Joel Parkinson

STERLING SAN FRAN

I DIP, YOU DIP, WE DIP…

The after party at Bells…

BUSINESS TIME

Joel, wallet-dropping at D-Bah last week. //swilly.com.au

A good result for you yesterday at Burleigh? [Joel finished second to Taj Burrow in the Breaka Burleigh WQS event]

Yeah, for sure. It was the first time I’d entered the Burleigh contest and I did it for a little warm-up, to get the gears moving. I just wanted to surf a few heats, and to make the final was a bonus. We saw last year how Taj won at Burleigh and used it as a momentum builder for the Quikky, so hopefully I tap into that kind of feeling.

And you’d surfed a couple of good heats the weekend before when Snapper won the Kirra Teams title?

That was so much fun. It’s a lot of pot luck that event; you need your whole team to surf well, there are a lot of heats, you need a lot of heat wins. It was really well done by the Snapper boys. They’re always tight those teams events, and it came down to Clipper [Clint Kimmins] needing to win the last heat, which he did. You know what, I feel more pressure surfing for Snapper in those events than I ever do in a World Tour event because the club is so strong and has such a great record. I always remember growing up, Jay Phillips was the anchorman for the club and he never let the club down. He always performed and gave everything for the club and I try and hold myself to that standard.

How do you feel now about having to sit out last year with the foot injury?

I guess the benefit now is that I’m hungry; not only to compete, but just to surf. That’s one of the key things with surfing on the tour; you’ve got to not only stay hungry to surf throughout a whole event, you’ve got to stay hungry over the course of a whole year. The way I’m feeling at the moment, I’m going to paddle out for my last heat of the year at Pipe even hungrier than I was when I paddled out for my first heat at Snapper. That’s how I’m feeling, that’s how hungry I am to surf right now. And the thing now is that I’ve got three kids, so it’s not like I can go surfing five times a day, I’ve got to pick and choose my windows to surf in and I have to make the most of them.

After the injuries of the past two years do you feel your luck can’t get any worse?

I guess so. There’s always something that could be worse, I suppose. There’s always somebody worse off. I had a couple of injuries that meant I couldn’t go surfing, and compared to what some people have to face in their lives it was nothing really. Being the glass half full guy that I am I feel like there’s always someone worse off than me and I’m not about to start dwelling on how unlucky I am. I didn’t have a great run and I’m feeling things can only get better.

How’s your training regime been going?

It’s good. I’m feeling strong. I just got over the mountain, literally, and we’re on the downhill run into Snapper, tapering off toward the Quikky Pro. With 10 days to go we’re lightening my training up a bit. I’m not getting out of bed feeling sore from the day before, I’m waking up strong and full of energy. I’ve punished myself enough so I get the benefit of it now.

And you’ve been swimming some big laps out through the Tweed Bar. [Joel was a passenger on a fishing boat that recently capsized on the Tweed Bar].

[Laughing] Yeah, been doing a bit of ocean swimming. I’d been doing a lot of breath holding work in the pool with Wes and it came in really handy when we rolled the boat and I had to start diving underwater salvaging all the gear.

Could have been worse, I suppose, you could have swum in from Nine Mile? [The week before the interview a fisherman had swum in from Nine Mile reef off Coolangatta after his boat capsized]

I know. That wouldn’t have been fun. I’ve spent some time in the water out there at Nine Mile, surfing, and it’s not the kind of place you’d want to be swimming. It’s four or five miles out to sea and there are some big fish out there. Dangling on the end of a rope towing in out there is one of the eeriest feelings I’ve ever experienced. Surfing it was spooky enough, so I can’t imagine what was going through that guys head when he had to swim to shore.

Let’s talk about your surfing.

I’ve been surfing a lot and I’m feeling really strong when I do. I went on a trip with Mick and Koby [Fanning, Abberton] down to South Oz last week, which was great. Had some fun waves and met some cool people down there. The waves haven’t been great at home – I missed that one day at Kirra – but they’ve been consistent and I’ve been surfing every day.

How important is this first event in terms of your season?

