Kanoa Igarashi shared a poignant and simple observation about Supertubos ahead of the Meo Rip Curl Pro Portugal.
“It’s one of the hardest waves in the world but at the same time one of the best waves in the world,” he told media this week as Championship Tour surfers prepared for the third stop of this year’s campaign.
Now, you could stand on any beach around the world and notice the talent and ability gap between CT surfers and even local standout pros. But Supertubos may be one wave where this gap seems to grow exponentially. Non-CT pros can get their waves here but the best rides are few and far between on solid days. The CT men and women, however, make most waves look easy by comparison. You can’t plan for or predict much in the Supertubos lineup, as Igarashi explained to media. It’s one of the fastest barreling waves and making it through sections often requires letting instincts take over rather than relying on a consistent plan of attack. Californian photographer Jack Bober, who’s been in Portugal for weeks now leading up to the event, got a firsthand demonstration of this during a freesurf this week.
“All of the CT guys were ripping out there and making every tube that came their way,” he says. Bober had shown up to the event site in Peniche with onshore winds but as the morning went on, he says the waves glassed off and Supertubos started pumping. “The wave itself is very impressive, it breaks quite close to the beach, much like Pipe. (It’s) definitely a spot that compares to the heaviest beachbreaks in the world.”
Bober says the display of talent from those CT surfers in this week’s draw is “just on a whole different level.” He explains that a lot of waves just aren’t that makeable for the 9-to-fiver trying to get a couple after work. “They go on everything and it’s almost disappointing if they do not throw an air or get a massive barrel, which is hypocritical considering 90 percent of us are beyond stoked if we even make the drop.”
