Water Much Thicker Than Blood: Teahupoo CODE RED

So everybody has heard about the North Shore of Hawaii, Waimea and Pipeline. Maybe you've even driven your car there on a family vacation, sat on the beach with thousands of other tourists and videographers and mid-level bros and local Hui and all and watched. Actually that's not right - Da Hui wouldn't be seen on the beach with haoles like yourself, dey have dey own spot cuz. Or dey in da surf.

But anyway, so Waimea's got all the glory. And all things considered it's worthy of that acclaim, a big burly wave that can crush you; Pipeline even more so with its hollow punishment and the reef below. But for the best of the best, these waves have come to be little more than average beach break would be for mere mortals like us. Pipe and Waimea still pack a punch but a mixture of the crowds and the intensity and the general knowledge of the break are almost blase. These monsters have been replaced by other monster wave spots, a lot of which you gotta tow-in to ride. Spots like Maverick's in NorCal with its rocky boneyard below. Or Todos Santos down off Mexico. And of course Jaws in Maui, though that's getting to be more of a scene than the true hardcore want. But don't worried, there exists a wave heavier, bigger, more monstrous, and more challenging than all those other spots. And the fact that anybody who isn't one of the best surfers in the world will most likely die on this wave keeps the crowds down. I'm talking about Teahupoo (pronounced "TCHO-poo") in Tahiti, the heaviest, meanest, most god-awfully gnarly spit in all the world. And our good friends at Billabong were nice enough to film a massive swell that rolled through with quick shots back to the brave and stout bastards who fought the titan. As the clip goes:

"On August 27, 2011, the Billabong Pro Tahiti event on surfing's World Tour was placed on hold due to a massive swell bearing down on the famed big-wave spot, Teahupoo. With forecasts calling for unprecedented surf, some of the greatest surfers in the world descended on the island to be in the water, despite a "Code Red" called by the Tahitian Coast Guard, which sought to keep everyone on shore. See the historic day through the eyes of two surfers -- the young gun Laurie Towner and the veteran Dylan Longbottom -- as they catch some of the biggest, most dangerous surf ever recorded, much of it captured with the super slow motion Phantom Camera for never-before-seen imagery."

Billabong CODE RED movie. Here and below.

 Enjoy. Happy Friday.

- Ryan