Biggest Wave Ever Surfed

Filmed by Chris Bryan.
All images where shot by Chris Bryan using the Phantom HD Gold camera. To see more of Chris’ work check out his website. WWW.CHRISBRYANFILMS.COM

This day at Teahupoo- Aug 27th 2011 during the Billabong Pro waiting period is what many are calling the biggest and gnarliest Teahupoo ever ridden. Chris Bryan was fortunate enough to be there working for Billabong on a day that will go down in the history of big wave surfing. The French Navy labeled this day a double code red prohibiting and threatening to arrest anyone that entered the water.
Kelly Slater described the day by saying “witnessing this was a draining feeling being terrified for other people’s lives all day long, it’s life or death. Letting go of that rope one time can change your life and not many people will ever experience that in their life.”
Regarded as one of the most challenging surf breaks in the world, Teahupoo is located on the southwest tip of Tahiti—the main island of the French Polynesian archipelago. The top-heavy left breaks a half-mile out to sea and mere feet over a living, razor-sharp coral reef.
What makes Teahupoo unique is the top-heavy nature of the wave—during a big swell, it looks like the ocean is folding over itself rather than a normal wave. Teahupoo, or Kumbaya as it has been called in the past, has claimed the life one surfer, Tahitian Briece Taerea, who attempted to duck-dive a monster 12-footer only to be sucked back over the falls and onto the reef below. Dubbed “The Heaviest Wave In The World,” Teahupoo lives up to its moniker every time a large southwest swell slams in to Tahiti. Another scary fact: Translated into English, Teahupoo means something along the lines of “to sever the head,” which harks back to the area’s tribal battles that occurred hundreds of years ago.

Science of Teahupoo

What’s the most intense surfing session you’ve ever had? Overhead? Double overhead? Hurricane swell? Storm rolled in and the conditions get incredibly bumpy, making it an adventure to paddle in? During this intense session, did you wipe out at all? While it felt like you were underwater for an entire minute, was it just 10 or 20 seconds? Was the water 20 feet deep?
Waimea, Shipstern Bluff, Dungeons, Cyclops, Ours, New Smyrna.
This is the perfect wave. The perfect wave. Perfect wave.
This is the biggest wave ever ridden in teahupo’o.