Teahupo’o is undoubtedly one of the heaviest waves in the world. At size, it’s arguably the heaviest.
The amount of water that drains off the shallow reef, the elevator drop and the minuscule margin for error, where the difference between the wave of your life and a chiropractic adjustment is measured in inches, all combine to make Chopes uniquely unforgiving.
Throw in an ever-growing crowd of tube-hungry surfers and a flotilla of boats edging closer to the reef for the best vantage point, and Teahupo’o becomes surfing’s equivalent of a double black diamond, a HC alpine climb or a V16 boulder problem. As more surfers and more boats squeeze into an already unforgiving arena, the margin for error is shrinking by the swell.
That reality was laid bare during the swell that lit up Tahiti at the end of April. Along with the endless highlight reels came a string of clips that raised the question: has the channel become as dangerous as the wave itself?
One near miss involved local legend Matahi Drollet. After being engulfed by the foam ball on one of the waves of the swell, the spit blinded him on exit and he looked destined to drive straight into a boat sitting a little too close for comfort. Somehow, drawing on a lifetime of experience at Chopes, Matahi managed to grab the rail, throw a cutback in the whitewater and avoid disaster.
“Probably the closest I’ve been to end my surfing journey,” Matahi later wrote on Instagram. “Had to choose between the boat or the lip … survival mode made me grab the rail and do a cutback in the explosion to avoid hitting the boat.”
The post received hundreds of comments, including one from 11x World Champ Kelly Slater who said something needs to change. “It’s gunna end badly sooner or later,” he wrote.
Another goofy-footer was not so fortunate. One clip which spread on socials shows a surfer getting blown out the barrel and going headfirst into a boat.
Michel Bourez, former CT competitor and guardian of Tahitian surfing, said the situation in the channel is ‘getting out of control’.
“There are way too many boats out there, especially since the Olympics,” he said. “The thing is, the locals can make a living out of it and that is a good thing. But at the same time it’s getting more dangerous, everyone is battling to bring their clients as close as possible to the wave and to me it’s not the right thing to do.”
It’s the balancing act now facing Teahupo’o. The wave’s global profile has never been higher. The Olympics introduced Chopes to millions of new eyes, surf tourism continues to grow and every major swell now attracts a convoy of photographers, film crews, spectators and charter boats.
Success has brought opportunity. But it has also brought congestion.
Michel believes a zonal system could be introduced in order to establish a level of order in the channel.
“The first priority is the surfers, they make the show. If there were no surfers, there would be no one there. And then the filmers and photographers should be on the front line, these are the guys who bring this connection around the world. The taxi boats should be two or three zones after that.”
He said local surfers and boat captains have already begun discussing solutions, but convincing everyone to play by the same rules isn’t easy.
“They don’t give a shit, they want to do their own thing and we all know who they are,” he said.
“Because of them, things are going to escalate. If we aren’t careful, people will lose the right to be able to sit in the channel and enjoy the show. When there’s money involved it’s hard for people to make the right choice.”
NZ photographer Guy Macindoe is on the front line for every swell at the end of the road. He was in the boat which got smoked by a wave during the last swell.
“My cameras got cooked, shit happens,” he said. “The channel is wild, it’s a full house when it’s pumping. Camera boats, tourist boats, locals enjoying the show, surfers, police.”
Guy also pointed to another increasingly common issue: water photographers being repeatedly run over by skis and boats.
“It’s not really my place to say what needs to be done to regulate it,” he said. “I’m just another blow in from NZ showing up for another big swell. It’s up to the locals who live and work there to have a meeting and control the amount of boats in the line-up.”
The crowds aren’t limited to the channel.
Hundreds of international crew rolled in for the last swell. With a WSL QS event being held at Punaauia on the west of the island, there were a number of hungry Hawaiian surfers in town. They were joined by a plethora of travelling big wave specialists from every corner of the globe.
One of those was European Nic Von Rupp. Nic has been coming to Teahupo’o for over a decade but described this particular mission as the most frustrating of his life.
“These days there are 50 guys out. There’s a strong young contingent of local surfers, guys like Eimeo, Matahi, this new guy Felix caught some bombs and then all the Hawaiians which made it very hard to navigate that lineup when you’re surfing big waves.
“I need space, I need to be able to actually look at a wave and actually go for it and it was just so crowded. A lot of drop-ins happening but I just didn’t have a chance. Nonetheless grateful to head to Tahiti and live the Tahitian culture.”
Nic and Michel are good friends from their time spent on the Hurley team together. However, Michel was not surprised to hear that Nic struggled for waves.
“Nic has been coming here for a long time, he charges and he is super respectful. But it’s understandable that he didn’t get waves,” he said.
“There is a lot of young crew from Tahiti that have grown up in front of this wave and have been waiting their whole life for a chance in swells like these. They wait the whole year for these type of conditions. It’s part of life, when we go to Hawaii, the locals get their waves, it is what it is.”
The likes of Michel and Matahi have paved the way for the next generation of Tahitian surfers who are continually pushing the boundaries with each swell.
“There are a lot of big names,” said Michel. “Felix is a super humble kid, super nice and he absolutely charges, he caught one of the most beautiful and perfect waves ever out there on that last swell.”
Australian charger Tommy Myers shared Nic’s assessment. It was his first strike mission to Tahiti since signing with Florence, but he left wishing he’d found more room to move.
“I managed to get a couple amongst the crowd but the big paddle ones were rightfully occupied by the local boys, they run the joint and you have to be super respectful of that. Outside of that, you had so many people fighting for waves, it felt like I was dealing with the crowd at Pipe.”
For Tommy, the trip served as a reminder of how fortunate Australian big-wave surfers are.
“That just isn’t really my cup of tea,” he said.
“I completely get it, but I much prefer surfing big waves and slabs with a few less people on them. When it’s big in Australia there’s a different vibe and a happy coexistence between everyone in the lineup.”
As for the boats?
“Mate, it was absolute chaos,” he said. “There was quite a few incidents of people coming close to the boats. I think someone even hit one.”
Chopes has always demanded respect. Not just from the surfers willing to paddle over the ledge, but from everyone who enters its orbit.
Since the Olympics, the wave has continued to grow in profile, attracting more surfers, spectators and boats with every swell. It’s respect is being tested and the challenge is now ensuring one of surfing’s greatest arenas doesn’t become a victim of its own success.
