Fiji's Cloudbreak hosted the World Surf League Finals, crowning Yago Dora and Molly Picklum as champions. Photo / Ed Sloane
Fiji’s famous Cloudbreak was the stage for this year’s World Surf League Finals, where huge swells and passionate crowds delivered drama, delight and two new world champions, writes Grant Bradley.
The ferocious storm that triggered an orange wind warning to farewell winter in New Zealand put the world’s best surfers on yellow alert thousands of kilometres away, in Fiji.
Ten World Surf League (WSL) finalists competing for the ultimate prize in surfing were waiting for the swell that first formed near the Antarctic and roared up the Tasman and into the Pacific.
On day six of the waiting period, it was green for go. The swell had hit Cloudbreak, one of the best waves in the world.
The name Cloudbreak comes from the local description “Nakuru Kuru Malagi”, meaning “thundercloud reef”, and it can be ferocious.
While the take-off point is in metres-deep water, rides of 200m or more can end up on the reef in water only 15cm deep at a section ominously known as Shish Kabobs.
“Nine times out of 10 you’re going to leave some meat on coral for the fish to eat,’’ says pro surfer and WSL commentator Strider Wasilewski.
“There’s always a little pain that comes with the glory.”
The sponge coral is not so bad, the staghorn coral is good to miss and there are also sea urchins and venomous stone fish.
The wave gets endorsement from Kelly Slater, the Greatest Of All Time with 11 world titles. The GOAT has described Fiji as his second home, rates the wave among his favourites, and was in residence on Tavarua Island during the WSL final with his wife and young son but for the most part kept a low profile.
The direction of the swell that hit in early September didn’t quite play ball to produce the Cloudbreak classics; the hollow waves where surfers get deep barrels, but they were still well overhead high and built to about 2.5m as the day went on.
They were expansive canvases for the top five women and men to perform in one of what has to be one of the largest and most spectacular playing fields on the planet.
It’s a short boat ride away from one of Fiji’s top resort hotels, the Marriott Resort Momi Bay, where you can arrange to be taken out by several surf operators, or, as I did on the day of the finals, enjoy the comforts of a luxury catamaran operated by the resort.
You motor out to a channel next to the break where you’re surrounded by more than 100 craft ranging from superyachts to surfboards. There are flags, horns and their surfer and raucous joy from Brazilian and Australian fans when Yago Dora and Molly Picklum won their maiden world titles. Throughout the event, the spectator fleet and, more importantly, the surfers, are kept updated by a loudspeaker booming across the water on the state of scoring and how much time is left in the 35-minute heat.
Just as waves and takeoff spots shift, so do boats and you bob around with a constantly changing view of the action and your fellow spectators.
You’re a safe distance from where the waves are breaking, making binoculars or a decent camera a good idea, but no matter what, you certainly get a good sense of who’s scored a good wave and feel as if you’re part of the action.
It was a perfect day, with the air temperature a few degrees warmer than the 26C water temp.
Watching the event was a bucket list sports watch for Marriott guests Frank Lozada and his wife, Yenny, who timed their holiday from Florida and a celebration of their 23rd wedding anniversary around the WSL final. Frank Lozado was a superfan of Olympic champion Caroline Marks, who worked her way through the field on finals day to the ultimate showdown with Picklum, which ended up being the best of three 35-minute matchups as the swell built. It was gladiatorial, with the top-seeded Picklum claiming the prize.
James Berdahl, a retired Department of Defence staffer from Washington DC, knew little about surfing but was on board because he was curious.
“I don’t know how the scoring works but being out here in the middle of the ocean and watching the power of nature is incredible,” he says.
For 50-something Melbourne surfer Andrew Giles and his wife Nicky, the timing of their Fiji resort holiday was serendipitous, and they said watching the final was an experience that they had ticked off the bucket list.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Picklum says the crowd support is crucial and she was encouraged by chants of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” from the channel.
“Every location’s different for the crowd factor and how much they play a role, but here you can definitely hear them,” she told the Herald on the exclusive surf retreat on Tavarua Island the day after winning the crown.
Slater and other top surfers and their friends, including actor Chris Hemsworth, who surfs himself, were on this island paradise too, enjoying lunch and a relaxed day of reflection at the end of a long season.
Picklum says Fiji’s proximity to Australia was helpful; it meant the support crowd was larger than normal.
“It was noisy, I was pretty proud. That crowd support really means something.”
Of Cloudbreak, she says the wave could also be fun and playful, depending on the tide.
“I’m sure if it was low it would be sharp – this reef is sharper than anywhere else in the world, that part’s scary.”
She’s got the steely determination of an athlete at the top of one of the world’s toughest sports.
“It will teach you all the things outside your comfort zone – you’ve got to play with the reef a bit to get a good wave.”
Being at the whim of waitui (the ocean) means surfers and spectators have to be flexible and thanks to the helpful staff at Fiji Airways, I, and many others, could extend our stay to wait for the waves to hit. The Marriott, already enjoying Fiji’s tourism boom, was booked to capacity with WSL reps, the finalists’ families, sponsors, competitors’ families and more surf tourists than normal. Guests can fairly easily tell how much swell there is from the hotel by the amount of white water on the horizon.
While the surfers stay out at Tavarua, the presence of the WSL is everywhere to be seen at the Marriott, which hosts the opening ceremony and prize giving, where you can get up close to the world’s best surfers. It’s not quite a surf camp, but the relaxed five-star property has an even more chilled vibe when the WSL is in town, with plenty of surf tourists walking around with boards.
Hotel manager Silvana Dressino says there’s been a surge in surf tourism among Marriott’s key market, older and wealthier “silver surfers” and their partners. The mainland location and range of activities means that if not both partners surf, the other one has plenty to do.
The WSL format is changing next year, meaning there’s no final of the 10 best, but the title is decided during the year. Fiji has been locked into the circuit until 2029, meaning it will be coming back to Cloudbreak. It’s scheduled for August 25 to September 4, with the full roster of 36 men and 24 women surfers.
Staying there
The Marriott Resort Momi Bay is a luxury jump-off point for Cloudbreak. Rooms range from about $750 to $3000 a night during high season. marriott.com
The event
The World Surf League Finals Fiji. worldsurfleague.com
Getting there
Fiji Airways flies from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. fijiairways.com
The writer travelled courtesy of Fiji Marriott Resort Momi Bay.