Tres Palmas

Surf Guide

PR's most famous big-wave break is usually bigger than it looks; and the comparisons to Oahu's Sunset Beach are just about right on. Tres is essentially the last bit of reef that begins up towards Domes; it sticks furthest out and has a deepwater trench that focuses long-period swell into big meaty peaks that draw up and attempt to swat you off your board as it free-falls down the face. If you do make the board-chattering drop, prepare for some thigh-busting bottom/top turn combos for the next 75 yards. Think swoop and carve, not flit and air -- this is real open-ocean juice. It doesn't even start breaking till it hits double-overhead. The good news is that there's a great big channel that runs south of the reef; the bad news is that if there's any W in the swell, Tres Palmas' famous, gigantic sneaker sets arrive. So no matter how wired you think you have it, or how far out on the shoulder you think you are -- you could still get swatted.