Who is the best tube rider? Forget all those pointless wiggles and jumps, just show me who understands the mysteries of the barrel, the one who can ride deeper and longer than anyone else; get locked into an impossible situation and then find an escape route. That’s the whole point of The Capitulo Perfeita aka Perfect Chapter event. And my what a fun show it was to watch.
Mid-way through the first heat, Carcavelos came alive as a six-foot set bent in from the south, bypassed the imposing fort San Julio da Barra and flexed on the shallow banks.
In timeless style, Rob Machado tucked beneath the fold and threaded his slinky frame through a long, stretched out tube, dreadlocks trailing as he kicked out with trademark nonchalance. That’s right, Rob Machado back in a singlet, with the sole purpose of getting tubed, of course. It was evident the 50-year-old Rob had lost none of his tube – riding prowess. Then on the wave behind, pocket-dynamo Bruno Santos air-dropped into a slabbing left that swallowed him whole. Many of the crowd turned away, writing him off, only to see the one they call Bruninho burst out of the barrel dramatically. The morning crowd suddenly had something more than the extra-strong espressos to get them charged up. The judges awarded Bruninho a score just shy of a ten, many thought he was unlucky not to earn double figures.
Up on the event deck afterwards Machado was floating around with his Rasta beanie and zen-vibe, comparing tube tales with Balaram Stack and inhaling the Portuguese hospitality. The 50-year-old icon still has an aura of surfing greatness and everyone was a little in awe of him, stoked he’d come all the way to Portugal for the event. He admitted he was also a Tracks fan, vividly recalling one of the Tracks covers he’d earned. “I still have it framed,” he explained. “It’s a whip turn from Merewether back in the 90s.”
With the first two rounds complete, only one of the two Australians, Nathan Hedge, was through to round three, after former event winner, Anthony Walsh bowed out in the repechage heat. Hedgey was fresh off a stint in Fiji and in good form.
Around mid-day the sun made a mockery of winter. Clothes were shed and the carnival beach scene at Carcavelos resembled Bondi on a Summer’s day. The wind also went slightly more offshore, opening up the whomping six-foot-plus lines that were still pouring through the lineup. Machado, Dylan Graves and Artitz Aranburu found themselves in the midst of a genuine tube duel in round three. Machado with timeless glide scored a 7.25 in response to Dylan Grave’s backside eight-pointer. Licking at the seven stitches in his mouth, Aritz funnelled through the wrong way rights but was forever playing catch-up. Quizzed about the contest after making it through his heat, Dylan was full of praise for the Capitulo Perfeito concept.
“I think it’s insane. Such a cool concept for maximising the swell and getting everyone there for one day. … I don’t do contests at all but I love doing this event just because of how it’s run and how they make it happen.”
After making it through his repechage heat, Lucas ‘Chumbo’ Chianca, best known for his ridiculous feats at Nazare, was bouncing around the competitors area, restlessly hopping from foot to foot in booties. Six feet of frenetic Brazilian energy trailed by a cameraman and an entourage. The Chumbo show was in full swing. Clutching Nathan Hedge on the shoulder he announced with a smile, “My first contest with my hero.”
Portugal’s Nick Von Rupp also moved with a confident swagger around the contest area and seemed as comfortable with people as he is in gaping barrels. Today, in round three, Nic was matched against his good mate Nathan Hedge. “You can take Hedgey out of the competition but you can’t take the competition out of Hedgey,” quipped Nic before they paddled out. Ultimately, local grommet, Tiago Stock, quietly won the three-man heat, but Hedgey did enough to “grind it out” and eclipse Von Rupp. Second place assured Hog a place in the semis.
There were waves of a lifetime, throttling through the Carcavelos lineup but the peaks were shifty, and fickle. The thick lines were stretched out by a long-period swell, meaning you had to be travelling at terminal velocity by the time you hit your feet if you wanted to make one.
After round three the organisers decided to go on hold and wait for the afternoon offshores to groom the lineup and the tide to drop out. It had boiled down to the following eight surfers for the semis. Semi 1: Bruno Santos, Salvador Vala, Rob Machado, Dylan Graves. Semi 2: Nathan Hedge, Tiago Stock, Lucas Chianca, Balaram Stack.
In semi one, Machado played the mid-range game to perfect effect but in the battle of the hair bears, laid back Dylan Graves again stole the limelight. Snaffling a rare, wrong way right in the last five minutes he cruised beneath the late afternoon glass and popped an air for exclamation. I’d earlier heard him say, “I think I’ll have a Corona, before my semi.” The relaxed approach was obviously working for the surfer better known for his exploration of novelty waves. Machado won with a back-up, but Dylan was the unlikely finalist.
In semi two, Balaram Stack was in the spot as a sun-kissed, late afternoon left unloaded directly in front of the contest site. After travelling through multiple sections, Stack emerged after the spit, standing tall for just long enough to be rewarded with a complete ride and a handsome 9.5 score, the second highest of the day and perhaps the prettiest.
There weren’t many waves like that, so it became a dogfight for second with all three surfers locking in solid mid-range scores. However, in the dying seconds young local Tiago Stock found a foamy right barrel that was enough to nudge him in front of comparative titans, Nathan Hedge and Lucas Chianca. The 18-year-old kid was on the way to the final of the Capitulo Perfeito up against a 50-year-old-school Pipe Master, (Rob Machado) a new school Vans Pipe Master (Balaram Stack) and a novelty wave specialist, Dylan Graves. A bizarre and thrilling combination indeed.
The quartet paddled out bathed in a blaze of a brilliant west coast sunset. Thick, six-foot lines still cannonballed across the shallow Carcavelos banks before a lively crowd that had hung around for the final.
The first meaningful ride saw Rob Machado turning back the clock again, trimming masterfully beneath the lip. A 4.75 might not have seemed like much but it was a worthy opener on a day when few scores had gone eight or higher. ‘ My dad just got a good one’ exclaimed Machado’s son,’ Jaxton loudly from the competitor’s deck.
Moments later Tiago Stock locked in a 3.5 and a 6.25 in quick succession with a brace of deftly executed backside tubes. The beach rumbled with support for their local kid who’d won through from the trials. Everyone wondered for a moment if he could actually pull it off. Time slid like molasses but no one could forage a wave to challenge Tiago. And as the clock ticked down he was still in front. As the hooter sounded, fifteen or so of his friends poured into the frigid Atlantic to meet their mate who had become a local legend on a sunny, Sunday afternoon. He was also $20 000 Euro richer. “It’s crazy that Tiago won,” gasped a fellow Portuguese grommet, who couldn’t believe his peer had just toppled the likes of Rob Machado. Machado ultimately came in second and overall it was an impressive return to competition for the iconic goofy footer.
As the sun finally disappeared the four finalists were on stage before a roaring Portuguese crowd. Tiago Stock obviously couldn’t quite come to terms with what he had achieved. Dylan Graves handed him a Corona. The future beckons brightly for young Tiago, but tonight he’ll be buying the drinks.
