Meo Pro Portugal 2022 in Peniche
World-class surfing in the Wave Capital
After two times at the Quiksilver Pro in France, it was time for Charlie to head to another world tour competition in Europe: The Meo Pro Portugal was on in Peniche between 3rd and 13th March 2022. Charlie was there from the first day on and she stayed at Supertubos Beach Hostel near the beach where the competition was held.
Opening Day at the Meo Pro Portugal
The first day of the competition in Peniche didn’t start promising: It was raining and hailing in the early morning and the strong winds made it unlikely for the competition to run that day. The first call was at 7.50 in the morning. Looking out the window, Charlie was almost sure that it wouldn’t start that day. She was also kind of hoping for it as the weather did not make her want to leave the house.
She was right, the competition did not start that morning. The next call was scheduled for 10.50 a.m. and was then pushed to 11.50 a.m. By midday, the weather had changed, and the first heat started at 12.00 p.m. Charlie had the backpack ready and walked down to the beach. She arrived as the first heat of the women’s competition was nearly finished. The sun had come out, but it was still very windy. It was a challenge for Charlie to set up the camera.
Women’s Opening Round and Elimination Round
The competition in Peniche started with the women’s competition. The conditions weren’t perfect, but surfable. They got better throughout the day. By the afternoon, the audience saw proper barrels. There weren’t too many people on the beach that day. Charlie was a bit surprised. She was used to bigger crowds during competitions.
Charlie recognized most of the female surfers, but the names on their jerseys did not match. Charlie found out later that all surfers in the competition wore the name of a female athlete that inspired them to celebrate International Women’s Day.
The wind situation did not change all afternoon and there was also a little rain. It was chilly and Charlie was happy to have her winter jacket, gloves and wool hat. She saw another visitor running along the beach because his mask had flown away. It was still Covid-times. There weren’t many restrictions, but masks were still required indoors. He caught his mask just before the wave caught it. He got applause for this stunt.
The surfers came out of the water from time to time to run back along the beach. You could see in their faces how hard it was to run against this wind.
For Supertubos, the waves weren’t the biggest that day, but they were strong. Standing on the beach you could see how difficult to manoeuvre they were.
Opening Round of the Men at the Meo Pro Portugal 2022
The wind and the clouds didn’t make it a very pleasant day on the beach and Charlie felt cold. She left after the opening round of the women. She didn’t expect they’d run more than the elimination round that day. How wrong she was!
Just as she arrived back at the Supertubos Beach Hostel, she heard that they would run the first four heats of the men’s competition too. It had been a 30-minute walk to the place of the competition and Charlie was in no mood to walk back and forth a second time that cold afternoon. She should have. Italo Ferreira put up the most amazing aerial show in heat 4. Even with his lowest scores that day, he would have still won that heat. Charlie was disappointed that she had missed it!
The next call was set for Friday morning 7.20 a.m. Charlie would be up to see the decision.
Day 2 of the Meo Pro Portugal
Already at 7.10 a.m. that morning, there was a decision. Coverage would start at 7.30 at Supertubos in Peniche. The WSL did not say what time the competition started, and Charlie assumed that 7.30 would be for interview and pre-comp reporting. Again, she was wrong!
The bakery next to the hostel opened at 7.30 and Charlie certainly had to get some food for the day. She left a few minutes before, got fresh bread and walked to the beach. It was low tide, and she could walk along the beach to the competition. That was easier said than done as the wind was even stronger than the day before. Charlie made it in just under 30 minutes, but she was sweating. The walk there had been a proper workout and she hadn’t even had breakfast yet.
The first heat of the day had just finished when she arrived, and the surfers were ready for heat number 6 of the opening round of the Meo Pro Portugal. Kanoa Igarashi and Callum Robson would be in that heat.
