Photo: Ryan "Chachi" Craig
On a down day, here in Teahupo’o, Tahiti, pretty much every conversation goes the same way. First, there’s the salutations – hello (for dumb Americans), bonjour (for dumb Americans trying to fit in with the French) or ia or ana (for dumb Americans, butchering the pronunciation, and attempting to gain respect with the local Tahitians).
Then, the conversation switches to the waves. Did you surf today? How’s it looking out there? Get any fun ones? Et cetera, et cetera.
And finally, with the small talk out of the way, the meat of the conversation begins. The question on everyone’s mind – from the surfers, to the media, to the fans, to the Olympic staff – is this: When do you think they’ll run the competition?
Related: Why Are So Many Perfect Waves Going Un-Surfed in the Olympics? (Gallery)
Especially right now. With Finals Day being the closing number of this whole Olympic surfing orchestra, everyone’s keen to know when, exactly, that will happen. There are eight heats left – the men and women Quarters, the Semis, the Bronze medal matchups, then the Gold medal finale – which equates to about five hours of competition.
So, when is the best window?
Let’s consult the folks who have the hardest job down here in Tahiti (except the surfers), the swell forecasting wizards of Surfline:
Related: Olympic Surfing Saw the Best Day Ever; Now What?
Saturday, August 3rd
“With competition already called off for Friday due to small surf, we are now eyeing two swells — one for Saturday afternoon and one for Monday afternoon. The question is: which will give us a finish?
“Saturday’s swell is courtesy of a rather weak fetch and the resulting swell looks to arrive in roughly the four-foot range at around 11 seconds from the SSW. That’s enough to produce surf in the head high zone, but we have some concerns about consistency and the overall quality of the surf. Winds should be OK, but not great.”
Many had speculated that Saturday would be the day. But there’s potential that the Olympic organizers will risk it and wait until the last day of the waiting period, Monday. And that may, actually, be the better option in terms of waves. Surfline continues:
Related: Gallery: This Day Will Go Down in Olympic Surfing History
Monday, August 5th
“We continue to track this swell as it gets closer, and we’ll do our diligence on Saturday to make sure nothing falls through the cracks, but our second swell has more potential. The concern with the Monday swell is timing — we still have roughly five hours or so of heats to run, which means we’d need to start before noon. The timing of the swell might make that call pretty close, so we’ll need to really monitor the storm over the next 24-48 hours. If things fall into place, we should have a nice shot of medium to longer period SSW swell that builds over the afternoon and sets up a nice bookend to a historic event.”
Decisions, decisions. As always, stay tuned to SURFER’s Instagram for the call.
When competition does resume, here’s the matchups to kick off Finals Day:
Photo: ISA
Photo: ISA
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