lyndall were among the lucky few to get back into the country.
"We only got approved to get on the flight 30 minutes before boarding, and we had been standing in line for about 12 hours," Smith explains.
After an exceptionally long and difficult journey home, he was rewarded with a pulsing Atlantic swell in the familiar cold, teal water of Cape Town. Having just spent the nothern-hemi winter on Oahu, Smith looked especially comfortable in cooking South African surf. He made the waves look half the size as he tends to do quite often.
"The South African winter... I swear you don't want to be anywhere else in the world than right there," Smith shares.
Watch Smith knife into heaving beach break barrels, launch massive airs into the flats, and throw buckets of water. He looks as good as he's ever looked at home and we'll see what he's got in store when the CT kicks off on the North Shore in January.
In episode 3 dropping November 22nd, follow Smith as he heads east to Jeffrey's Bay to catch a southwest swell and offshore perfection. And keep up with the rest of the series here.
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