Photo: André Carvalho / Perfect Chapter
Contest officials were right. Saturday started off slow at Praia de Carcavelos, but waves at the barreling beach break built up to photo-worthy conditions down the stretch of the 2022 Perfect Chapter. The event is intended to run on the best day of the winter with competitors strictly focused on riding barrels, and while Saturday’s size at Carcavelos may have underwhelmed at first, there was no shortage of spitting tubes throughout the day. Those in the know expected the slow start but predicted a bump in size with the tide push. They got just that, and it came with strong offshore winds that never turned. By the end of the third round and throughout most of the semifinal heats, the shallow beach break was legitimately pumping.
Aside from predicting otherwise unpredictable wave conditions, event organizers also expected a solid turnout of Cascais’ local spectators. A single-day event, Perfect Chapter had never run on a weekend until getting the green light earlier this week. Sure enough, the boardwalk was filled with beachgoers, beachside cafes were filled with patrons taking in the contest, and the sand itself was littered with fans throughout the day. Howling offshore winds be damned.
They saw Maui’s Clay Marzo surf two of his three heats in trunks while the rest of the field (and every weekend warrior surfing outside of the buoys) was decked out in 4/3 full suits and the entire beach huddled in hooded jackets. Marzo cracked a joke at dinner Friday night about wearing boardshorts — at least it seemed like a joke at the time. But sure enough, he surfed his morning heat in a full suit before deciding he’d prefer the full range of motion over the warmth of a tiny bit of neoprene.
Spectators also saw that 44-year old Cory Lopez clearly still has it. Lopez advanced through the entire day and put up some of the contest’s best scores well into the four-man final. In the end, he came up just one wave short, posting a 10.25 in a final heat in which he, Pedro Boonman, Kiran Jabour, and Aritz Aranburu were scrambling around the beach looking for barrels. When it was all said and done, it was Aranburu who stood on top. The Spaniard won Perfect Chapter for the second time along with the Go Chill Best Score award and the 58 Surf Best Tube award, leaving Portugal with an electric bike, a check, and a trophy board for his efforts.
“It’s very special to surf here in Carcavelos, with the support of the public so close,” he said after his win. “The level (of surfing) was incredible, with great barrels. I’m happy to win the championship with perfect waves and surfers of such a good level.”
Aritz Aranburu. Photo: Miguel Cordovil