It took Charlie a few minutes to set the camera up when she heard the countdown and the horn. Was that heat already over? How could it be? It wasn’t over, but they decided to restart the heat since none of the surfers had caught a wave in the first 10 minutes. At least, Charlie hadn’t missed anything this time!
It still took a while for Callum Robson to make an attempt on his first wave. It dumped on him, but he got a big applause for the courage to take a wave while the others were sitting it out. The waves were big that morning, but dumpy. The heat was slow. Kanoa Igarashi and Callum Robson both caught a few waves and proper barrels whilst the local wild card Afonso Antunes did not even catch a single wave.
The surfers for the next heat were ready to go in the water when they were called back to the athlete lounge. Charlie already expected that they would put the competition on hold and that is what happened. It was just before 9 a.m. and the next call was set for 11.50 a.m.
Charlie walked back to the hostel. At least she could now have a proper breakfast there. This time, she had the wind coming from behind and the walk back seemed quite easy compared to earlier.
Opening Round and Elimination Round of the Men at the Meo Pro Portugal 2022
As announced, the competition resumed later that day. By 11.50 the WSL decided to continue at 12.30. This time Charlie had more than 30 minutes to make it to the spot and Luis, the owner of Supertubos Beach Hostel, had offered her a bike to rent. That made things easier, the wind seemed to have gotten stronger though.
Charlie was ready and set up on the beach when the next heat started. Within the first minute, Caio Ibelli caught the first barrel and shortly after, John John Florence demonstrated his skill with a 9-point-ride at Supertubos.
Ethan Ewing too showed an outstanding performance and walked out of the water right in front of Charlie’s camera. Funny enough, he felt that he had to apologize for walking through the picture. Wait a second! Charlie was standing on the beach to get a picture of the surfers and that included him as well. No need to apologize.
Charlie had a quick chat with Ethan’s dad who asked her to take a picture of him walking along the beach. The name on his jersey was “Helen” which was his mother’s name. The proud dad wanted a picture of that.
With the high tide coming in, the waves only got better and bigger throughout the afternoon. The wind dropped a bit, and the sun was out. It was a lovely afternoon, however still chilly. They ran the remaining heats of the opening round and all four heats of the elimination round. The competition was finished for the day by 6 p.m. and Charlie was happy to return to the hostel. She had spent the past hour trying to get herself warm, without much luck.
From Sunrise to Sunset: Day 3 of the Meo Pro Portugal 2022
The next call was on Saturday at 7.20 a.m. Looking at the forecast, Charlie was sure that the competition would run that day and she got up extra early. She was ready to leave at 7 when they announced the start for 7.30 a.m. Charlie cycled down to the beach and saw the sun coming up in between the houses. It was a magical light.
The Meo Pro Portugal 2022 continued with the round of 16 of the women. Charlie arrived a few minutes before the first heat. The sunrise in the morning had been deceiving. Soon enough, thick clouds would make their way to the beach at Supertubos in Peniche. Luckily, Charlie always had the rain equipment in her backpack. It was time to put it all to test. The camera was safe under a rain sleeve and Charlie hid herself in a giant rain poncho. That was all good.
The competition though stopped at low tide and it was still raining. What Charlie hadn’t figured out yet was how to pack it all up without the camera getting wet. She carried it under her rain poncho back to her bike hoping to find a roof to stand beneath or for the rain to stop. She had no luck. She sat down in the sand next to her bike and built a little roof with her rain poncho to pack the equipment up.
When Charlie got back to the hostel, the rain had stopped, and she put everything out to dry. Nadia from the hostel noticed that Charlie hadn’t had breakfast yet and offered her to take a seat in the breakfast room. Charlie was surprised. After all, the time for breakfast was over, but they’re very flexible at Supertubos Beach Hostel. That was lovely and exactly what Charlie needed after standing in the rain. At least, her feet were warm again after cycling back to the hostel.
