What Does Winning At “The Best Wave On Earth” Make You?
Mikey C and Stace G break down the Fiji data and warm-up footage.
“When it all comes together,” John John Florence said, “I think it’s the best wave in the world.”
Few waves have been so indefatigably glazed by the surfing public as much as Cloudbreak. But, it’s worthy. The 8,919 square-meter underwater reef is a geographic/bathymetric/oceanic miracle where, year-round, storms from the Southern Ocean send swell energy from thousands of feet deep into six feet of water along a tapered underwater point.
The result? A 500-meter+ wave with multiple tube-and-turn sections from The Ledge to Shishkabobs. The only shame is that it took this long for the CT to have Cloudbreak as a tour spot for the foreseeable future.
When asked if Cloudbreak should be on Tour, world champ Caroline Marks put it this way: “I think it’s the best wave in the world,” Caroline Marks confirmed. “So, yeah, I think it should be a mainstay on tour.”
In this weeks The Drop pod, Stab’s Editor-in-Chief and Quiksilver’s team manager, Stace Galbraith, go over what storylines there are to watch for to prep for upcoming CT event, with the waiting period starting in two days (hint, there’s swell). If you haven’t seen these podcast videos before, the fellas tap one videographer to go down and film the CT warm-up sessions. If you’ve got cash (BetOnline) or ego (Fantasy) on the line, this is probably the single best vid you could watch.
Yago Dora & The Goofy Advantage
One of the highlights of the warm-up clips is just how damn good Yago Dora is at Restaurants. If you don’t know, Restaurants — which some surfers claim is funner than Macaronis — is the back-up location for the CT if Cloudbreak’s too big or wobbly. Either way, gonna be a fun week.
The stats tell us that Goofs reign supreme in Fiji, and by quite a margin. Since 2000, 14 CT events have taken place at Cloudbreak. In that time, over 65% of Regular v. Goofy match-ups have been won with the right foot forward.
With defending World Champ Yago sitting in 3rd place behind regular-footer Leo Fioravanti, it’s a good statistical opportunity for Yago to leapfrog. Fellow goofy Italo, however, is sitting in first place. But, if the waves are good, history tells us that Yago will likely have the nod.
Backside Turn Discrimination
One of the other regular-goofy tensions at play here that Stace and Mikey point out is the difficulty in making backside turn surfing stand apart. If the Grateful Dead’s project was having their whole catalog all be “all just one song”, Mikey C argues that backside surfing sometimes blends into being “all just one turn.” Stace disagrees, kind of. Hear the nuanced debate above.
Joao Chianca’s Masterclass
If the waves are solid, there are few Regulars more up-to-the-task than João Chianca. João has long been a favorite of Mikey’s and Stace’s (all of us, really) and the boys note just how much of a stand-out he was in these warm-up clips, practically manhandling 10-foot Cloudy.
Erin Brooks Title Run
Will we see the second instance of back-to-back victories in 2026 (Carissa won New Zealand and El Salvador b2b)? Erin Brooks is fresh off her win at Teahupo’o and has reportedly been winning the warm-up days. Let’s not forget that she’s already won this event (as a wildcard, no less) in 2024. Bad day to pull Erin Brooks in the draw (sorry, Soph).
Good day to throw her in your betting or fantasy roster however.
More insights above.
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