WEsail · video

What this video covers

Erica and Warren spend two days exploring Tahiti by car during the Heiva festival, a 140-year-old Polynesian cultural celebration. The largest swell in 17 years — forecast to reach 5 meters, producing roughly 10-meter waves at certain breaks — strikes the island while their boat sits safely in the marina.2:29 They drive to the Teipu surf break, where authorities evacuate the area and at least 10 shoreside homes flood before the surge peaks.4:08 Drone footage is captured before police clear the zone.5:10 Once the swell subsides, they leave the marina and anchor out, describing the relief as immediate.17:30 The Heiva events they attend include fruit foot races, where competitors carry banana stocks weighing 40 to 50 pounds; spear throwing, in which teams hurl bamboo or wood spears tipped with metal points at a coconut mounted on a tall stand, scored by hits and proximity; coconut husking, a race to break, clean, and bag a large pile of coconuts; and palm tree climbing, using only hands, feet, and an optional loop of hemp twine.9:40 Being in the marina rather than at anchor when the record swell arrived prevented what would have been a dangerous situation for the boat.2:39

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