Men’s round of 32 at the Meo Pro Portugal 2022
Charlie was back on the beach at 2 p.m. to see the men’s round of 32. The first heat started with Italo Ferreira. Even before getting in the water, he was surrounded by people taking pictures of him. That had never happened at the Quiksilver Pro in France before. The audience there was usually very respectful and gave the athletes some room before their heat. They only approached them after the heat. It was different in Peniche and in this case, even the security had to interfere to keep people away from Italo.
He did not provide another aerial show like he had done in the opening round, but it was still quality surfing and fun to watch. He won that heat against Imaikalani de Vault with flying colours. Next up was a brother’s match: Miguel vs. Samuel Pupo. Towards the end of the heat, Miguel took off to the air in a convincing performance. Samuel tried to copy his brother but did not manage to land the aerials as well as Miguel.
In the heat between Filipe Toledo and Owen Wright, the latter needed a replacement surfboard as his had broken. As usual, there were a few kids running towards the shore to catch the pieces. The tail of the board was still connected to Owen’s leg as he walked out of the water to switch boards. One of the boys was running towards Owen in the water. At first Charlie thought that he was going to help, but she was mistaken. He only wanted to be the first to take the tail of the broken surfboard. Once again, the security guards had to intervene.
After losing the heat against Jake Marshall, Leonardo Fioravanti went for a free surf. That was after he made it through the crowd that wanted a few selfies with the pro surfer. Charlie liked it when the pros went for a free surf as this is always a good chance for some great photos without any competition jerseys. Leo was later joined by Caio Ibelli and they had to be called out more than once to not get too close to the competition area.
The day finished with a heat between Kanoa Igarashi and Justin Becret in front of the setting sun. This was Charlie’s reward for making it through the cold and rain.
Day 4 of the Meo Pro Portugal 2022
It was a Sunday morning and the fourth day in a row of the competition. Charlie wasn’t used to that. Other competitions she had been to before always had a few off-days which allowed her to reset and recharge. Since she had gotten to Peniche, she hadn’t even been to the town yet, nor did she do a proper grocery shopping. She had only gotten some bread and butter from the local mini market. The weather at the competition had been challenging too: first the strong winds, then the rain. Charlie felt it. The Sunday morning, she decided to stay in bed, have breakfast at the hostel and get to the competition for the afternoon. She was expecting that there would be a break at low tide again.
She sorted some of the photos in the morning and went for breakfast at 8.30 a.m. They had the competition running on a laptop in the breakfast room and the volunteers at the hostel were totally into it. Charlie enjoyed the company and the conversations about surf competitions as they watched Caio Ibelli taking on Kelly Slater.
During that heat, it also became obvious that there wouldn’t be a break that day and they would go straight into the round of 16. They were running overlapping heats and it all went a bit faster. That meant that Charlie now had to rush to the beach to see the first heat of the round of 16. Miguel Pupo was taking on Italo Ferreira. The heats lasted 40 minutes that morning and Charlie had a realistic chance to still make it to the beach for the end of that heat. She did! She watched the last 5 minutes of the heat from the beach. Heat 2 saw a 9-point ride by Jordy Smith and that was just a peek into what this day had in stock: perfect barrels, perfect rides. Supertubos was what the name promised, super tubes.
Into the Quarterfinals
It was a sunny day, but there was still a cold wind. Charlie was happy to not have left her hat and scarf behind that morning. After the round of 16 of the men, the competition continued with the quarterfinals of the women. One of the most exciting heats of the day was the battle between the former champions Carissa Moore and Tyler Wright. Carissa moved into the semi-finals.
After a slow start against Jordy Smith, Italo Ferreira put up another one of his air shows and literally flew into the semi-finals. Another exciting heat was presented by Kanoa Igarashi and John John Florence – both with high stakes to win the title in Peniche. Kanoa had just moved to the top of the leaderboard for the overall world championship. However, John John delivered more consistency in his surfing that afternoon. The last heat of the day saw Griffin Colapinto delivering the first 10-point-ride of the season. He had taken out the veteran Kelly Slater in the round of 32 and was now moving into the semi-finals after a heat win over Kolohe Andino.
