Inside the killer sport of big wave surfing, where swells can reach 100ft and each wave is life or death
SURFERS are reaching new heights – literally – as surfers are racing to catch the biggest wave in the world and be ready to risk it all.
Some say they found it at Praia do Norte, a beach next to a small Portuguese fishing village called Nazaré, which has become the new “Everest” of the surfing community and boasts waves. assassin.
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In 2007, when American surfer Garrett McNamara received a photo of a giant wave off the coast of Portugal, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
This is where the power of the Atlantic Ocean has been exhausted, the huge waves violently breaking apart and crashing into the cliffs of the village.
Nazaré is an entirely different ride as Europe’s largest underwater canyon almost doubles the size of each wave and sends water rumbling in both directions.
The frenzy of water power means surfers are never sure where or how it will break.
Garrett went to a small fishing village to witness the wave firsthand, where in 2011 he tamed a wave that shocked the world.
Footage of him surfing the world record-breaking 78-foot “Big Mama” has gone viral and Nazaré will take its rightful place as the promised land of the large surfing community.
Guide to surfing terms
Surfing 101
Crating: the curvature of the wave when it breaks, one of the most sought after things when surfing
Break: where the waves crash, the water is white on the head
Engraving: a sharp maneuver on the wavefront
Drop: the first part of the surf, where the surfer enters the wave
Diving duck: dive under the oncoming or oncoming wave with your board
Kook: someone new to surfing, someone who doesn’t know the details
Peak: highest point of breaking wave
pluck: sea water gushing out from the barrel
Tube: like a barrel, the hollow of a wave
delete: falling off the waves while surfing
tuner
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At the start of Bianca Valenti’s big wave surfing career in 2006, she and a friend paddled to an increasingly large wave in Ocean Beach, San Francisco.
“They were perfect waves, no one came out and we couldn’t tell how big they were,” she told The Sun Online.
“We were out in a tidal wave that swept us right out, there was a wave hitting the side of a two-story house in front of me – heavy, square, empty – I never saw any something like that in life.
“I tried to dive, but my board slipped out of my hands, I was spinning, dragging, twisting and I opened my eyes but it was dark around and I didn’t know what was going on.”
As she was sucked in beneath another wave, Bianca didn’t believe she had enough energy left to swim and began to accept that she could die.
The California surfer somehow managed to escape to shore, where she was gasping for air.
As she looked back at the waves that nearly killed her, she thought, “I want to ride those big waves, and I know I can.
“I never looked back,” she said.
However, her friend gave up surfing that day.
dangerous swelling
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For all the heights big surfing has to offer, one death in a tight-knit community could bring that world to pieces.
In January, veteran Brazilian surfer Márcio Freire, known affectionately as “Mad Dog,” tragically passed away at the age of 47 after being swept away by huge waves in Nazaré.
British major surfer Andrew Cotton has been surfing in Nazaré every year since helping Garrett McNamara pioneer the site.
He told The Sun Online: “We don’t consider it a dangerous sport. All major surfers count. They take a lot of safety precautions, they train a lot.
“The ocean is very dangerous,” he added. “Marcio is extremely talented and the waves that engulfed him weren’t too big for him. It was a normal day for him.”
In 2017, Andrew was hit by a wave in Nazaré so hard that he broke his back before being hit by a second big wave.
It took him a year to recover and then he got right back to surfing at Nazaré.
“You often toy with the idea of stepping back, especially after a major injury. But for me, the joy and happiness that surfing brings me certainly outweighs any danger.”
Nazaré, says Garrett, is the most unpredictable place. “When it’s clean and smooth, it’s like cutting butter with a hot knife. You are just having fun and trying your best to get good results.
“But when it shakes, and it often shakes in Nazaré, it’s a matter of survival.”
Riding high
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According to Bianca, preparing to catch a big wave is not an easy challenge. It takes years of experience riding on giants to really understand “when to hold them and when to fold”.
“You have to be 95 per cent confident that you can do it, or you will get seriously injured and die,” she says plainly.
“Once you decide to jump into a wave, you can’t hesitate even a millisecond because that’s when you’re in trouble.
“But the second I commit, everything becomes quiet and the focus is on the wave and the path you’re choosing – there’s a certain beauty to it, it’s like a meditation in motion.”
She is not alone in believing that a calm mind is conducive to a perfect trip.
Dominican major surfer Andres Flores said: “My mind goes blank, I can’t think, if you think you can doubt, and that little doubt can lead to being cleared. book.”
He recently broke the world record for the largest wave by paddling in – it was measured at an estimated 60 ft.
Andres has pushed the boundaries of what is considered safe for paddleboarders – an added advantage in an already dangerous sport and another feat to overcome in an attempt to become a surfer. the best.
Most big surfers opt for the drag surfing method in which the surfer is pulled into the waves holding onto a rope attached to the jet ski.
His purists, however, favor sailing in. There are no jet skis, Andres explains: “Just you and the board sitting in the impact zone.”
But this also means “you run the risk of being swept away by a big wave without a rescue.”
Despite the dangers, the waves seem to have an unending draw for these athletes, with many giving their lives to chase winter waves around the world.
“Big surfing is like a high, like an adrenaline rush and very addictive,” explains Andres.
“The danger is always there, but your body is used to the feeling. It’s like your body is acting on its own.”
His goal is very simple. “Obviously keep chasing the big waves.”
“I always want to be better, I compete with myself because you can’t compete with anyone but the ocean.”
In Nazaré, the search continues to tame that elusive 100 ft wave.
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