Competitors Try to Stay Out of Harm’s Way

Through three rounds of the Billabong Pro women’s surfing contest at Teahupoo in Tahiti, here are the headlines:

* Keala Kennelly Smashes Against Reef; Dizzy but Victorious.

* Laurina McGrath Punctures Leg, Still Wins Heat.

* Layne Beachley, Surfing With Torn Knee Ligament, Can’t Advance.

The way things are going at the surf spot, considered one of the most dangerous in the world, the Assn. of Surfing Professionals will consider itself fortunate to escape these World Championship Tour events without serious casualties. The competition window for the men’s and women’s contests ends May 17.

Last Sunday, during a tow-surfing exhibition, Tahiti’s Raimana Van Bastoloer was nearly killed when the jet ski that towed him into the wave lost its rider and went over the falls and barely over the head of Van Bastoloer, who ducked under the lip of the wave just in time.

When the waves at Teahupoo (pronounced CHO-PU) are 10 feet or bigger, the only way to safely catch them is to be towed onto their fast-moving shoulders at high speed. The swells push swiftly against a shallow reef, making the waves almost as thick as they are tall.

As they jack up over the reef, they become almost totally round. A surfer who makes the takeoff is rewarded with a short but incredible tube ride that ends in the channel. Those who don’t make the takeoff are at risk of death or serious injury. On Monday, Kennelly became the first woman to tow into a big Teahupoo wave.

“I’ve been thinking about it now for weeks and talking myself into it but you get scared, thinking you’re going to fall and if you make a mistake it’s going to cost you your life,” she said.

During the start of the Billabong Pro on Thursday, the three-time event champion from Hawaii hit the reef during her first-round heat and gashed her head, needing 10 stitches. She said she was dizzy afterward, but advanced through the third round.

McGrath suffered a puncture wound to the thigh after brushing against the reef on her first wave. She made it through two rounds, but lost in the third to another Australian, Chelsea Georgeson.

Beachley, a six-time world champion from Australia, was admittedly not at her best while losing in the third round to Heather Clark.

The waves had dropped to four to six feet for the start of the women’s competition and organizers were waiting for a slight increase before sending the men out.