The Best Surfing Moments in Tavarua History

In 1978, American John Ritter was sailing his way around the South Pacific on his own self-made trimaran. And during that journey, he stumbled upon what would become one of surfing’s greatest discoveries – Cloudbreak.

So the story goes, Ritter parked the boat and surfed the wave for three weeks straight…alone. But soon, the word got out. As William Finnegan writes in his Pulitzer Prize-winning tome, Barbarian Days:

“Ritter was soft-spoken, watchful, in his late twenties. He had bushy, sun-whitened hair and granny glasses patched with duct tape. He didn't try to hide his irritation with Lynn. But then he seemed to decide that the jig was up, and he agreed to come have a beer.

“The wave, he told us, was not in the Yasawas. That was a ruse. It was in the Mamanucas, which made way more sense. Actually, it was out on the Malolo barrier reef, which protected the Mamanucas, on the southern edge of the Nadi Waters. The island was called Tavarua. It was roughly five miles off west Viti Levu. The wave wrapped all the way around the west side of the island and broke back into the trades. Ritter drew a rough map on a napkin. It could be fickle, he said. It needed the right swell. He didn't seem to want to say more.”

The rest is history.

Kevin Naughton, SURFER Cover

It was June of 1984. Pioneers of surf travel, Kevin Naughton and Craig Peterson, flew to Fiji from California. And upon motoring out to Cloudbreak with Tavarua Island Resort founder, Dave Clark, just before paddling out, something magical happened.

Peterson captured an image of Naughton jumping off the boat, board in hand, a perfect lefthander peeling in the distance. It was more than just an image. It spoke to the spirit of surfing, of travel, adventure, and of course, that moment when everything aligns, you travel halfway across the globe, and you absolutely score. The image was featured on the cover of SURFER Magazine in 1984, and still remains one of the most iconic issues ever.

“Many years later,” Naughton remembered, “I was back at Tavarua and waiting in the early morning light for the first boat to Cloudbreak. Kelly [Slater] was there too. While we were hanging out, he told me that he was a young grom in Florida when that cover shot of me at Cloudbreak appeared, and his first reaction was something to the effect of: ‘That’s what I want to do. This is what surfing’s all about.’ And to this day I think it still is.”

2012 Volcom Fiji Pro

Rumor has it, on the morning of the big day at the historic 2012 Volcom Fiji Pro, as organizers were setting up in the morning, a bolt of lightning struck Tavarua. Even Kaiborg, the behemoth, was spooked: “My balls almost came out of my mouth, brah,” he said.

It was a chilling omen for what was to come.

The contest ran that morning for just two heats, and then, it was called off. It was just too enormous for the CT surfers to handle. But some of them, in addition to an all-star crew of big-wave hellions, paddled out for one of the most iconic, utterly terrifying sessions ever seen at Cloudbreak. Looking back over a decade later, some of these waves are still hard to comprehend. There were brutal beatdowns, near-drownings, and some of the best and biggest waves ever ridden at the famed lefthand reefbreak…still to this day.

After a particular wipeout, which snapped his board like a toothpick, North Shore heavy Dave Wassel said: “I got annihilated like a drunk girl at prom!”

Owen Wright’s Perfect Heat (x 2)

In 2015, Owen Wright scored not one, but two, perfect heats at Cloudbreak. That’s something nobody had ever done before (at least not twice in the same event), and something that nobody’s ever done since. Just goes to show how good the wave is.

“It didn’t feel like I was competing,” Owen told the blokes over at Ain’t That Swell. “I just felt like there were waves coming in, and I was going to surf them. It didn’t feel like there was anyone else out there. It felt like I was in my own space, my own zone.”

Of course, O-dawg went on to win the event with a performance like that.

“Oh man!” he said after the win, ecstatically. “Something special was happening out there. I was just loving it. I can’t believe it. To finish with a couple 10s, that’s a dream come true right there. I haven’t won a contest for a long time, and man it feels good.”

Kelly Slater

As mentioned before, the GOAT has a love affair with Tavarua. And for good reason. He’s one of the best to ever surf both Cloudbreak and Restaurants, and he has the most wins out there than anyone. Anytime a blob shows up on the models, Slater’s eyeing it.

“Restaurants is about the most perfect wave you’ll find anywhere,” Slater said. “It’s just so flawless and perfect. It has no weirdness. There’s a couple different sections and ledges. Every wave is a little different, but almost the same.”

As for Restaurants’ older brother…

“Cloudbreak is a little bit of everything. It’s one of the only waves in the world that is an absolutely great wave from two foot to as big as waves get. It’s high-performance, it’s huge barrels, it’s moves. It’s really the ultimate wave for surfing.”

And that love affair lives on today for Slater, as even though he’s not in the running for a world title in 2025, he’s still in Fiji, still chasing the Cloudbreak dragon.