Perfect Chapter is expanding. Photo: PC
The Portuguese barrel-riding event, Perfect Chapter, is going global. Traditionally held in the heavy tubes of Carcavelos Beach in Lisbon, the one-day, one-swell event is expanding its format to an international circuit, adding Mozambique and Indonesia to the tour.
The Portuguese stop on the tour will remain, held between January 12 and March 12 when organizers determine conditions are ripe for barrels at Carcavelos. The Mozambique stop at Praia da Barra will have a waiting period from January 12 to March 30, while the Indonesia stop at Desert Point in Lombok will run from September 1 to 15.
The scoring criteria remain consistent across the tour: only the best barrels will be rewarded.
Organizers have released an early list of invitees, but due to the last-minute nature of the call, there is typically a shuffle of surfers depending on who is available to travel to the event. This year’s invitees include Anne dos Santos, Balaram Stack, Bruno Santos, Joel Parkinson, Noah Beschen, Rob Machado, Soli Bailey, Torrey Meister, Tosh Tudor, João Maria Mendonça, Miguel Blanco, and Nic von Rupp.
The women’s heat will feature Camila Cardoso, Gabriela Dinis, Mafalda Lopes, and Maria Salgado.
The 2025 edition included star power such as Craig Anderson, Parkinson, von Rupp, Beschen, and Victor Bernardo. Portuguese legend Tiago Pires also participated by paddling out for a freesurf session in front of the packed beach of Portuguese surf fans. South Carolinian Cam Richards took the $26,000-check for first place.
With the expansion of this event series, barrel-riding enthusiasts have a lot to look forward to in 2026.
