Teahupoo Surf Club & the Local Kids

Lost at the very end of the road is the little village of Teahupoo: once isolated from the rest of the world, and only known by a few lucky ones, it has now become a new surfing Mecca, attracting hundreds of surfers searching for the barrel & thrill of their lives.

But in this small village entrenched between the beautiful ocean & the majestic mountains, you’ll find much more than just a wave.  An unbelievable quality of life, breath taking surroundings and great people awaiting your arrival, smiling, saying hi, and chatting with you on the side of the road (even though they have never met you before). You’ll also get to know its small but genuine surf community and its surf club, the Teahupoo Surf Club (you didn’t see that one coming, did you?).

Teahupoo Surf Club member Marurai Igrec charging Teahupo'o (yes, he's good)

Run by pro surf photographer, Josh Humbert (featured in Tahiti blog #3), there’s something unique about this club, just as unique as the place where it was created 7 years ago: no contests organized, just the willingness to bring people together, to create a bond between the surfers of the village, to share some good times in and out of the water, and to protect the environment.

Josh has made a point to gather the members of the club (mostly young people, all between 16 and 22 years old) several times a year to clean up their local beach and to pick up tarameas, a.k.a crown of thorns starfish, which are not only harmful for human beings (you don’t want to step on them, their thorns are extremely sharp and venomous), but also for the coral reef ecosystem. The second largest sea star in the world, the crown of thorns starfish is mostly known for preying upon coral polyps, consuming up to 65 square feet of living coral reef per year!! With regard to this worrying fact, their recent outbreaks (which is thought to be linked to the increasing quantity of nitrate in the ocean from industrial farming) has become a serious issue since it can lead to widespread reef destruction over time. However, every predator having a role to play in the ecosystem, the purpose of the club and other Eco-friendly associations is not to eradicate these species altogether, more to regulate their proliferation.

Another goal for Josh would be to make surfing more accessible for the kids of the village: not easy, given the price of a surfboard and the fact that their families mostly live from fishing & farming.

“I would like to find a sponsor or even a semi sponsor, who would help me reach this goal by providing soft tops surfboards for beginner and intermediate surfers. The kids here can’t afford to buy surfboards, and those who get one can’t have it replaced when they break it. It is just too expensive for them. Finding a sponsor would be great, more kids will be able to learn the sport and to get better. There are a few promising surfers here, and it would be awesome to see them reach a competitive level”, says Josh.

And I totally agree with him! How rad would it be to see a local grom winning the trials of the Billabong contest and going all the way to the finals (don’t laugh at me, this will happen, sooner or later)???

Lil' Haumana O'Conell pulling in at the beach break (still in Teahupoo -that's where the kids learn to surf. It's funny 'cause you can see the reefbreak from there and picture the kids charging the reef in a few years)

Even though it is not always easy to run a surf club, especially with so little money, Josh still managed to raise enough money last year to take the kids surfing to a (great) secret spot in the Tuamotu islands, which for some was their first time out of Teahupoo.

Another exciting trip will be organized for the total eclipse next July, with the idea of combining surfing, sailing, navigation lessons and cultural exchange. Want to know more about this project you could be a part of??? All the details will be in my next blog, don’t miss it!!

-Vainui

For more information about the Teahupoo Surf Club, its actions & projects, you can email Josh at teahupoosurfclub@yahoo.fr

Or let Killer Dana know if you wanna donate anything, n’ they’ll ship it out to Tahiti with their donations!