Teahupoo « Tahiti

'Chopes' is possibly the heaviest wave on Earth. A beyond thick, mauling, lethal left barrel that comes straight out of deep water to unload on a shallow, live coral reef.

Pronounced cho-po, Teahupo’o hit the world stage in 1998 with the second Gotcha Tahiti Pro WQS event. A year later the event was the centrepiece of the WCT with Occy winning in awesome conditions.

Teahupoo raised the bar for the surfing world and has resulted in the pioneering of other ultra-gnarly spots around the world. Killer waves like Pipeline have been reduced to the rank of sideshow and new contenders such as Shipstern’s and Cyclops are now surfed.

The wave at Teahupoo is (like many famous spots) a glorified close out. Fast moving SW swells hit the shallow reef on the eastern side of the Passe Havae and stop dead sending ultra-thick lips towards the flats where they explode with ferocity.

The reef is also curved creating a horseshoe shaped bowl. Riders often comment that you can’t actually see out of the barrel it’s so curved.

There is actually a right here too. But it isn’t as good as the left and the possibility of getting drilled into the reef on the paddle back out makes it somewhat unappealing!

Teahupo’o is the ultimate media wave. Tropical, mountainous backdrop, crystal clear blue water, Tahitian sunshine, death defying barrelling monster waves and to top it off a massive channel where you can park a boat and watch it all like an arena sport! It’ll take something quite unimaginable to steal Chopes’ limelight…

Rate Teahupoo

Teahupoo map location (-17.866,-149.254), Tahiti, French Polynesia surf map

Teahupoo surf report

6 ft @ 11 secs :: 8 mph - E

Wave info

Type:
Reef
Set up:
Left-hander
Size range:
3 ft to 18 ft
Offshore wind:
N, NE,
Swell window:
S, SW,
Potential hazards:
Reef contact
The Wave!
Best tide
All tides
Length of ride
Short

About Teahupoo

Crowd level:
Average
Experience level:
Pros and nutters
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