I have some really close friends in French Polynesia. When our schedules align, I love to take the five hour flight from Honolulu to Papeete on the island of Tahiti. The vibrant blues of the waters in and around this south pacific archipelago are mesmerizing. This year, I flew in on 8-27-11, my birthday. August 27, 2011 will stand solid in Tahitian wave riding history as the day that the Tahitian government issued a "Code Red" alert, prohibiting most watercraft from entering the ocean. red alert - the highest level of alert when an attack by the enemy seems imminent (or more generally a state of alert resulting from imminent danger) alert - condition of heightened watchfulness or preparation for action The Billabong Pro Tahiti, a professional surfing contest, was cancelled due to extremely powerful waves that were churned up from a huge tropical storm system in the South Pacific. Nevertheless, this did not stop a small group of extreme watermen from challenging the waves at arguably the heaviest reef pass in the world......Teahupo'o. August 27, 2011 has been deemed by some experts to be the most intense swell in recorded history. The plane landed in Papeete the evening of the 27th. My tahitian hosts greeted me at the airport and we called it an early night, anticipating the big waves of the following day. After a traditional tahitian breakfast of poisson cru and baguette, we entertained brief negotiations with a rather persistent local pearl dealer, then quickly headed across the island of Tahiti towards the reef pass called Teahupo'o. Teahupo'o translates into "to sever the head" or "place of skulls". This mystic wave plays tricks on the eyes as it bends and refracts along a shallow coral reef that is a mere 20 inches below the water's surface in some places. Teahupo'o is an absolute freak of nature and hydrodynamics. The Code Red swells had dropped overnight to a more manageable 8-12 feet. The following images were shot on August 28, 2011 at Teahupo'o.
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Welcome to the Island Images Photography Blog. Here we showcase a selection of our images from the past twelve years. Click the links on the right side of this page to read and view our company blog posts. Short narrative excerpts give the viewer an idea of what it was like to be in and/or around the water that day..... Categories
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