We hate to break it to you, but
your favourite South Pacific
glory hole is actually a closeout.
Yep, that’s right. Teahupo’o is
technically a straight-hander,
briefly interrupted by a
narrow elbow in the reef that’s
generously called a channel.
Aside from making a nice place
to park your boat, this channel
allows some waves to stay open
long enough to pop out the tube
before shutting down entirely.
“What makes Teahupo’o so
special is probably the fact that it is
not actually situated at a reef pass,
but further up, at a bend in the
reef, with a narrow 15-metre-deepchannel close by,” says resident
photographer Tim McKenna.
“Unlike other passes, all its intensity
is compacted into the west bowl,
just metres away from the channel.
It’s this west bowl that concentrates
all the energy and makes the wave
accelerate and close out on that
ledge. But the closeout is so perfect
that it often gives you a gap to make
it, that will challenge any surfer.”
Tim has spent the better part of
his career studying and shooting
the wave from every conceivable
angle, and reckons the difference
between getting spit out the tube
of your life or being trapped in a
closeout that, conversely, couldend that very same life... all comes
down to swell direction.
“Any swell with too much west
direction will make the wave much
shorter and close out very close to
the channel or the end of the wave,”
says Tim. “The ideal conditions are
a south-south-west swell with glassy
conditions or north-east winds. This
makes the wave run a little longer
down the reef, allowing you to take
off a little further up the reef, and
the barrel is kind of wider and not
as thick and dangerous.”
No matter how perfect the swell
direction, though, there are always
closeouts and rogue sets during any
significant swell, says Tim, who hasseen his fair share of carnage in the
channel and the lineup. The only
way to choose the right ones?
Water time, and lots of it!
“To ride Teahupo’o successfully,
you need to spend a lot of time in
the water to be able to read the way
swell lines approach the reef and
the type of bend they take while
reaching the take-off zone. The
way the wave hits the shelf and
how the volume of water is sucked
up the face in the west bowl often
determines if a wave will shut down
or stay open a little longer. Then
you need to be fully committed.
There’s no room for hesitation once
you decide to go.”The
Closeout
Teahupo’o was forged eons ago when freshwater run-off from
the mountains and valleys surrounding the break carved out
the Passe Havae. This reef pass plunges dramatically into
the depths of the Pacific Ocean, giving Chopes its unfettered
power. Just like the wave, the history of the small village at
the end of the road is brutal. Literally translated, Teahupo’o
means ‘the pile of heads’. Local legend has it the fishing
village adopted the name after defeating their enemies in one
of Tahiti’s brutal tribal wars. To commemorate the victory,
they decapitated the slain warriors and piled the heads up
on the beach. So maybe try not to think of that – or the reef –
when you paddle out.What’s in a name?
Teahupo’o, Tahiti
Case Study:
Teahupo’o translates to pile of heads ... upon learning
this; it’s these brief moments which life delivers, where
absolutely everything makes sense and is as it should be.
PHOTO: TMK