Photography by Gaetan Charlin, Leah Hahn, Anuanua Lucas, and Marcus Paladino. There’s been a lot of adjectives lavished on the amazing left reef outside Tahiti’s Passe Havaé over the past week or two.

On a big day, the left reef at Teahupo’o in Tahiti is one of the world’s most spectacular waves. This uniquely intense surf zone owes much of its freakish form to an equally unique bottom contour, a ...