FANTASY SURFER: Billabong Pro Tahiti 2005
After a night of rumbling reef noises on the Teahupoo (Cheo-poo) Point competitors in the Air Tahiti Nui/Von Zipper Trials realized their dreams had come true with perfect two metre plus (6ft plus) barrels on show at first light at the dredging left-hander 400 metres off-shore.
As the international field of eighty surfers commenced competition for the two remaining wildcards in the Billabong Pro Tahiti the south-west swell continued to build and become more consistent throughout the day. Round one of competition was completed with the afternoon heats experiencing some booming 3 metre (8ft) plus sets that separated the experienced big wave surfers from the talented hopefuls.
1993 World Champion Derek Ho (Haw) showed no fear in his opening heat, launching over the Teahupoo ledge with reckless abandonment twice to post two strong scores and advance with a win. The 40-year-old goofy footer, known for his prowess on the heaving Hawaiian reefs, looked completely at ease in the pulsing swell.
“Yeah I guess I was pretty lucky to slot straight into the first wave of the heat, when the alarm blows and the wave comes in you have to catch it,” said Ho. “The conditions are really nice out there was some beautiful waves through my heat. The only way I get to compete in a WCT heat is to go through the trials these days so my brother (Michael) flew me down here from Hawaii, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him. We are having fun hanging out whatever happens.”
Young Australian surfer Anthony Walsh (Lennox Head) lived up to all expectations in his opening heat this morning, winning comfortably despite an interference call, reducing his second highest score by half. The 22-year-old, known in international surfing circles as a proven big wave charger, survived a narrow escape from the shallow coral reef after being caught inside on a rouge 3m set.
“I was pretty happy, the first wave I ever caught over here in the contest was a 9.5 so I was stoked with that,” said Walsh. “This is my first time here, I have been here for five days and it has been kind of small and this is the first real Teahupoo day so I am happy with the result.”
Walsh secured his spot in the second round alongside Hawaiian goofy footer Kalani Chapman, eliminating dangerous Tahitian duo Lionel Teihoto and Guillami Bourligueux.
“The local guys and the Hawaiians don’t worry me too much really, I just stick to my own thing and do what I do, so I’m not worried about what they do,” said Walsh. You can have a good heat or a bad heat, you just have to pick the right ones at the right time out there.”
In a dramatic three consecutive heats, Australian duo Wade Goodall (Sunshine Coast) and Luke Dorrington (Gold Caost) were eliminated, while fellow Gold Coast surfer Austin Langridge progressed through. Dorrington surpassed the fears held prior to surfing ‘Chopes, launching himself down three set waves but failed to get deep enough to warrant the high scoring rides rewarded for a deep tube.
Goodall suffered a different fate, in a wave starved heat the talented youngster failed to lock in a second strong ride and fell short to Kalama Ikaika (Haw) and Heinere Paez (Tah).
Langridge surfed with the determination he is renowned for, positioning deep behind the peak and threading two long backside tube rides before they closed out on the draining reef, to survive through to the second round.
Tahitian surfer Vetea “Poto” David, one of the many locals who show little regard for the powerful left-hand break on their doorsteps seemed completely at ease today, dropping into barrel after barrel amidst the screams of the Tahitian spectators in the nearby channel. The 2002 Billabong Pro Trials champion, knows what it takes to win at ‘Chopes’ and will be vying for one of the precious two spots in the main event and working on the Tahitian Water Patrol team at the same time.
“I had the luck with me, I pulled back on a few because I didn’t need to go and break my board, I was being a bit conservative,” he said. “Local knowledge has a lot to do with it, the ones to go and not to go. Some of the big sets I didn’t go are easily big enough to tow into. You can try and paddle but you have to be in the right spot, it makes you lazy though, towing all the time.”
Top seeded surfers including defending trials champion Heimata Carroll (Tah), Damon Harvey (Gold Coast), Tamayo Perry (Haw), Danilo Costa (Brz), Dylan Longbottom (Gold Coast, Aus), Pete Mendia (USA), Brian Pacheco (USA),James Wood (Lennox Head, Aus) Manoa Drollet (Tah) and rising Tahitian young gun Heiarii Williams will enter competition in round three.
