Teahupo’o is one of the best waves on the planet. It’s also one of the most dangerous. Here’s why. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
Tahiti is a place littered with reefs. It’s home to one of the best waves on the planet: Teahupo’o. That, of course, is the wave that will play host to the Olympic Games, so the World Surf League thought it might be a good time to break down the wave.
“Teahupo’o is unique,” wrote The Inertia‘s Juan Hernandez. “A very, very long time ago (we’re talking millions of years here), freshwater flowed from the mountains and poured straight at the reef, eroding sections of it and shaping it like an arm bent at the elbow. That elbow plays a critical role in the shape of incoming waves.”
Depending on the swell, sets can either become basically un-surfable closeouts or barrels that a surfer will remember for the rest of their lives.
“Unlike Hawaii’s North Shore, for example,” Hernandez continued, “there aren’t any outer reefs eating up a swell’s energy. And that means everything that travels through this section of South Pacific aimed at Teahupo’o will hit the reef itself at full speed.”
With Olympic surfers currently in Tahiti waiting for the Games to begin, they broke down exactly what makes the wave so special.
“There’s really nothing like it,” said Pete Mel. “It is coming out of a 150 feet of deep water coming up to a six-foot shelf instantly in a very short period. That bathymetry right there makes this wave unlike any other wave on the planet… It could kill you, and that’s the truth.”
