It's hard to fathom Taylor Knox taking an early loss at Jeffreys Bay. The world's famous righthander is perfectly suited for Mr. Knox-- Supers is Taylor made for Knox (sorry).

Yet if you've been to J-Bay, or even watched it long enough, you know that the small three-to-four foot days are by far the most dangerous to bet on any favorites.

While watching the edited down version of events (see vid) it looks, by any standard, like another perfect day in Jeffreys Bay heaven. Yet day two of the Billabong Pro was actually a struggle. Long lulls persisted throughout the day as Wedensday's swell faded. Two heats had to be restarted because neither surfer rode a wave during the first 10 minutes of the heat. That should give you a sense of how painfully long the lulls were.

And while J-Bay is an epic wave when it's over six feet. Anything under that -- glassy or not -- is a roll of the dice. You get very few opportunities to make your case, so you better pick the right ones and execute properly.



Unfortunately for Taylor Knox he had problems with both, and suffered an early round exit at the hands of France's Joan Duru.

Taylor wasn't alone. CJ Hobgood went down to last-minute entry Timmy Reyes, who's in J-Bay filling in for the injured Joel Parkinson. Both Reyes and Hobgood have been suffering from confidence issues of late. Reyes' is understandable. The guy's had a rough couple years on the competitive circuit. Injuries have hampered Tim, who's not all that convinced he shouldn't be doing the whole Greg Long thing.

Hobgood, meanwhile, is working through basic equipment issues. It sounds simple. But most pros today expect magic boards to send tingles up their legs on wave one. If it doesn't happen they freak. Back in the real world, however, they're all talented enough to make the worst board in Derek Hynd's J-Bay quiver work well. Let me break it down this way: Nobody loses because of an extra eighth-inch of foam under their feet.

Both Knox and Hobgood should be OK and survive the ASP's pending chop down. They both entered Jeffreys in the Top 20 but are likely to fall out of it depending on who does what. Damien Hobgood, Andy Irons, Dusty Payne and Brett Simpson are among those giving chase.

Meanwhile, it's starting to look like Ian Cairns pre-event prediction of an Owen Wright breakout is a likely reality. Owen came into this season with plenty of fanfare after his multiple Slater bashes last year. Though he hasn't lit the world on fire yet in 2010, he is sitting at number 11 in the ratings--which puts him on Rookie of the Year pace.

Wright's backhand attack is the perfect fit for Jeffreys. His tall lanky frame gives him all the leverage he needs to get down the line and crack the lip in a hurry. Whereas most guys are fighting to get from point point A to point B, Wright is actually throwing some authoritative blow tails in between.

His California counterparts, on the other hand, are fighting for survival. Brett Simpson survived a challenge from Jeremy Flores today--looking solid. Nate Yeomans advanced directly into Round Three after his first heat win, but had the misfortune of running into Jordy Smith there, where his run ended.

All told it's been a solid two days of surfing, and with more bumps on the horizon things should get even more interesting, especially with Wild Card Sean Holmes facing Kelly Slater in the next round.

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Remaining Round 2 Results:

Heat 3: Sean Holmes (ZAF) 13.50 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 11.07
Heat 4: Joan Duru (FRA) 13.83 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 11.50
Heat 5: Tim Reyes (USA) 13.34 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 13.23
Heat 6: Michel Bourez (PYF) 11.86 def. Blake Thornton (AUS) 11.50
Heat 7: Damien Hobgood (USA) 15.04 def. Marco Polo (BRA) 11.30
Heat 8: Jay Thompson (AUS) 18.33 def. Kieren Perrow (AUS) 14.47
Heat 9: Neco Padaratz (BRA) 11.36 def. Roy Powers (HAW) 10.93
Heat 10: Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 15.03 def. Tom Whitaker (AUS) 9.00
Heat 11: Brett Simpson (USA) 15.40 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 11.26
Heat 12: Dusty Payne (HAW) 12.83 def. Daniel Ross (AUS) 11.37
Heat 13: Luke Stedman (AUS) 14.14 def. Drew Courtney (AUS) 12.93
Heat 14: Travis Logie (ZAF) 13.60 def. Luke Munro (AUS) 12.00
Heat 15: Ben Dunn (AUS) 16.33 def. Pat Gudauskas (USA) 9.83
Heat 16: Dean Morrison (AUS) 15.84 def. Mick Campbell (AUS) 9.03

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Round 3 Results:

Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 16.67 def. Jay Thompson (AUS) 9.27
Heat 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 12.27 def. Travis Logie (ZAF) 11.80
Heat 3: Owen Wright (AUS) 17.00 def. Ben Dunn (AUS) 10.74
Heat 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.07 def. Nate Yeomans (USA) 9.10

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Remaining Round 3 Match-Ups:

Heat 5: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Tanner Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 6: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Heat 7: Luke Stedman (AUS) vs. Andy Irons (HAW)
Heat 8: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Sean Holmes (ZAF)
Heat 9: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Joan Duru (FRA)
Heat 10: Tiago Pires (PRT) vs. Kekoa Bacalso (HAW)
Heat 11: Dane Reynolds (USA) vs. Neco Padaratz (BRA)
Heat 12: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 13: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Tim Reyes (USA)
Heat 14: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Dean Morrison (AUS)
Heat 15: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 16: Chris Davidson (AUS) vs. Dusty Payne (HAW)