The Billabong Pro Tahiti delivered by Air Tahiti Nui is proudly supported by Von Zipper, Bose, Kustom and The Tahitian Surfing Federation.
Air Tahiti Nui/Von Zipper Trials Results
Round 1 1st & 2nd advance. 3rd & 4th Eliminated
Ht 1 Ben Sancho (Eur) Steven Pierson (Tah) Aldemir Calunga (Brz) Christophe Digiorgio (Tah)
Ht2 Bernado Miranda (Brz) Jason Frederico (Haw) Jean-Claude Rota (Tah) Gen Imai (Tah)
Ht3 Derek Ho (Haw), Dave Cantrell (Haw), Bruneau Holman (Tah) Hiro Toromona (Tah)
Ht 4 Dan Boehne (USA),Tamahau McComb (Tah), Flavien Tapare (Tah)
Ht5 Reef McIntosh (Haw), Liam McNamara (Haw), Taumata Puhetini (Tah), Marama Daroussel (Tah)
Ht6 Anthony Walsh (Aus), Kalani Chapman (Haw), Lionel Teihotu (Tah), Guillaume Bourligueux (Tah)
Ht7 Heinui Borssious (Tah) Tory Barron (Haw), Marcus Osterhout (USA)
Ht8 Tuhiti Haumani (Tah), Eli Mirandon (USA), Vito Faria (Brz), Pohue Raiponi (Tah)
Ht9 Kevin Johnson (Tah), Jamie Sterling (Haw), Horigushi Shinpei (Jpn), Teiva Mare (Tah)
Ht10 Waikita Takayuki (Jpn), Heifara Tahutini Jnr (Tah), Raimania Van Bastoler (Tah), Danilo Couto (Brz).
Ht11 Vetea David (Tah), Patrice Shanzy (Tah), Clint Kimmins (Tah), Morgan Arjuna (Haw)
Ht12 Heinz Rochette (Tah), Pedro Henrique (Brz), Luke Dorrington (Aus)
Ht13 Paez Heinere (Tah), Ikaika Kalama (Haw), Wade Goodall (Aus)
Ht14 Nicolas Leetham (Tah), Austin Langridge (Aus), Aido Lehartel (Tah)
Ht15 Danny Fuller (Haw), Michael Ho (Haw), Teveai Wong (Tah)
Ht16 Mark Visser (Aus), Andrew Smith (Tah), Brian Conley (USA)
Swellnet - Air Tahiti Nui/Von Zipper Trials, Teahupoo - Surf Forecast
Monday 26th April, 6pm local time
*next update Tuesday 26th April, 6pm*
*note - all days and times are local Tahitian times*
Current surf conditions:
*as yet unconfirmed*
Key Forecast Points:
* Strong and sizeable SW groundswell Tues/Wed
* Large follow-up WSW swell for the second half of the waiting period
* Very large swell next weekend/early next week
* Generally favourable conditions until about Friday, periods of onshore winds over the weekend
Quick 5-day overview:
Tues: strong pulsing SW groundswell with bomb sets holding between 8' and 10' at times (upper end of this range a little inconsistent), size easing by a couple of feet later in the day, generally light var winds
Wed: poss early 8' sets at first, generally easing to 4-6' by lunch, generally light variable winds, poss N'ly tendency at times tending S'ly later
Thurs: plenty of SW swell in the 4-5' range, but an additional SW swell is expected to ramp up wave heights towards 8'+ during the day, generally light variable winds, poss N'ly tendency at times
Fri: strong 8' SW/WSW swell, generally light variable winds at first, tending onshore during the day, size possibly easing later in the day
Sat: temporarily easing size to 5-6' ahead of a very large kick late afternoon towards 10'+, possibly bigger
Longer Term: very large swell Sun-Tues, but onshore at times
Marine Synopsis/Prognosis
A new pulse of swell out of the western quadrant filled in on Sunday, with Teahupoo picking up wave heights in the 4' category - this was generated by a small but strong fetch located on the western flank of ex-TC Sheila who briefly passed through Tahiti's swell window early in the weekend. Favourable conditions continued throughout Tahiti on Monday, with the Tahiti-Faaa airport recording a light ESE'ly wind for the majority of the day. Sunday's new WSW swell has eased slightly today, but a strong new SW groundswell is currently pushing into the Tahitian region, and wave heights are expected to have built steadily this afternoon as the leading edge makes landfall (still to be confirmed). However, a secondary pulse of longer period swell energy is trailing close behind this swell, having been generated underneath New Zealand late last week by a deep low pressure system. These swells are expected to merge on Tuesday, culminating in a half day of large surf at Teahupoo with set waves peaking between 8' and 10' at times. Additionally, surface conditions are expected to remain similar to the last few days with generally light variable winds throughout the day ahead of a possible afternoon thunderstorm.
