Praia de Carcavelos. Photo: Capitulo Perfeito
Capitulo Perfeito, the tuberiding contest held annually in Portugal, has been put on Yellow Alert. Contest organizers will be looking at a series of swells expected to arrive as early as this weekend to see if they line up just right for Praia de Carcavelos and the groomed, hollow barrels needed to get the call.
“Carcavelos, it doesn’t break perfect very often, but when it does, it’s just incredibly good,” says Nic von Rupp, former Capitulo Perfeito champion and one of this year’s competitors. “On its day, it rallies with some of the best breaks in the world, like Pipe or Puerto Escondido or Supertubes. It’s insane to really show the world the potential that beachbreak has.”
This weekend could turn into one of those perfect storms for Carcavelos, as contest organizers “are keeping an eye on several swells that will grace our coast in the coming days,” says Rui Costa, the event’s founder. “They have everything we’re looking for: a big West swell that hits Carcavelos with force, and north quadrant winds that sustain the waves and provide the tubes that the championship needs. One of these swells will arrive this weekend. We are closely monitoring the forecasts, aware that we have until Wednesday or Thursday to make the call if we believe this swell will allow us to fulfill the promise of having the world’s best surfers on the best waves Portugal has to offer.”
The current roster of surfers consists of five international athletes who are on call and will have to book flights out to Europe if organizers give the contest a green light this week. That list consists of Balaram Stack, Dylan Graves, Mikey February, Nathan Florence, and Rob Machado. Meanwhile, seven Portuguese surfers and six former event champions will round out the rest of the competition field.
