tahiti_may_4_billy_kemper
Billy Kemper getting spat on half way through a big second reef, Teahupoo bender. This is nowhere near the exit and that means Billy is going to have to negotiate the warping west bowl blind. Photo: Seth de Roulet
Teahupoo is a scary place. Scary beautiful, sure, but also scary because it’s one of the most dangerous places in the world to surf. And with a forecasted swell for the ASP’s Billabong Pro Tahiti looming ominously over the horizon, Chopes is looking like it’s setting up to be a banger. Some of the biggest swell in contest history, if some of the claims are correct. Thinking back to the 2011 Code Red swell, things were a little different. It was so giant that it clearly not going to be a paddle day. This swell, on the other hand, is shaping up to be right in that zone that’ll give organizers and competitors a hell of a scare. Which, of course, is what we like to see. And if things get big, put a few bucks on John John.