One of the scariest waves in the world breaks just off the southwest coast of Tahiti near a tiny village called Teahupoo (pronounced Cho-po). This two-story wall of water, often just as thick as it is tall, has battered and broken countless professional surfers and killed at least one of them. When the wave closes out, it looks as though the entire Pacific Ocean is trying to stomp onto the shallow coral reef below. It is terrifying to watch, insane to surf--and Keala Kennelly's favorite spot.
"It's really dangerous. I've almost drowned. But I've won it three times," she says,...
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