Tahiti’s Floating Village: Olympic Surfers' Unique Housing Experience

Olympic surfers in Tahiti are housed on the 126-metre Aranui 5, a freighter-cum-cruise ship, due to accommodation constraints. Enjoying comfortable rooms and ample amenities, surfers like New Zealand's Billy Stairmand find solace away from the main event's Paris buzz, focusing on their sport in a uniquely scenic setting.

Olympic surfers based in Tahiti will miss out on the spectacle of the Games' opening ceremony on Friday, but they might have trumped their Paris-based peers with their accommodation in a freighter-cum-cruise ship serving as a floating athletes' village. With limited accommodation options in the small villages dotted around Tahiti's southern coast, Paris 2024 decided to house most surfers in the unique-looking 126-metre (413-foot) Aranui 5, which is anchored in the lagoon about 10 km (6.2 miles) from the venue of Teahupo'o.

'It's my first time on a cruise ship, so yeah, it's fun,' said New Zealand surfer Billy Stairmand. 'It's awesome. We got nice rooms and it's very comfortable. Got our own little space, we've got a gym, got everything you need so yeah, it's a good vibe on the boat for sure,' Stairmand told Reuters.

On Thursday, Stairmand was bantering with South African surfers Jordy Smith and Matt McGillivray onboard as they watched their Olympic rugby sevens teams do battle in Paris. The ship usually accommodates 230 passengers and charges around $5,700 per person for a 12-day, 11-night cruise in a standard cabin to the Marquesas Islands, taking cargo along with paying passengers. The presidential suite sets you back about $10,000 per person.

On board are 28 athletes from 19 delegations, each in a single room with a double bed - no one got the presidential suite. In a post on Instagram, Peru's Sol Aguirre showcased her room complete with flat screen TV, flower garlands and a view to the jungle-clad mountains over the lagoon from her balcony. Tenders take the surfers between the contest site and the Aranui, which means the great path, and bring in fresh food and other supplies from a nearby village.

'It's a half an hour drive every morning, but I guess that's just what comes with the whole process of it all,' said Stairmand. 'It's cool. I love Tahiti, it's a very powerful place so it's awesome to wake up here and kind of check the coastline every morning and feel refreshed and energised.' Surfers said that while missing the buzz of the Paris village and the opening ceremony and the lack of spectators is a shame, the unique location, perfect waves and chilled local vibes make up for it. 'Obviously it would have been cool to get some spectators. But at the same time we're here for a job you know, we're here to get medals and at times it probably could be distracting,' said Stairmand.

'We're in our little bubble and we're doing everything we can to get those medals.'

(With inputs from agencies.)