As the semi-finalists paddled out, the president of French Polynesia, Moetai Brotherson, was cruising around on a jet-ski, taking selfies with a pole the length of a golf stick. Where else does that happen?

Out in the water Erin Brooks finessed her way to the final, making use of a nonchalant, slack-shouldered bottom-turn that put her in the pocket every time. Her level of confidence in hollow waves of consequence goes way beyond most other surfers on tour. Air-drop take-offs, double-drag stalls, kick stalls and foam ball pumps – she possesses all the tricks of the tube-riding trade and today they were on display.

Jake Paterson, her coach, was beside me on the roof of a boat, squinting towards the lineup looking for patterns and prompts. He had a simple bit of advice for his tube queen. “Just stay in front on the scoreboard.” He passed the message on to local, Tereva David, who was co-coach and caddy.

Erin followed the script until the finals, where Anat Leilor came roaring out of the blocks with an 8.00 and an 8.33. Nobody expected a girl from Israel to be in the final at Teahupo’o, the heaviest left on tour, and they certainly didn’t expect her to paddle out in her pink helmet and combo Erin Brooks.

A dedicated group of Israeli fans had travelled to Teahupo’o and booked a boat for the day. They were the loudest cheer squad in the channel, proudly waving the distinctive flag of Israel. No one was too interested in politics out here in the Pacific; they were watching the final, with mountains in the background, the barrels in the foreground and the beers on ice.

Erin’s comeback in the final was an incredible feat of self-belief and skill. Randomly, by this stage I was on another boat alongside Erin’s dad, Jeff, and watched his mood go from mild depression to euphoria as she broke the heavy, sixteen-plus combo with a couple of Houdini barrel exits. “Whatever happens, I’m just proud of her for coming back,” Jeff stated proudly. Five minutes later she was on the boat, hugging her dad in a long celebratory embrace. Two minutes after that, Jeff was trying to figure out how he’d pack in time to send his golden girl to the airport for their flight to Fiji.

The win rocketed Erin up the ratings to number eleven, and with Fiji up next – an event she has already won – she is in a position to become a legitimate contender.

By the time the women’s final finished, our boat was bumped to the back of the flotilla by the surge of craft behind us. In our new position we were in the zone where the west sets rumble across the dry reef on the other side of the channel. No place to get caught, and our driver soon weaved back into a better slot. Looking across the bow to the boat in front, there was Lindy Irons, wearing a wide smile and cheering on Seth Moniz. Down in the water a 100kg-plus guy with an Irish accent and muscles like a professional bodybuilder paddled past – well, it was more of a water crawl, and it was hard not to wonder if he would make it in.

Seth was well behind as Griffin chipped away at mid-range scores and looked to nudge his way to a win after finishing runner-up last year. I overheard someone say Seth had ‘just had a baby and needed the diaper money more than Griffin.’ That seemed like the turning point as Seth hauled into an 8.5, which brought a roar from the crowd that had the underdog pegged as their favourite. From then on, Seth surfed like a man possessed, nailing a 9.07 to claim the lead and holding

Griffin off a set to post a second nine-plus ride. There was overwhelming support for Seth’s win from fans and his peers, even Kelly, who was on the webcast congratulating him and claiming partial responsibility for Seth’s first CT win because he’d made him stronger by beating him at Pipe in 2022.

Up on the podium, Seth mentioned the loss to Kelly was a big deal at the time. “After that I was on a downer… I’m just happy to get the monkey off my back.” The win catapults Seth to number 19 and into the safety zone for the cut.

Teahupo’o from the channel had been a carnival experience, complete with wild characters, a whiff of danger and world-class surfing. Two finals had featured riveting comeback wins, and as the ceremonial drums kicked in and the party at the end of the road got going, it was a mighty fine day to be a fan of pro surfing.