Mick Fanning says best surfing of season at J Bay despite shark attack

MICK Fanning says the J-Bay Open was the event at which he felt at his best this season despite the shark attack that came to define his year.

Fanning: ‘I felt best at J Bay’

MICK Fanning says the J-Bay Open was the event at which he felt at his best this season despite the shark attack that came to define his year.

Fanning survived being charged by a great white in the notoriously shark-infested waters of Jeffreys Bay on the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

Fans watched in horror as Fanning’s struggle was broadcast on live TV during his final against Julian Wilson, with the Coolangatta product disappearing from view behind a wave after the shark knocked him from his board.

And while he has admitted the moment still haunts him, Fanning – who is likely to start the chase for a fourth world title at Pipeline this morning – looks back on the event itself as his best of the season.

“J-Bay was probably the event that felt best though,’’ he said. “I was surfing in a place I wanted to be, the waves were firing, that was the event that I felt most comfortable all year.’’

Although admitting he carries some mental scars, Fanning returned to the tour and won at Trestles to keep his world championship shot alive.

He heads into the Pipe Masters with the championship lead but in one of the tightest contests in memory with five other surfers still in contention for the title.

But a noticeably relaxed Fanning is not fazed by the situation.

“You know that you’ve prepared well, you know that you’re surfing well, it’s just a matter of going surfing,’’ he said in an interview with the World Surf League.

“You just switch off the brain and go with the flow.

“I’ve had an amazing year, so many things have ­happened. I laughed a lot, I cried a lot.

“It’s been a year that I’ve tried to just live each and every moment as it’s happened where in the past I’ve probably put things to the side.

“If (the world championship) does happen, awesome; if it doesn’t happen, awesome. You just want to enjoy those moments.

“But in saying that, I’ve got this far, so you might as well put your head down. Prepare well, give it all you’ve got and hopefully it all goes your way.’’