Teahupoʻo

Teahupoʻo
Teahupoʻo
Associated commune of Taiarapu-Ouest
	Location within Tahiti
	Location of Teahupoʻo
	Coordinates: 17°50′50″S 149°16′2″W / 17.84722°S 149.26722°W
Country	France
Overseas collectivity	French Polynesia
Commune	Taiarapu-Ouest
Population (2022)	1,455
Time zone	UTC−10:00
Postal code	98723

Teahupoʻo (Tahitian pronunciation: [te.a.hu.ˈpo.ʔo])^[2] is a village on the southeastern coast of the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia, France, in the southern Pacific Ocean.^[3] It is known for the large, consistent surf that occurs off its shore, and resulting international surfing competitions.

Village

The village of Teahupoʻo has a population of roughly 1,500.^[4] The village has a single, one-lane road.^[4]^[5] The village's population has been significantly affected by a radioactivity generated in a 1974 French test of a nuclear bomb.^[6]

Surf

Teahupoʻo is known for its surf break and resulting heavy, glassy waves, often reaching 2 to 3 m (7 to 10 ft), and sometimes up to 7 m (23 ft). Because of the regularity and size of its waves, it hosts the annual Billabong Pro Teahupoo surf competition (part of the World Championship Tour (WCT) surfing circuit) and the 2024 Olympic surfing competition.

Teahupoʻo is a pillow break. The swells mainly break backwards^{[clarification needed]}, but the outer reef also creates left breaks that surfers must be cautious of when paddling out. Teahupoʻo is renowned for the consistent number of barrels it delivers. It is a rewarding location and is widely regarded as being on the 'must-surf' list of every enthusiastic surfer. However, only experienced surfers in peak physical condition should attempt Teahupoʻo; heavy waves combined with a shallow pillow can result in serious injury and even swimming in a wipeout.

Teahupoʻo's reputation for wave riding is partly due to its unique form. An extremely shallow coral reef, which ranges up to 20 inches (51 cm) beneath the water's surface, is responsible for a very hollow-breaking wave. The wave's unique shape, with an effect of almost breaking below sea level, is due to the shape of the reef beneath the wave. This is semi-circular, and drops down sharply, creating a 'below water' effect; the extreme angles in descent create an instant instability to the wave. A steep wall of reef causes the entire mass to fold onto a scalloped semi circle breaking arc.^[7] The wave bends and races along into a dry reef closeout and the lip of the wave is often as thick as it is tall.^[3]

Surfing history

Tahitian Thierry Vernaudon and a few other locals surfed Teahupoʻo for the very first time in 1985. Bodyboarding pioneers Mike Stewart and Ben Severson showcased the spot in 1986 and it soon became an underground spot for thrill-seeking bodyboarders.

Few professional surfers rode Teahupoʻo during the early 1990s. The pro Surf Event was founded in 1997 by JC Clenet and Christophe Holozet. Teahupoo was virtually unknown when the Black Pearl Horue Pro debuted as a World Qualifying Series event in 1997. (The WQS is the ASP's minor league tour, below the original World Championship Tour.) Nearly 200 surfers took part in the men's competition, worth $80,000, including such surfers as Sunny Garcia, Johnny Boy Gomez and Vetea David. Teenager Andy Irons from Hawaiʻi won the event.

The competition returned the following year under the name Gotcha Tahiti Pro; a women's division was added (won by Keala Kennelly of Hawaiʻi); and the competition ended in chaos when Hawaiʻi's Conan Hayes, the apparent winner after fearlessly charging through a series of Teahupoʻo barrels, was announced as runner-up behind Australia's Koby Abberton. Hayes stormed off the presentation stage and later said he had put his "life on the line and got robbed." Also, the judge’s tower, built on the reef itself, collapsed in the middle of the event. The event attracted worldwide attention and was featured in an ever-increasing number of surf videos. Tracks magazine published an 18-page article and a photo of Teahupoʻo was used for the cover of the issue titled "The Heaviest Contest Ever! Aussies face death in Tahitian perfection".

The 1999 Gotcha Tahiti Pro was elevated to World Championship Tour status and became a pro tour sensation. The biggest waves have mostly continued to roll in without takers, and Surfer magazine described Teahupoo as "a still-unconquered field of play." Australians Kate Skarratt and Mark Occhilupo won; Occhilupo was on his way to a world title. On the eve of the third edition, the judges' scaffolding collapsed again. Six-time world champion Kelly Slater of Florida came out of semi-retirement to win the men's division; Keala Kennelly won the women's title. The competition was renamed Billabong's Pro Teahupoo in 2001.

Notable rides

On August 17, 2000, Laird Hamilton is credited with surfing the "heaviest wave" ever ridden,^[3] documented in the film Riding Giants. In 2003 the late Malik Joyeux successfully rode one of the largest waves ever ridden.^[8] Nathan Florence, younger brother of three-time World Surf League champion John John Florence, caught in May 2015 what some have considered to have been the biggest wave ever successfully paddled in Teahupoʻo.^[9] Keala Kennelly was the first woman to tow-surf Teahupoʻo in May 2005, getting a 10-foot barrel ahead of the Billabong Tahiti Pro contest.^[10]

Non-surfing rides

This challenging break has been conquered by many top windsurfers, including Jason Polakow, Ali Neil and Levi Siver. Yannick Salmon was the first kitesurfer to ride Teahupoʻo; however, it was incorrectly written in publications that others had ridden it before him.^{[citation needed]}

Injuries and death

The name Teahupoʻo loosely translates to English as 'to sever the head' or 'place of skulls', though this is a reference to a battle that took place near the village rather than to the waves.^[11]^[12] It has been included on lists of “deadliest” and “heaviest” waves”, because of the combination of extremely large waves with a very shallow reef.^[11]^[13]

Tahitian surfer Brice Taerea was killed at Teahupoʻo in 2000. He attempted to duck-dive a dangerous 12-foot (3.7-meter) wave but was thrown over the falls and landed head first on the reef. He was recovered from the water but died in hospital, having suffered two broken cervical vertebrae and a severed spinal cord.^[11]

Olympic venue

Teahupoʻo was the host venue for the surfing competition for the 2024 Summer Olympics, mainly hosted in Paris.^[14]^[15] The venue was 9,800 mi (15,800 km) from Paris, the furthest distance between an Olympics venue and the host city. This was in keeping with International Olympic Committee goals of reducing construction costs by allowing for usage of existing venues, but increased travel costs and emissions.^[16] Separate opening ceremonies were held.

Previously, the record for the longest distance between a host city and a competition subvenue was 9,700 mi (15,600 km) when, due to Australian quarantine regulations during the Melbourne 1956 games, the equestrian tournament was held in Stockholm.^[17]

Infrastructure

Several infrastructural improvements were made in preparation for the event.^[5]

Residents of Teahupoʻo protested against the construction of a three-story aluminium judging tower (replacing an older wooden tower), fearing that the construction would irreversibly damage the coral reef.^[18] Construction also damaged coral near the contest site.^[19] In response, French Polynesian president Moetai Brotherson said the event could be moved to Taharuu, on Tahiti's west coast. However, this proposal was rejected by organizers.^[20] The tower was eventually built, but with changes to the design to reduce impact.^[5]

Similarly, plans originally called for construction of housing for athletes, but to reduce long-term impact to the village, athlete housing was instead put on a cruise ship offshore.^[16]