On its best days, Supertubos is in its own class. It’s arguably Europe’s finest barreling wave – and that might be a hot take. But none of this comes without a price because those barrels are just one characteristic of a (super) fast wave that ends with more thick closeout sections than open shoulders to escape to.
This weekend, however, surfers who showed up to the beach in Peniche were gifted with offshore winds, head-high tubes, and a few more safe exits than you might expect on your average day there.
“Supertubos doesn’t deliver days like this often,” videographer Balint Hambilko admitted after spending about four hours on the sand. “It was one of the best (days) I have seen for a long time.”
By noon, the swell had a solid little bump to it with offshore winds still working to keep things spicy. What had started off as a great morning had bumped up to a classic overhead day at Supertubos.
Highlights from the session build a strong case for remaining the solo European stop on the Championship Tour. While there are many fans around the world who would (justifiably) love to see France added back to the annual itinerary as well, the CT’s strong Portuguese-speaking fanbase, plus Supertubos seeing days like this, are hard to deny. The window for this year’s MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal runs between March 15 and March 25. It will be the third of 11 stops in 2025 before a 12th world tour event, the WSL Finals at Cloudbreak.
For now, though, Peniche locals are going to enjoy an embarrassment of riches. Current forecasts show a good run of waves until the weekend is back in sight, peaking on Thursday at well overhead.
