Thanks to the big waves, the Tahiti area is extremely popular among surfers
One glance at the weather forecast was enough for Doug Young (30-year-old resident of Dunedin) and Sam Hock (18-year-old student from Christchurch) to leave their hometowns and head to Teahupo'o. Their goal was extremely simple – to catch the biggest wave.
“We knew from the very beginning that something completely incredible awaited us ahead,” Young said in an interview with one of New Zealand's news services.
Teahupo'o – a site southeast of Tahiti, thanks to the big waves, is extremely popular among surfers. According to the surfers themselves, these are the most difficult to conquer and extremely dangerous waves. The reason for this lies in the structure of the seabed. A deep ocean shelf near the shore changes to a shallow coral reef, on which waves from the open ocean crash and significantly increase in size.
Arriving on the island in the evening, on the eve of St. Patrick's Day (which is also celebrated on Tahiti), they spent the night right on the beach to start surfing in the morning. As a warm-up, Hock and Doug managed to ride several fairly large waves. Then they saw a twelve-meter giant.
“The wave was so high that it blocked out the sunlight. I immediately realized that I had to conquer it or die. It was a great stroke of luck that we came across such a big wave almost immediately. Already at home, in New Zealand, looking at the photo, I even think it was the biggest wave I have ever seen, and I have seen many,” Young said.
According to Sam Hock, riding that wave was the most amazing feeling of his life. “You fly at breakneck speed over the reef, and the foam of the wave engulfs you,” he said. According to Hock, that day was special for New Zealand surfing.
The jury of the global surfer ranking Babylon XXL included them in the list of contenders for the “Big Wave” nomination. The first prize is 70 thousand US dollars, which caused extreme approval among New Zealanders.
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