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Party at the end of the road – Teahupo’o Tahiti

Nikki Wynn

Mar 17, 2019 — 3 min read

Roaming around Tahiti we caught wind of a party going on at the end of the road. A legendary village where the surfing elite flock, kings have been crowned and a heavy blue beast lives. It was a lore too good to ignore.

So, we set sail for the sleepy little village of Teahupo’o and as you’ll soon see for yourself…the first morning was brutal.

Clearly, I am not a morning person and need to work on my communication skills.

Floating house maintenance aside, Teahupo’o is a beautiful place to call home. The small passes along the reef make for more than just good surfing. They were great diving locations and the marine life was just the right amount of friendly.

And, true to every island we have visited in French Polynesia…the views are epic!

Billabong Tahiti Pro

Billabong pits the world’s best surfers against the world’s heaviest wave. Sounds exciting, but surfing enthusiast or not, the floating spectators and local legends are worth showing up for.

the salty crowd at billabong tahiti pro teahpoo

What’s wild is that it wasn’t until the 60’s that surfers started coming to Tahiti and not until the late 90’s that the name “chopes” started luring in the big wave surfing elite. (Note, the proper pronunciation of Teahupo’o is not “cho poo”, that is the surfer slang we kept hearing and reading. The locals will say something more along the lines of “tea-hoo-poh-oh”.)

There isn’t any land in between Tahiti and the roaring forties, so there is an abundant southerly swell consistently rolling in.

And bringing it back around to sailing…These nicknames, roaring forties, furious fifties and the screaming sixties were coined by the sailors who first entered these latitudes. Something I knew nothing about before sailing.

They refer to the latitudes in the Southern Ocean. Areas that are notorious for insane westerly winds and raging storms. An old salty saying puts it into perspective:

Below 40 degrees south there is no law and below 50 degrees south there is no God.

Waves build to 25 feet and have what is considered “thick lips” which is why they call it the worlds heaviest. While it would be a sight to behold…I don’t think I want my boat anywhere near those behemoths on a day like that!

surfers waiting to catch a wave at billabong tahiti pro surf competition

As you can see from the birds eye view, its solid, unfriendly reef promising nothing but woes for even the slightest mistake.

the heaviest wave billabong tahiti pro surf competition teahupoo

surfer paddling out at billabong tahiti pro surf competition teahupoo

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