Really important. There’s always a lot of hoo-hah about whoever wins the first event – they somehow always become the world title favourite – but for me it’s more about putting in a solid showing. If I surf well and feel like I’m going to be able to keep surfing well then that’s a victory to me. This event is one of my strengths though, and a win here would be a win I wouldn’t need to desperately chase at the end of the year.

Speaking of the schedule, the tour is going to be pretty frenetic in the back half of the year. It’s basically six events back-to-back.

I was looking at it the other day and the back half of the year is going to be full-on. And it seems like we’ve dropped a few good waves for some beachbreaks, the old Dream Tour is getting a few bums on seats again. I remember back to my first year on tour [2001] when it was one epic wave after the next – Fiji, Tahiti, J-Bay, Mundaka – it was the ultimate Dream Tour. But it’s also good to go to new places; it keeps things fresh.

In terms of your career, how important is this season?

It’s a big year for me, for sure. I turn 30 pretty soon. After what’s happened over the past couple of years, after the injuries and disappointments, if I can surf every event this year at 100 per cent fitness I’d consider that a victory in itself. And if I can do that I’m confident I’m going to be challenging. But I don’t dwell on what’s happened to me. I’ve learned to just worry about the 30 minutes of the next heat in front of me. It doesn’t even matter who I’m surfing against, doesn’t matter what happened last year, doesn’t matter that I’m turning 30. It’s all about those next 30 minutes. Then it’s all about stringing a lot of good 30 minutes together.

Who do you think will be challenging for the world title this year?

I think Jordy will be a lot more mature in the way he surfs heats, just on the back of the confidence he’ll take from last year. He’s an amazing surfer and he put together a really good season last year. And Mick’s surfing on the trip we just did blew me away. You can see he’s been working pretty hard on big airs and stuff the judges will really notice.

You got anything new in your repertoire to spice it up?

[Laughing] I’ve been doing some amazing nosedives and I’ve got a new bog rail I’m going to debut at Snapper.

Do you feel more pressure surfing your home event?

I used to, for sure. It used to eat me up, but now I just enjoy it more. I’ve learned to enjoy it and not feel the pressure. It’s actually easier, I’ve learned. I know how to duck and weave around the back streets and keep a low profile. Stay out of the limelight and really concentrate on what it’s all about.

How’s the bank at Snapper?

At the moment, shit. They’ve been pumping apparently at night, but I’m not really seeing it. The current is supposed to go southerly today and tomorrow; there won’t be many waves out of it but there’ll be a swing in the current to bring the sand around the point. They can pump enough sand, they can pump a heavy sand mix and bring enough sand around, they just need the current to do it. In 48 hours you can have a bank. I’ve seen it before; you’re looking behind the rock one day and it’s deep enough to fish in, the next day you’re getting barreled there.

HEARTBREAK REEF

Tommy in his heat against Deano. //ASP/Robbo

This morning Parko was out in his boat on the Tweed River, catching tailor with his dog, Rocco. A long way from Tahiti you could say, but not so far away he hasn’t been keeping an eye on what’s been happening.

It was a big morning in Tahiti… a lot of crucial heats with careers on the line. Did you get up early and tune in?

I hoped to get up for Kieren and Andy’s heats, but they were a bit too early. I woke up at five minutes to six, just in time for Deano’s heat with Tommy. I actually found it that heat really hard to watch. It was two good mates of mine and you know the tour was pretty well over for whoever lost. I don’t think they’re going to be able to make it now this year. It was really tough to watch and unfortunately Tommy lost. I didn’t see Dingo’s round three heat but I heard he lost in the last 10 seconds. I’m so glad I didn’t watch it. That would have been heartbreaking. Poor fella, I’m really feeling for him.

I’m not sure where Dingo sits on the ratings now that he lost that heat, but I don’t think it looks good. I saw Rabbit down the street before and he was really upset about it.

It’s been heavy for all the guys who have their careers on the line, but it’s also produced some of the best surfing for a second round we’ve ever seen. You can smell the desperation, eh?

It was some of the best surfing I’ve seen in a second round, for sure. There was so much on the line and you could see it in the way those guys surfed. There was a lot of desperation, a lot of wrap-around cutbacks onto dry reef. I guess you’d never do that unless you were trying to win a world title or to save your career.

