JEREMY TEULADE IN TEAHUPO'O

A few weeks ago, Jérémy Teulade fled the flat waters of France to enjoy the turquoise waters and steady waves of Tahiti. Originally specialising in SUP, Jeremy has become a waterman who practices other sports, notably surfing, and took up the challenge of surfing Teahupo'o. Today he tells us about his trip, during which he had the chance to surf the legendary Teahupo'o wave!

"After a week spent in Papara to recover from the journey and acclimatise myself, I decide to put my board bags down in Teahupo'o, just in front of the wave.

I'm staying with Tahurai, a local charger and former bodyboarding competitor. He has built a beautiful homestay with his girlfriend Hinatea. I couldn't have come at a better time to enjoy the local life here. We eat the fish we catch and surf every day! Teahupo'o is their garden, and they are happy to share it as long the place and the people are respected.

They share their experiences with me over some Hinano, the essential beer which has become a part of their culture. A lot of stories, tales of wipe-outs, which remind me that I am on a spot which is as famous as it is dangerous. During a conversation, the father says to me, "I can't count the number of times that they've called me from an ambulance." I see the broken pro boards when I put mine in the rack, which sets the tone! But I want to take my time, go to the peak, and see how it goes.
On the first day, the roosters wake me up, long live the countryside! I'm in front of the spot, I just have to row for about 15 minutes through the channel to reach the peak. I can see the wave from the tip, but I can't make out if any surfers are already there. I get into the water and start rowing across the channel. It is really stunning when you are not used to it. I pass a charger from California who broke his fin against his leg, and he tells me that he was alone. There's no way I'm surfing this wave alone, I start to turn around and I see bodyboarders coming. I talk with them and stay away from the peak. The wave is scary, I don't know the spot well at all, I prefer to watch them to understand where to place myself, how it works etc. Especially since the swell is powerful and rather badly positioned during the first days of my arrival, and few waves are caught. I do the same in the afternoon, I didn't even go to the peak on the first day because I was afraid of taking a set to the head.

In general I like to get “eaten” surfing, staying underwater for a long time doesn't scare me too much up to a certain size of course, at least I've already experienced it in Puerto Escondido, in the Canaries, Guéthary, Les Landes.... It's a different world here, doing a take-off on a five-foot wall freaks me out like I've never been freaked out in my surfing life. Why? It's simple: the wave is very fast and hollow, when you paddle to surf it all the water is sucked up by the wave, the reef is right there, you paddle right over the top of it, the goal being to avoid it at the last moment to get onto the tube. It has phenomenal power! Another thing that struck me was the fact that the take-off felt like a close out as the wave wraps around the reef. It's super disturbing to go on a close out in Teahupo'o! But you have to catch the wave like that otherwise it’s impossible to get on the tube and it is even risky, because doing the take off further to the outside generally means getting thrown off by the lip of the west bowl. Let's talk about the famous west bowl. This is the most powerful side that comes up like a wall in front of you and is even more terrifying than everything I've said so far haha! This is also where the tube is the biggest! So, to sum up, you do the take-off well inside and then you go straight to the west bowl, simple right?!

The following days I go to the peak, I catch my first waves, my first sights of the tube, my first boxes and exits into the lagoon. Sometimes when you fall you can't get back over the “bar” and you end up in the lagoon, via the reef. There are then two choices to get back to the peak: either walk on the reef and duck to get past the waves, or go via the lagoon and row for 20 minutes. I'm always one of the few who opt for the rowing option, I'd rather row than risk cutting myself or damaging my board.

Since the beginning of the trip, every wave I catch here requires a total mental commitment. I am not reckless, I think and prepare myself physically and mentally to minimise the risks. It's quite hard because the fear is there all the time, at every session, even though it's starting to get much better as I write these sentences. This experience has been very rewarding for me and I have been able to do the most intense drops of my life with the chance to finish in a beautiful and perfect tube.

Meanwhile I have discovered other spots which are also magical, the waves are easier, it's pure fun! By the way, it was on one of these spots that I touched the reef and not in Teahupo'o (touch wood). The other spots may be easier, but there’s still reef and there's still little depth. On a very late, up in the air take-off I got eaten up, the wave pulled me to the bottom and made me roll on the reef. There wasn’t much pain after the fall, but I was quickly disheartened when lime was rubbed on my back to disinfect it. I'll bring back my tattoo, that's ticked off!
My life at the moment is all about checking the conditions when I wake up. Deciding whether to take my paddle out to train or find a more remote channel to surf or compete with Teahupo'o, or both, during the day, and with a mandatory short raw fish break between sessions of course!

A big swell is expected next Tuesday and Wednesday. I'll go to the peak, but I don't know if I'll commit (depending on the size of the waves and... my ba*** haha), but 4m face waves are expected! In any case the locals will guarantee the show, they are of a crazy level!