Party at the end of the road – Teahupo’o Tahiti
Roaming around Tahiti we caught wind of a party going on at the end of the road. A legendary village where the surfing elite flock, kings have been crowned and a heavy blue beast lives. It was a lore too good to ignore.
So, we set sail for the sleepy little village of Teahupo’o and as you’ll soon see for yourself…the first morning was brutal.
Clearly, I am not a morning person and need to work on my communication skills.
Floating house maintenance aside, Teahupo’o is a beautiful place to call home. The small passes along the reef make for more than just good surfing. They were great diving locations and the marine life was just the right amount of friendly.
And, true to every island we have visited in French Polynesia…the views are epic!
Billabong Tahiti Pro
Billabong pits the world’s best surfers against the world’s heaviest wave. Sounds exciting, but surfing enthusiast or not, the floating spectators and local legends are worth showing up for.
What’s wild is that it wasn’t until the 60’s that surfers started coming to Tahiti and not until the late 90’s that the name “chopes” started luring in the big wave surfing elite. (Note, the proper pronunciation of Teahupo’o is not “cho poo”, that is the surfer slang we kept hearing and reading. The locals will say something more along the lines of “tea-hoo-poh-oh”.)
There isn’t any land in between Tahiti and the roaring forties, so there is an abundant southerly swell consistently rolling in.
And bringing it back around to sailing…These nicknames, roaring forties, furious fifties and the screaming sixties were coined by the sailors who first entered these latitudes. Something I knew nothing about before sailing.
They refer to the latitudes in the Southern Ocean. Areas that are notorious for insane westerly winds and raging storms. An old salty saying puts it into perspective:
Below 40 degrees south there is no law and below 50 degrees south there is no God.
Waves build to 25 feet and have what is considered “thick lips” which is why they call it the worlds heaviest. While it would be a sight to behold…I don’t think I want my boat anywhere near those behemoths on a day like that!
As you can see from the birds eye view, its solid, unfriendly reef promising nothing but woes for even the slightest mistake.
THANK YOU!
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SAILING REPORT
To see our full map with interactive pins, click here: gonewiththewynns.com/map
- Dates: August 16-21, 2018
- Sailed: 0
- Anchorage: Teahupoo, French Polynesia
RESOURCES & GEAR
CAMERA GEAR
- Sony rx10: https://amzn.to/2QAHxwx
- Underwater Housing / Sony rx100: gonewiththewynns.com/product/productsony-dsc-rx100m-iii-cyber-shot-digital-still-camera
- Go Pro: https://amzn.to/2ALaz3d
- Drone: https://amzn.to/2VQ2pzi
Freediving / Snorkeling Gear
- Nikki
- Freedive Mask With Camera Mount http://amzn.to/2d5C6SB
- Freedive Snorkel: http://amzn.to/2cjh3dV
- Freediving Fins: http://amzn.to/2kIYmlf
Jason
- Atomic Mask: http://amzn.to/2uuqsZf
- Freediving Snorkel: http://amzn.to/2uxCjEb
- Freediving Fins: http://amzn.to/2kIhljK
AWESOME tunes for vids: http://bit.ly/artlist-gwtw
- Artists Used In This Video: Giants and Pilgrams, Adi Levi, Marc Robillard, Rex Banner, Be Still The Earth
Barry
Watched you boat shopping and we are binge eating your vids to catch up.
Nicely done, beautiful boat. Stay safe. We will catch up to see current vids.
Danny Thompson
I love your snorkeling videos, don’t you love Christmas tree Worms?
Tess Matthews
Hi – Thank you for all the beautiful and informative content through the years. My husband and I are in the middle of renovating our 2011 Monaco Vesta, planning to take off in early October for an adventure through the US. I have enjoyed and appreciated Jason’s periodic camera gear videos and because of the information he has shared I became interested in the Sony A7iii camera. However, I notice that you all primarily use the Sony RX10 and RX100 now (or at least that’s what you list on your posts). Do you think the RX10 is an all-around better option for travel photos/videos? I appreciate any guidance/thoughts you are willing to share.
Tammy
Thank you once again for sharing your adventures will all of us. You guys are awesome and we enjoy your videos so much. Safe travels!
Yvan Dion
I loved the drone images of the various reefs… Thanks for sharing.
Michael Magill
Another amazing video with lots of still pictures. These wee to me thevbest pictures . This would be my Paradise, one day its a parking lot of boats and people, the next its deserted, with onl a few locals left. I have followed you for a year plus and your videos just get better and better. Makes me sit and day dream what it would be like to be there in person. Thanks to both of you for letting me ride along with you. You never seem to mind . Safe seas and safe travel to you both. Thanks to you both , its been a blast so far!!
Nikki Wynn
We’re always happy to have the company, so thanks for joining us. 😉 The yin and yang of the big event and the calm after are what made the trip for sure.
Venice Scherer
what kind of fish was that?
Nikki Wynn
Hmmm, which one? There were so many different fish.
Roger B
I always love your drone videos. Too bad you can’t fly it submerged when you’re snorkeling. Such clear water and colorful sea life.
Nikki Wynn
There are some underwater drones hitting the market but the quality and function just isn’t there yet. More than anything we would love to upgrade our underwater camera. However, good under water gear is super expensive…so it may be a long while. Until then, our little sony and go pro still let us share the experience.
Roger B
And such a great experience for all of us.
Mark Aaron luttrell
Great videos, pictures are fantastic,have fun be safe live the dream.
Jo
So nice to see the beauty of the world through the eyes of a lovely couple – you’re beautiful souls inside and out.
Nikki Wynn
Awe…thanks Jo! 🤗
Pam McClure
Just stunning.
Laurence Phillips
[Singa] You will NOT photograph mere water when I’m standing right here!
Craig Smith
Tahiti looks absolutely incredible, but….it seems like you’ve been there forever. When are you off sailing to a new destination, some incredible island, a beautiful new reef to dive on or just simply another long sail. You guys are definitely our favorite sailing couple and we’re curious what’s on your mind for your next great sailing adventure…..
Craig and Lisa
Nikki Wynn
What do you deem as forever? Don’t be so quick to rush the adventure, it took a lot of work get here. We had been bouncing back and fourth between Moorea and Tahiti for the last month as we were waiting on visitors (Jason’s mom and a Patron Meetup). It would be a shame to rush through and not take time to enjoy and soak it in. And to be completely honest…we spend a ton of time (40-60 hours a week) sitting behind computers editing, writing, planning, boat maintenance and so on. Not to mention wifi is a luxury in this part of the world and is much slower but works reasonably well between Tahiti and Moorea. We will have little to no internet at some of our upcoming destinations. So, we have been working like mad dogs to prepare for our next leg…which is the remainder of the Society Islands and the Tuamotus. Then, we’re off to Samoa, Fiji and Tonga.
John Schretlen
That looked like fun. Great video/editing on this post.
Looking forward to you catching up so we are only a month behind.
John Schretlen
Looks like fun. Great video/editing on this post.