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TWO DAYS AT TEAHUPO'O
Monster swell lights up the world's heaviest left
(Click on images to enlarge)
A photo -- especially those photos over to the left there -- can tell way more than a thousand words. Needless to say, Tahiti's most famous lefthander has gone completely mental over the last couple days, with the world's best surfers -- and a flotilla of PWC -- camped at the End of the Road, waiting for anything the South Pacific could throw at 'em. And it had plenty.
"It was a actually a combination of storms," Sean Collins explains. "There were a couple storms before the Big One, which set up a very active sea state."
The ocean surface had lots of texture to build on, in other words. The big storm peaked on April 28th with 40 to 45 knots of wind and 35-foot seas, and it moved 800 miles directly at Tahiti, which also added to its power. But while the waves it created were spectacular, they weren't totally unheard of for this time of year.
"We actually get a few of these swells in April and May," Collins explains. "For three reasons. 1: the storm track off Antarctica becomes more active in the southern Hemisphere fall; 2: the icepack in Antarctica also isn't very big compared to say August, which means 600-800 miles more possible fetch; 3: cold-core storms can sweep north and merge with warm tropical systems drifting south which supercharges 'em, making for a "perfect storm"-type scenario."
Perfect storm, indeed. On Sunday the 1st, Tahitian charger Raimana Van Bastoloer went within an inch of losing his life. He was towed into a solid 12-footer by his ski driver Reef Macintosh, who gunned it but couldn't quite make it over the shoulder and had to bail the PWC -- which was caught in the lip and launched over the falls, as Raimana was pulling in. He barely made it out and the PWC was totally destroyed on the reef.
"I saw a black thing out of the side of my eye, I just ducked my head and then I don't know what happened," said Van Bastoloer in his broken English. "I saw this thing going and I was like, where is the guy driving on it, then I saw Reef trying to come up and we lost the ski but good thing I never lost my friend and myself, so it's ok."
"That was the heaviest thing I've ever seen," said Andy Irons. "My really good friend Reef was actually driving the ski and he jumped off, almost went over the falls and the ski went over Raimana's head, he got barreled by his own ski. It missed his head by about six inches, it was psycho."
Billabong Pro wildcard Manoa Drollet picked off the day's bomb wave which many locals claimed was as big as any ever ridden at Teahupoo before.
Monday was a bit smaller but saw perfect shape and some serious rides -- including one of the biggest waves ever surfed by a woman. Keala Kennelly hung out in the channel for an hour trying to tow and finally got her wish.
"I've been thinking about it for weeks now and talking myself into it, but you get scared thinking you are going to fall and if you make a mistake it's going to cost you your life," said Kennelly. She's won the Teahupo'o contest an unprecedented three times: 2000, '02 and '03.
"I let go of the rope, saw it throwing and just did what I normally do when I surf out here and pulled in and started pumping really hard," said Kennelley. "I was trying not to get clipped, you don't want to fall that's for sure. It was the most amazing feeling ever and it was all over so fast I'm still just tripping out on it."
"The wave itself is such a marvel, it's so treacherous and yet so beautiful at the same time. It has so much energy, I just sort of feed off it," said Kennelly. "When I am out there I have so much adrenaline running through my veins, it drives me I love it. I live for that feeling. Basically I just throw myself over the ledge and pray I don't stack it on the drop. The reward is definitely worth the risk."
And the good news? This swell is on its way to Hawaii and California. Stay tuned to t
he Surfline forecasts for all the details.
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Special thanks to aspworldtour.com for the stunning photos and quotes from the surfers. The Billabong Pro Tahiti 2005 runs May 5th-17th. Stay tuned to billabongpro.com for a live webcast.
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Marcus Sanders
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