These swells are expected to throttle back on Wednesday, however there is certainly still a good chance for some rogue 8' sets throughout the morning, leftover from Tuesday's sizeable round of surf. In general, wave heights are expected to ease into the 4-6' range at Teahupoo, and although we're looking at another day of generally light variable winds, a weakening tropical depression currently located just north of Fiji may slight influence the surface wind field in the Tahitian region as it traverses SE of Tahiti's longitude. This may result in a brief period of northerly winds tending southerly during the day, however confidence is not especially high on whether this will eventuate.
There's plenty of sold surf expected for the second half of the waiting period, courtesy of a deep low pressure system that developed east of New Zealand in the last 36 hours. Surface wind speeds have been recorded around 50-60kts, but up until this morning, the majority of this fetch was aimed into the Fiji/Tonga region. However, Quikscat satellite data now indicates that the northern flank of the low has swung a little more favourably into Tahiti's swell window, and as a result it'll start to generate a new round of punchy SW swell during the following days.
There's actually a couple of different pulses of energy expected from this part of the world - the main fetch is expected to generate a significant pulse of SW swell, but a secondary front tracking over New Zealand's North Island is likely to set up an additional round of westerly swell around the same time. The preliminary pulse of SW swell is expected to arrive on Thursday, and the swell direction should then swing more around to the WSW on Friday as the next pulse of energy arrives. All in all, we're looking at a building trend on Thursday with wave heights peaking around 8'+ later in the day, and this should continue into Friday with large surf on offer. The extra west in the swell direction is likely to result in much more challenging conditions at Teahupoo, and surface conditions are certainly looking better for Thursday due to an approaching surface low. There is certainly a chance that we could see freshening NW winds on Friday as this system rears up from the west, and therefore Friday is looking a little dicey in the quality department.
Saturday is a mixed bag - the large swell expected later this week is expected to ease temporarily ahead of a very large swell event, but we're looking at unfavourable surface conditions at times due to a moderate to fresh onshore wind at Teahupoo. However, the leading edge of the impending large swell is expected to push through later in the day and into Sunday, and this time frame is looking at a hefty amount of size throughout Tahiti. The swell is expected to originate from a merger between the aforementioned low (presently east of NZ) and a strong Southern Ocean frontal system during the middle of this week, and they're expected to track quite a fair distance towards Tahiti in association with an upper level long wave trough. Although conditions may not be favourable, we're looking at a very large swell across the region with size building towards 12-15' at Teahupoo, but this system is expected to linger underneath the Tahitian region for some time. This will be a double
edged sword - whilst it'll maintain plenty of size at Teahupoo throughout the start of next week, we may see unfavourable conditions persisting a little longer than optimal.
Looking further ahead towards the start of the waiting period for the Billabong Pro, and there is a strong suggestion that solid surf will not be a problem. The Southern Ocean has been quite active of late with a succession of powerful low pressure systems, and we have a notable weather system expected to pass underneath the Tasman Sea (SW of New Zealand) this coming weekend. Present indications are that the start of the waiting period will see a combination of easing swell from the weekend's event alongside the arrival of a new and sizeable long period groundswell around Thursday or Friday. This is then likely to see a moderate top up in SW groundswell over the following weekend fro another front pushing northeast of NZ. However, this is still some time away and will require close monitoring over the next few days.
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