hiya wa howa aswat

he Billabong Pro Tahiti presented by Air Tahiti Nui is over but the hits keep coming at Teahupo‘o!
Yesterday, the day after the contest had finished, TransWorld SURF photographer Brian Bielmann had plans for a leisurely swim out at Teahupo‘o, the famed reef pass on the southern tip of Tahiti. “I’d gone out there in hopes of getting some underwater images. The waves weren’t that big but there were a few sneaker sets coming through—like 6 foot set waves every now and then,” said Bielmann. “This 25′ pontoon boat that had been used during the contest as the media center where they did post heat interviews and stuff. For some reason, the driver motored in to drop somebody off in the lineup instead of having the guy make the short paddle to the peak, and as fate would have it, a big west set came through and nearly flipped it over,” he added.

“Me and Surfing magazine photographer Duncan Macfarlane were right behind the boat and I just fired away. I didn’t have time to clean the port and it wasn’t the ideal lens to shoot it, but it was pretty exciting stuff,” said Brian. We’re pretty sure next time this boat driver will have his passenger paddle rather than get escorted into the lineup.