“Teahupoo is the heaviest wave on the planet…stay on the boat.”
The Australian surf photographer Byron Mcloughlin is lucky as hell he was surrounded by some of the best watermen in the game three days back when he was found floating face-down during a heavy eight-foot Teahupoo swell.
Nineeten-year-old Mclouhglin, who was shooting the action from an inflatable bodyboard, had been sucked over the falls on an earlier set and had ended up in the lagoon.
The former tour surfer Michel Bourez went in to pick him up and brought him back to the channel.
Mcloughlin went back into the lineup to shoot and thirty minutes later was found face down by Santa Cruz photographer Ryan Craig and local bodyboarder Angelo Fararie during a lull.
When Mcloughlin was flipped over his lips were blue and he was foaming at the mouth.
Writing from his hospital bed in Papeete, Mcloughlin has thanked all those involved in his rescue and warned others to maybe not take shooting from the water at Teahupoo lightly.
“I also owe my life to the real hero’s who kept me alive in the marine at Teahupoo, @david.ariimoana @clement_roseyro @tikanuismith @bourezmichel @taxiboatcocoteahupoo @angelofaraire I wouldn’t be sitting here writing this if it weren’t for your courage bravery and knowledge when shit gets real…Teahupoo is seriously no joke and without a doubt the heaviest wave on the planet. Safety first is a must and stay on the boats when you can.”
In a post one day earlier, and prophetic as anything as it turns out, Tahitian surfer-diver Tehutu Wong fired a broadside to anyone who thought they might wanna tackle mean ol’ Teahupoo.
“Cameraman don’t forget for your safety to pay a drive and stay on the boats!! Only locals filming from the water!!”
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Browne, Greenough, Merkel, Cavataio, King, Bilderback, Gilley, Frank, Struntz…………..
Help me name the others who loved the ocean so much they swam like human-fish to record the beauty
And to make some golden coins
And to see their name in print
And to show they were an ocean bad-ass
Flame (Larry Moore)
Rookie mistake.
Yeah…wtf is that?
Greenough would go!
Wow, just what the world needs.
Belated heavy water advice from a dweeby little boy who shouldn’t have been there in the first place, especially considering it’s not the first time he’s put others at risk through his stupidity and lack of physical skill and knowledge.
Please dont call him a ‘surf photographer’, that is an insult to the men who are.
Stand him beside Dan Merkel (at any age) and see what I mean.
He shouldn’t try this shit again and hope to be saved.
A fuckin’ lemon if ever there was…
The guys that saved him have the right to admonish him. I’m not sure you do.
Look at this photograph
Every time I do, it makes me laugh
How did our eyes get so red?
And what the hell is on Joey’s head?
his head plus helmet look as heavy as camera – balance issues??
What gets me about this story is that he stayed in the water trying to shoot after getting worked over the reef and picked up by the Spartan. No fins, doesn’t understand how you can drown slow if you get too much water in your lungs… Just heads back out and endangers himself and others by stacking stupidity upon his prior stupidity
1st comment perusal recommended
Depends on which helmet your wearing.
Wild story!
For those not au fait with the language of love, ol Michel goes to buy a drink in a bar wearing his Red Bull hat and is accused of being a spy for the brand ’cause he’s at a bar that only sells Monster. He leaves club, is abducted at gun point and thrown into a car, flees car at traffic lights, escapes kidnappers by jumping fence, they follow but are attacked by dogs.
Could a Red Bull spy
Wear a Red Bull cap and think
They’re under cover?
He’d think he had wings…
If you done enough cocaine and monster it is surely probable!
Xox
Je ne sais quoi?!?!
Xox
Speaking of wild stories, you got any books in the works?
Seems it’s been awhile since either you or Chas have teased upcoming book releases.
Vaguely! Re-tell story!
how long until you have to hire a “guide” to carch waves there?
50 cowrie shells were offered for his release!
Xox
Glad he’s okay….and learned valuable lesson.
Seems like a nice kid. But, dang, close call.
agreed.
but we were all young and did stuff that taught us the valuable lessons that helped us stay alive.
heart warming to hear he is well. thanks for the update.
The only thing I got from that was stupid. Great to thank the people that helped him but should have apologised for being a moron and putting everyone at risk. Then staying stay out of the water if you can. This is where you need some locals to ban him completely until he actually has some skills in the water.
I’d say the fella’s hospital bill is going to have a fair few 0.00s on the end of it
Sounds like buddy here needs a surf photographer coach. Someone to yell from the channel where to be and not to be.
I heard whistling Ricky Toldeo is available.
Def available. But, Ricky T might be above old mates pay scale— he ain’t Art Brewer.
What would be the equivalent to training* with a surfskate?
Darwin Award type shit
pinned 😂