And you went fishing as soon as Kelly’s heat came on… lost interest in the world title race?

It’s early days. Definitely every result counts at the moment sure, but at the moment it’s about who’s surfing well and who can handle the big heats. Obviously Kelly can, we all know that, and I just got a text telling me he’d won his heat in the last couple of minutes. But I saw Jordy’s heat with Manoa and he looked nervous. Jordy shouldn’t have fallen in that barrel, it was a pretty basic barrel and I’m sure he’s thinking a bit about it now. You don’t get many chances like that to take Manoa down out there.

You called it after J-Bay that being world number one coming into Tahiti isn’t all beer and skittles because you generally get Manoa.

You know you’re going to get Manoa or Heiarii and they know the place so well it’s going to be hard. I’ve been beaten by wildcards so many times it’s not funny. And Jordy isn’t known yet as a Teahupoo surfer – which he might be in years to come – but the Tahitian guys thrive when the guy they surf against doesn’t know their spot as well as them, they sense it and they lift.

Can you read anything out of today in terms of a world title?

I think Jordy is feeling like he’s being chased. As the year goes on there will be more and more big heats, and he seems to work a lot better without that pressure. Whether you feel pressure or you don’t, everyone knows when a pressure heats on, you can try and block it out as much as you like and tell the world you’re cruising, but I reckon you’re better off acknowledging your state of mind. You’re better off feeling and dealing with the pressure rather than trying to block it out.

The small swell really opens the field up here. Who are you tipping?

There are a whole heap of guys who could win. I thought Wilko surfed really well, but I’m liking Mick. Four-foot for Mick out there is perfect because he’s the smartest chess player on tour, and at four foot it’s all going to be about finding the waves. The usual suspects will be there though, mostly. It’s become purely a wave catching contest. Unless it becomes consistent – which it won’t – it looks like it’s going to stay a wave catching contest. If Marco Polo can beat Bobby out there anything can happen. It’s not just surfing when the waves are like that.

You missing not being over there?

I think I just miss surfing, full stop. I missed competing at J-Bay because I was all ready to go and compete the week before, but now it’s been eight weeks without surfing, and I’d be happy to just get a wave, singlet or not. I’d trade 50 heats right now for just one wave on a little backbeach down the coast.

J-BAY FROM JOEL’S LOUNGE

Shot-shot... Jordy celebrates a big win at home. //Kirstin/ASP

Consigned to the lounge with his gammy foot, Joel watched every heat at J-Bay. Here’s his rap on what he saw…

THE WAVES

The waves were epic. That first day looked unreal and it made it a hard contest for me to watch. The waves looked a lot like last year – my kind of conditions, fast with long walls – and it was definitely the kind of waves I’d been surfing at home before I cut my foot. I found myself mindsurfing everything. The first four heats were really hard to watch because I was getting pissed off that I wasn’t there and it was perfect, but after I got over it I started analysing everyone’s moves and strategies. I was the supercoach on the lounge. I learned a lot sitting on the couch and watching it, all the strategies and tactics from a new angle, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time.

THE RIGHT WAVES

It’s a hard wave to surf when it’s a bit bigger. When it’s four foot every wave is good, but when it’s six foot like it was on the first day some of them can be burgery. You really had to pick your waves. But it’s more the man-on-man heats when you see wave choice becoming really crucial and there were plenty of guys making mistakes… which is easy to say from my lounge. I was ripping on my lounge. There were a couple of things I pinpointed that guys should and shouldn’t have done and it cost them the heat. Bottle did all the hard work against Adriano but then let himself down by taking the wrong wave. There were a lot of crucial wave choice decisions that cost guys heats. You really see the pressure element at J-Bay. Because they’re generally long period swells and you can have long lulls, the scoreboard pressure at J-Bay is really important. If you’ve got one good score at J-Bay you can apply pressure and force the other guy into a dud wave and get him panicking. The scoreboard pressure is one thing I really noticed when I was watching heats, playing the chess game from the couch.

