J-Bay Firing on All Cylinders
While Bells Beach Goes Missing. Will the WSL Regret Dropping J-Bay?
12/04/2026 - 23:29
06 April delivered the first legit proper swell of the year at J-Bay—and it did NOT disappoint. Clean lines, ideal direction, offshore winds, and all the raw Indian Ocean energy we’ve been waiting for lit up the Supertubes racetrack from sunrise to sunset. Meanwhile, over at Bells Beach… things were looking a little different for the World Surf League.
While heats ran in marginal-to-poor conditions, J-Bay was serving up absolute gold to anyone lucky enough to be in town.
Stacked lineup featuring visiting chargers Shaun Joubert, Adin Masencamp and Kai Hall, alongside local standouts Warren Dean, Joshe Faulkner, Ludi du Toit and Steven Sawyer. Add in local shaper legend Hugh Thompson and a whole crew of frothing locals/visitors and you’ve got a session to remember.