Teahupo’o Chaos: Three Surfers, One Massive Wave (Video)

On certain waves – usually of the XXL variety – there’s room for more than one surfer. It’s often seen at spots like Jaws or Nazaré, where two surfers will be towed into the same wave, s-turning their way across the liquid peak, like snowboarders on a mountain.

Then, there’s the hollow wave version of this. Maybe not as big in height, but wide in the tube. Waves like Teahupo’o in Tahiti. So, during a recent run of healthy swell at the End of the Road, a few surfers attempted to share the barrel, in hopes of getting some epic, inside the vortex imagery. But one attempt didn’t go according to plan…

Check out the clip below, featuring Noah Beschen and Matahi Drollet doing some tandem tube riding, when another surfer decides to join the party.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/S2rdeLrm2n0

James Ferrell, surf lensman, captured the footage. And we called him up to hear about the day, the swell, and what led to the carnage.

It was on the September 3rd swell, Ferrell explained. A glassy day, heaps of locals in the water, and the swell teetering between the tow threshold and paddle maximum. On this wave, in particular, Matahi was towing behind Noah, attempting to get a crazy shot from inside the tube.

“Matahi was on the back, and they were both getting towed in via the same ski,” Ferrell explained. “They were trying to nail a couple crazy angles. They had done a couple before then. Overall, during that day, they probably did about five or six double waves.”

Ferrell added: "On this wave, specifically, they got whipped in, they were both going down the face, and Noah and Matahi were getting a little too close. They kind of collided. But as that was happening, Felix Patura – a local charger – had his head down, and he was going. But as he started to drop in, he looks to his right, and sees them coming his way.”

No fault to Felix, however, as a wave like Chopes requires full commitment.

“He was just so focused,” Ferrell said. “Only at the last second, he realized they were on the wave. So, he kind of half backed out, while he was on the face of the wave. He went down almost over them. He barely missed them.”

Luckily, the trio was all good, and they laughed it off in the channel.

“Everyone popped up safe,” Ferrell said. “Nobody got injured. But it was one of those moments…like, dang, three people on a massive Chopes wave.”

Still, pretty crazy.