The Inertia‘s Alex Haro once wrote that Carcavelos is “everything you’ve wanted in a surf town.” He’s not wrong. Praia de Carcavelos was bustling all day Saturday when Capitulo Perfeito (Perfect Chapter) ran in picture-perfect, head-high barrels with offshore winds lasting throughout the day. Spectators filled the boardwalk and the beach and everyday surfers scattered up and down every little sand bar outside of the contest’s buoys. It was honestly impressive to see an entire beach with so many barreling peaks — not just one crowded takeoff zone surrounded by a mile stretch of closeouts. So I’d add to Haro’s claim by saying this beach, this town, and this particular Saturday made for a weekend warrior’s dream.
“You have to be on it in terms of forecasting, though. It’s a tough one. It’s an amazing beach break, but it’s not an everyday thing,” Nic von Rupp told The Inertia.
So contest organizers have probably been resting well now that the dust has settled from the eighth edition of Capitulo Perfeito. They called the single-day barrel riding contest for a date that brought together more than just a little bit of swell and a window of decent winds. Sun. Surf fans. Quality waves everywhere. And barrels. A lot of them. They got Carcavelos on a bonafide dream day, even if the wave itself wasn’t showing its sharpest teeth on Saturday.
“Just two or three feet bigger and that place gets heavy,” Cory Lopez told me the next day.
Aritz Aranburu beat out a solid field of surfers to win his second Perfect Chapter title when it was all said and done. But the one-day event just set everybody else up for more, with more and more swell all week and most of the competitors deciding to stay in Portugal. Anthony Walsh postponed his flight back to the States so he could get his fill. Lopez has been getting his daughter and son into as many waves as possible before they have to get back to Florida. Clay Marzo, who admits he’s only going to leave Maui when the waves justify it, had his return flight pushed back as well.
It’s still pumping in Portugal. Saturday during the Perfect Chapter did set the table perfectly.
