You’d be hard pressed to find a more amicable lot of people than those that call the wave-rich island of Tahiti home. Bonjours, and merics are the words of the day and a friendly smile and nod of the head are as common as the perfect peaks out to sea. Needless to say, we could all learn a lot from the Tahitian people.

But perhaps most interestingly, from what I humbly gathered in my two weeks at the Billabong Pro, the Tahitians are not picky about their quiver. As long as it floats (most of the time) they’re out there. Bodyboard, shortboard, taking turns with your friends—they do it all, as long as it keeps them in the surf.

My eyes were opened to this one afternoon as I sat out in the lineup at Teahupoo, my fingernails digging into the fiberglass on my board, adrenaline pumping through my every vein. But low and behold, out paddles a young crop of teenage bodyboarders and surfers who proceed to dominate the peak, pulling into waves in mere inches of water. After a while, the bodyboarders and surfers would switch out their respective crafts and continued ripping. It was a sight to see. It was unfiltered happiness and stoke. Bodyboard or shortboard, they were having the time of their lives and putting on quite the show in the process.

“I don’t really care if I have to bodyboard or surf. They’re both fun,” said one of the groms after deftly slotting himself a half-dozen times.

After watching these kids laugh and push the limits out at Teahupoo for more than two hours, you can’t really argue with them. As long as they’re stoked and dominating, does it really matter if they’re doing it standing up or lying down? Not in their eyes. —Jeff Mull

After more laydays than I can recall, the powers that be at the Billabong Pro Teahupoo decided to run the final. It was about time as the collective nerves among the 45 had been fried to the core. Too many laydays, and not enough surf = an irritable World Tour. But once the event got underway, you could almost feel the sigh of relief among the sleepy Tahitian village.

Game on.

In the final, Bobby Martinez—a past event champ—took on the likes of WA’s Taj Burrow. From the outset, it was clear that there was no stopping Martinez as the lad pulled into screaming barrel after screaming barrel to the tune of 8 and 9-point rides. Although Taj would attempt to claw his way back from comboland, his efforts would be futile and Bobby would take his second Tahitian crown. To boot, Bobby accomplished all of this while surfing on a borrowed board. A testament to his uncanny ability if there ever was one.

“I actually borrowed a board from Alain Riou,” he said immediately following his win. “He rides Darren Handley shapes and the board was the same dimensions and pretty much the same board I ride. It was great to find that yesterday, as I was a bit skeptical about today in terms of the conditions and my equipment, but everything worked out perfectly.”

In the end, the event may have been plagued by meager surf, but two weeks on Tahiti aint so bad. With that, here’s to many more years of Tahitian drama. —Jeff Mull

Check out extended coverage of Tahiti’s meanest wave in an upcoming issue of Freesurf Magazine.