Page 339 - French Polynesia

Teahupo’o and Laird Hamilton

T Teahupoʻo is a village on the south-west eahupo’o is a reef break. The swells mainly
coast of the island of Tahiti, French Polynesia,break left, but the outer reef also creates

southern Pacific Ocean. It is known for the surf right breaks that surfers must be cautious of

break and heavy, glassy waves offshore, often when paddling out. Teahupo’o is also renowned

reaching 2 to 3 m (7 to 10 ft), and sometimes up for the consistent number of barrels it delivers. It

to 7 meters (21 feet). It is the site of the annual is a rewarding location and is widely regarded as

Billabong Pro Tahiti surf competition, part of the being on the ‘must-surf’ list of every enthusiastic

World Championship Tour (WCT) of the Associa- surfer. However, only experienced surfers in peak

tion of Surfing Professionals World Tour surfing physical condition should attempt Teahupo’o;

circuit. Bodyboarding pioneers Mike Stewart and heavy waves combined with a shallow shoreline

Ben Severson were the first to surf Teahupo’o in can result in serious injuries and even death in

1986 and it soon became an underground spot a wipeout. Teahupo’o’s legendary reputation for

for thrill-seeking bodyboarders. Few professional wave riding is partly due to its unique form. An

surfers rode Teahupo’o during the early 1990s and extremely shallow coral reef, which ranges up to

it was only in 1998, at the Gotcha Tahiti Pro, that 20 inches beneath the waters surface, is respon-

Teahupo’o became widely recognized as having sible for a very hollow-breaking wave. The wave’s

some of the heaviest waves in the world. On Au- unique shape, with an effect of almost breaking

gust 17, 2000 Laird Hamilton is credited with surf- below sea level, is due to the specific shape of the

ing the “heaviest wave” ever ridden, documented reef beneath the wave. A steep wall of reef causes

in the film Riding Giants. the entire mass to fold onto a scalloped semi-cir-

cle breaking arc.