When the first edition of Capítulo Perfeito’s expansion took place at Desert Point, Indonesia, in September, there was €10,000 waiting for the winner. By the end of the day, though, nobody was going home with the entire prize.
Rui Costa, the Portuguese founder of the event that focuses heavily on tube riding, had watched the surfers spend the day together in the water, sharing an experience that, by their own accounts, was worth more than the result. That night, he approached Makana Pang, the Hawaiian who had won the event, with an idea: what if they shared the money among everyone who had surfed?
There was one condition. The decision was ultimately Makana’s to make. The prize money had been agreed upon beforehand, and if the winner didn’t want to change that arrangement, nothing would happen. Makana didn’t hesitate.
“He told me the biggest prize he’d had that day was spending the whole day surfing Desert Point with his friends,” Costa told The Inertia. “Whatever I decided was fine with him.”
They split the money.
It’s a small story, but perhaps a good way to understand what Costa is trying to protect as Capítulo Perfeito moves beyond Portugal. “Capítulo Perfeito” translates to “Perfect Chapter,” and Costa is determined that the event lives up to its name.
The event has built its reputation around finding the right wave and waiting for the right day. It brings together some of the world’s best tube riders and gives them a day to surf without worrying too much about anything else aside from getting as barreled as possible. Now, after more than a decade of success, it’s starting to travel.
The first international stop was Desert Point. Mozambique is next on the list. Costa has bigger ambitions, but he’s also very clear about what he doesn’t want The Perfect Chapter to become.
“No, no, no,” he said. “A conventional tour is completely out of the question.”
He prefers to call the expansion a mini-circuit, although even that needs some explaining. The idea for 2026 was to connect three events: the original Portuguese edition and two international stops. The four finalists in Portugal would then be invited to compete in the other two events, alongside local and international wildcards. There would be no overall ranking or points race. Each stop would have its own identity, its own wave, and its own culture.
“Each event is an experience. It’s not a championship,” Costa said. “Internally, we don’t even use the words ‘athletes’ or ‘championship.’ They’re just surfers coming together for an event. I like to say it’s a gathering of tube riders. We’re looking for the best tube rider on that particular day. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s the best surfer.”
It’s an approach Costa has stuck to for years, even when it has come at a cost.
Knowing When to Wait
One of the clearest examples came in 2015, when Capítulo Perfeito was opening its doors to international surfers for the first time.
That year, Brazilian surfer Ricardo dos Santos was invited to compete. He tragically passed away before the event, a loss that hit Costa particularly hard. Bruno Santos eventually took his place, joining the likes of Pedro Scooby and Cory Lopez in the first edition to feature an international field.
The competition itself also became a turning point. The event had already started when the wind suddenly stopped. The waves were still good, but there weren’t enough tubes. For many competitions, the conditions might have been considered excellent. But for Capítulo Perfeito, they simply weren’t good enough.
The surfers began discussing whether they should continue. Some felt the waves were more than acceptable; others wanted to wait. In the end, they decided to postpone.
It was the only time in the event’s history that Costa had to stop a competition after it had begun. It also meant taking a financial hit.
“I remember a friend telling me, ‘This is your business. The waves are good. You have to run it. You’re going to lose money otherwise,'” Costa recalled.
He understood the argument. But the event was still establishing its reputation internationally, and he felt the decision would say something about what Capítulo Perfeito stood for.
“Financially, it wasn’t a good decision,” Costa said. “But I think it was an important moment. We had just opened the event to international surfers, and it was important to me that the international media and the public understood what we were trying to do. I think we earned a lot of respect that day, and the brand became stronger.”
Moving Beyond Portugal
Desert Point was a natural place to start. Costa has travelled to Indonesia almost every year since the country reopened its borders to Portuguese visitors, and he sees it as one of the best places in the world for tube riding. But choosing a location also comes with a responsibility, and Costa is careful about the waves he puts on the map.
“Desert Point isn’t a secret,” he explained. “That’s important to us. The idea is never to expose some of the secret spots that still exist. I know a few, and I would never consider bringing an event like this to them.”
Mozambique, meanwhile, has a more personal connection. Costa was born there and lived in the country until he was five. But the plan goes beyond finding another great wave. Costa hopes the event can help develop a surf economy in the area.
“There are kids starting out, people trying to find boards, people who don’t have much,” he said. “We believe an event like this can help the area grow and create a surf economy. It’s a place with incredible waves, and it’s a wave Jordy Smith really loves. He goes there often.”
Taking Capítulo Perfeito to different countries also means giving each event its own identity. The wave, the people and the local culture should all help shape the experience, rather than simply reproducing what happens in Portugal.
The Cost of Waiting
The biggest challenge in taking the event overseas is getting the forecast right.
“The biggest headache is the forecast. Without a good forecast, we don’t have an event, and no surfer is going to want to come,” Costa said.
The organizers now work with a five-day pre-alert, followed by a final call 72 hours before the competition. Once that call is made, everything has to fall into place: flights, accommodation, infrastructure, the surfers, and even the commentators.
“It’s a huge team effort because we don’t have a big operation in Portugal. Nothing is really planned in advance. You have Plan A, B, and C for everything. Everything can change,” Costa said.
Then there’s the money. Costa describes the international expansion as an all-in move, built on years of reinvesting in the event rather than taking money out of it.
“When people say, ‘You must be making a lot of money,’ that’s not really the case,” he said. “We’ve always reinvested in the event. There’s always been a portion of the money that goes back into the project. We believed that if we could show what this platform was capable of, we’d attract brands willing to invest and help make it happen.”
That strategy has become even more important as the traditional surfwear industry goes through a difficult period. Capítulo Perfeito has increasingly looked beyond surf brands for sponsorship, while putting more value on its content, broadcasts and media rights. Institutional support in Portugal has also played a role in helping cover the costs.
The Next Chapter
For now, Costa isn’t interested in turning Capítulo Perfeito into a conventional tour. Desert Point has shown that the concept can work outside Portugal, while Mozambique could give the project a different kind of purpose. But each event will have to stand on its own, with its own wave and identity.
Meanwhile, the original event in Carcavelos is still waiting for its day. After the conditions failed to line up during the first part of the year, the waiting period reopened on November 1 and runs through December 15. The idea remains the same: get the right swell, make the call, and bring everyone together for one day filled with some of the best tubes, and best tube riders, in the world.