Charlie had left in a rush in the morning and did not bring a sandwich. It was 5.30, she was cold, hungry and needed a restroom. She was happy that the competition was now off for the day. The semi-finals and finals would be held another day. Next call was Monday morning at 6.50 a.m.
Finals Day at the Meo Pro Portugal 2022
After an action-packed Sunday at Supertubos in Peniche, the swell was about to drop off a bit on Monday. The WSL hoped that there’d be a bit of swell left to run the semi-finals and the finals. First call was at 6.50 in the morning, at first light. Charlie wasn’t sure if the competition would run as the forecast was questionable. She was up early and kept on watching the announcements online. By 6.45 she could hear that the commentator was talking over speakers on the beach. That was a strong sign. She got on her bike and cycled to Supertubos. Whilst cycling, she heard the horn. The competition was on!
She arrived about 10 minutes into the first heat of the women’s semi-final. Stephanie Gilmore was competing against Lakey Peterson. Gilmore was in the lead for most of the heat – it was Lakey’s last ride that put her first and into the finals. Next up were Carissa Moore and Tatiana Weston-Webb. Tati was stopped at the shore as the commentator had noticed that they were both wearing a red jersey. Tati was meant to be in black. She returned to the shore a few minutes later in her white jersey. Charlie wondered what might have happened to her black jersey. It didn’t matter that much anyways, as long as they weren’t in the same colour in the water. Carissa started with a strong performance, but Tati caught up and won the heat and her spot in the final.
The sun had risen by now at the beach at Supertubos in Peniche and it was supposed to be a firework in the water when Filipe Toledo and Italo Ferreira were competing for the spot in the final. The Brazilians are known for aerials and they did not let the audience down. Italo started with a strong ride that won him more than 8 points. Filipe followed with more aerials. It seemed as if the pressure kicked in when Italo got up in the air a few times more but did not land them. Filipe did not let the pressure get to him and won the heat.
Griffin Colapinto’s 10-point-ride the day before must have been a boost of confidence that became noticeable in his semi-final against John John Florence. The title would be decided between Colapinto and Toledo. Next up though were the women!
Finals at the Meo Pro Portugal 2022
The first final was decided between Tatiana Weston-Webb and Lakey Peterson. The conditions in the water weren’t great that day and what really mattered was the wave selection. Both surfers did a very good job of reading the ocean and working with the conditions. It was an exciting heat where Tati and Lakey would take turns in the top position. Tati took the title home that day in Peniche.
Filipe Toledo was ready to get in the water when the commentator informed him about a 5-minute break after the women’s final. He stayed on the shore, his board under his arm, and applauded for Tatiana Weston-Webb. There was probably a bit of patriotism involved, but Charlie was impressed. He also cheered her on and welcomed her with a big hug back to the beach. What a heart-warming moment, minutes before he would go in the water to compete in the final.
The final of the men started slow as the sea didn’t bring the best of waves. Once they started though, it was yet another aerial show. Colapinto and Toledo took off to the air one after the other, also taking turns in leading the heat. 20 seconds before the heat was over, it was clear that there was no other wave coming and Toledo knew that he had lost the final against Colapinto. He paddled over to him, gave him a handshake and a hug before they both returned to the shore. Charlie was impressed to see so much sportsmanship in the water. What an athlete!
The first to congratulate Colapinto on the beach was another competitor, Kolohe Andino. Most professional surfers aren’t just competitors, they’re friends and these moments show that part of surfing that is all about community and good vibes.
Charlie had wanted to see the competition in Peniche for years and she finally got the chance in 2022. It was a few stressful days cycling up and down to the competition, long days on the beach in wind, rain and sun. She was exhausted, but also happy to have experienced this stunning show of the best surfers in the world.
