For several years now, the Teahupoo Channel has become a zoo, but the scale it has reached in recent swells has crossed borders, to the point that a wave specialist like photographer Tim McKenna says that "a tragedy will happen in Teahupoo in the next big swell or on a holiday."

Although last week's incident at Teahupoo brings the total number of deaths to two in 26 years, thousands of accidents have occurred (jet skis passing over Raimana, boats being swept away by waves, people being thrown from boats).

All unforeseen events that could have ended in tragedy.

Here's what happens: Tourists or photographers pay the boat owner to go see the show. Often, they just watch it, maybe take a selfie or film with their cell phone.

And the captain's "differentiating factor" is getting as close as possible to the wave to get the best shot.

In this game of having several boats driven by an economy heavily reliant on that work, they got too close. So close, in fact, that a month ago, during the last giant swell, Matahi Drollet nearly died when he exited a barrel at 200 kilometers per hour and had to swerve to avoid another boat, passing very close by. The injury would have been serious.

“It’s probably the closest I’ve ever come to ending my surfing career. I had to choose between the boat or the lip. In survival mode, I grabbed the edge and cutbacked to avoid the crash,” Matahi said.

Salter added: “Something needs to be done to improve the way they handle the ships. Sooner or later it’s going to end badly.”

Photographer Tom Servais said: “From the beginning, the speedboat drivers have been getting closer and closer, competing with each other to get to the front, and they’re basically much closer than necessary to get a good photo. It’s very dangerous to have all those boats so close together.”

The only reason it didn't happen during this last set of waves was because they weren't very big—the sea was calm and perfect—and the swell was coming from the south, which was scattering the boats along the channel. There was also a large TV commercial production underway, so at least five boats and some jet skis were working together, or at least trying to respect the filming. It's only a matter of time before a water taxi full of tourists is hit by a wave, or a surfer coming out of the barrel crashes into a boat, a jet ski, a surf shack, or a surfboard. Teahupoo will be in the news again for serious injuries and deaths. As in many places around the world, mass tourism is getting out of control.

But McKenna was more emphatic: “The Teahupoo Monster is a must-see attraction for locals, tourists, influencers, surfers, and cameramen from all over the world. In this ego-driven world, respect, basic hierarchy, and courtesy have long since disappeared. Everyone is trying to capture a viral moment or profit from this huge tourist attraction.”

McKenna said he was on that boat and what happened was that there were three tourist taxis, with less knowledge of the place, cornering him.

“Three water taxis full of tourists cornered us as we approached,” he said. “Luckily, Matahi Drollet’s experience and a last-minute glance at the boats allowed him to change course and save the day. We won’t always be so lucky,” he concluded.

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A post shared by Tim McKenna Ocean Ambassador (@timmckenna)

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