Teahupoo: Final Day

After more laydays than I can recall, the powers that be at the Billabong Pro Teahupoo decided to run the final. It was about time as the collective nerves among the 45 had been fried to the core. Too many laydays, and not enough surf = an irritable World Tour. But once the event got underway, you could almost feel the sigh of relief among the sleepy Tahitian village.

Game on.

In the final, Bobby Martinez—a past event champ—took on the likes of WA’s Taj Burrow. From the outset, it was clear that there was no stopping Martinez as the lad pulled into screaming barrel after screaming barrel to the tune of 8 and 9-point rides. Although Taj would attempt to claw his way back from comboland, his efforts would be futile and Bobby would take his second Tahitian crown. To boot, Bobby accomplished all of this while surfing on a borrowed board. A testament to his uncanny ability if there ever was one.

“I actually borrowed a board from Alain Riou,” he said immediately following his win. “He rides Darren Handley shapes and the board was the same dimensions and pretty much the same board I ride. It was great to find that yesterday, as I was a bit skeptical about today in terms of the conditions and my equipment, but everything worked out perfectly.”

In the end, the event may have been plagued by meager surf, but two weeks on Tahiti aint so bad. With that, here’s to many more years of Tahitian drama. —Jeff Mull

Check out extended coverage of Tahiti’s meanest wave in an upcoming issue of Freesurf Magazine.