A moment from the second half of a practice day that bodes well for tomorrow. Photo: CG
Capitulo Perfeito is set to begin in just under nine hours. This year marks the tenth edition of the annual Portuguese one-day tube-riding competition that has a simple, but brilliant premise: Organizers set a long, three-month waiting period during the Portuguese winter, then patiently wait until the swells, wind and stars align for perfect, hollow, rifling barrels to hit Carcavelos Beach, Portugal.
That’s precisely what happened on Thursday, when Capitulo Perfeito got the green light. In the two days since, I’ve watched the surfers trickle in, summoned from far-flung reaches across the world, stacks of boards under their arms and jet lag in their eyes. However, their arrival also made evident that there had been a few last-minute tweaks to the original roster: Nathan Hedge and Lucas Chianca will be substituting for Nathan Florence and Michael February.
Though Florence and February will be missed, Hedge and Chianca are both tailor-made for Capitulo’s ethos. Chianca has momentum on his side, coming hot off of a win at the 2024 Nazaré Big Wave Challenge. Meanwhile, Hedge has a long and impressive resume as a tube hound, including a wildcard entry at the 2022 Tahiti Pro at Teahupo’o, in which he ousted Filipe Toledo and Jack Robinson in back to back heats. It’s a tall order to pivot to competition mode with almost literally a moment’s notice, but if anyone can, it’s these two.
Today served as a de-facto practice day for the competitors. Upon arriving at Carcavelos proper, we were greeted by the beach’s bustling surf scene. In the water, local rippers, body boarders and surf schools hunted for peaks across the beach break’s wide expanse. On land, beach-goers sunbathed or played games in the sand, while event organizers put the finishing touches on scaffolding and broadcast rigs in the background. The scene was idyllic, but the morning session proved fickle. There were corners to be found and the odd rogue set, but only hints of the conditions to come. We retreated back to Estoril for a lunch and a few hours to reset at the hotel.
Then we got an urgent message from contest organizer Rui Costa: “It’s pumping. Come here now.”
Back in the vans we went, to return to a very different Carcavelos. The surf schools were gone, replaced by massive, thundering waves. I watched the locals get alternately spit out of barrels and crushed by closeouts. Sirens blared as the local surf rescue boat shuttled back and forth, retrieving surfers who had been sucked across the beach and into the pounding impact zone. Into that fray, the competitors paddled back out and scored.
This was the Carcavelos we’d come to see. These were the barrels we’d been promised, and it was only going to get better from there. The true apex of the swell arrives tomorrow, right on schedule for competition day.
Capitulo Perfeito begins February 18th at 7:00 a.m., local time. The event will be streaming live, and we’ll have more updates from the competition as it unfolds.
Below are the opening heats.