ANDY

Andy was great. He definitely had flow for sure. J-Bay was never his prime wave when he was on tour, despite the fact he won out there before. It was never his comfort zone. It was no Teahupoo for him. Watch him though in this next contest. If they get some good waves this year in Tahiti look out. One thing that never really changes with your surfing is your ability to ride the barrel, and I reckon in Tahiti he’s going to find himself in his first final series for the year, for sure. Every event this year he’s looked better and better, and if he manages to make a final somewhere soon or even wins one, then look out. He’s the kind of guy who feeds on confidence.

DANE

Dane lives by the kind of surfing we saw in J-Bay, it’s all or nothing and that’s what you’re always going to get. He can do every move in the book and he goes for it, but if he doesn’t make it he’s going to end up with a shocker heat like he had against Taj. He probably only needs to pull himself back 10 per cent in some situations and he’d be winning some heats he’s losing, but the way he surfs he’s not going to do it. That’s not Dane. And if he did pull it back then you wouldn’t be seeing those heat scores of 18 or 19, you’d be seeing 15s and 16s, and then again it’s not quite Dane. He’s still the most exciting surfer to watch on tour and he always goes for it… whether he makes it or not depends on how he’s felling.

KELLY

I was pretty surprised Kelly lost. I thought he was looking real comfortable and calm in his first heat, and when he’s comfortable and calm at J-Bay he’s gonna win. But it didn’t happen against Shaun [Holmes]. Maybe he was thinking too much about Shaun. He’s such a nemesis out there and he gets guys so spooked that maybe he got in Kelly’s head a bit. Or maybe Kelly just had a shocker. I wonder if it was board choice even… his board didn’t look that great to me. Sometimes J-Bay doesn’t have a pocket to surf in, and when that happens and you get longer barrelling sections you can see which boards are really going well and which ones aren’t, and it looked to me like Kelly’s board wasn’t really working for him.

UNDERDOGS

Melling obviously was good, and Bottle was really good too. Shouldn’t be a surprise, they’re both pointbreak surfers and should be suited to J-Bay. In that one heat Bottle showed us what he can really do, he showed how good a pointbreak surfer he is. The Burleigh came out in him. But J-Bay’s inconsistency got him in the end… it got a few guys who were in form. Guys who just didn’t get the chance to ride waves. J-Bay can do that to you; you can be the most in-form surfer in the contest but if you don’t catch waves you won’t win a heat.

MICK

Damo has got some form at J-Bay, he’s no slouch out there, but in saying that you’d think going up against Mick, well, you’d have your money on Mick. But I thought Mick would have surfed a little better – read that it was a slow heat and caught a few more waves because he’s so good at turning four and five waves into sixes and sevens. He kinda waited for solid waves I guess, but if he had of surfed what was in front of him he would have won. No one surfs those little rock barrels better than Mick, he’s so fast and can fit turns in quicker than anyone. But in saying that Damo surfed the heat – and the whole contest – well I thought.

BEST HEAT

The Bede and Jordy semi, for sure… a bit of controversy. Jordy definitely got the score he needed on his last wave, but I thought maybe he should’ve needed more. Did he deserve what he got with his Superman on the first score? Probably not. I only watched it once and haven’t watched a replay, so that’s off one viewing, and there’s a big difference between watching it on TV and watching it live on the point. I might have given it to him if I’d been there, who knows. But I’m not much of a Superman fan. I don’t really get off on them. You might as well do a double grab. They just look a bit ugly to me. But it was great to see Jordy get a win, and to get his first win at home too must have been incredible for him. You could see how much it meant to him.

THE WORLD TITLE

Jordy’s got to number one but it’s the one time of the year you don’t want to be. The first thing I thought about when Jordy won and was that first place on the ratings was that he’s going to draw Manoa Drollet at Chopes. And Kelly went down a bit, so did Mick, so they’ll avoid Manoa. You can’t forget how gnarly that guy is at Teahupoo, especially if there’s swell. Once they get to Trestles I think those guys are really going to start firing up – Mick, Kelly, Taj and Jordy are all amazing out there. From Trestles it’s heading into such a heavy stretch. As hungry as Jordy was heading into J-Bay, he’s gong to have to be just as hungry coming into Pipe in four months time if he’s going to win the title, and there’s a lot of surfing between now and then. Every one of those guys still has a good chance at winning the title and I wouldn’t even be looking at the ratings and the numbers right now. They don’t mean a lot.