Was that really 100 foot? © Tó Mané

Big Wave Updates

Garrett McNamara: 100ft Nazaré photos and Video

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 30 January, 2013 : - - It is believed Garrett McNamara may have again broken the Guinness World Record for the biggest wave ever surfed. Authorities are waiting for an impartial analysis on the wave-height.

The mayor of Nazare has advised the photographer has sent the photo to XXL experts to confirm the size of the 28th January ride by Garrett, photographed by Tó Mané, and caught  on video by Tobias Ilsanker.

It is believed that the wave surfed Monday is higher than the one of 2011, but to avoid any controversy judges/surfers who certify the XXL Awards wave-heights have been requested to confirm the size of the wave.

Main stream media have grabbed this story and not all reports are accurate. Garrett says today, "believe none of what you hear and half of what you see."

So, is 'this' the 100 foot wave? 

                                            Is this the 100 foot wave? © Tó Mané I zoom

Garrett raced from Hawaii as a massive north-west swell hit the reef at Praia do Norte with perfect south-east wind conditions. MCnamara hit the water with Kealii Mamala, and Kamaki Worthington and Hugo Vau, as their support team on the jet ski.

Kealii Mamala and Garrett McNamara previously adventure surfed waves generated by falling glacier blocks in Alaska in a spectacular trip some time back.

Press outlets are calling the wave at around 100ft. If the claims are verified it will mean that McNamara has beaten his previous record, which was also set at Nazaré.

 

Garrett McNamara said after the session:

"I feel very blessed and I feel that we've achieved everything we wanted to do with Portugal and Nazaré, especially. We've been planning this for a while and it feels really amazing to share with everybody".

"Personally, it was very challenging. You just have to stay in the moment, stay focused on what you're doing. We're really comfortable here, but some of those waves... We were surfing in zones we haven't surfed, so it was a little overwhelming. If we didn't have Kealii and Kamaki, we could easily ended up on the rocks. In one wave, I almost got sucked over".

"If I got sucked over to the rocks... It's preparation and safety. Without it, we could have ended up on the rocks and, if that happened, I wouldn't say we made it home". 

"I think I only surfed two or three waves on the 28th. I got bucked off a huge one, there was just so much chop, huge moguls"

The XXL Awards judging panel verifyijng wave size comprises experienced big-wave legends, leading surf forecasters, and experienced photographers, all of whom examine all the evidence that exists for each ride to pinpoint a measurement.

"The hard part isn't locating the top of the wave," says Bill Sharp, director of the XXL Awards. "It's finding the bottom of it, because that's the point where you start measuring from. The challenge is photos and video can both be deceiving depending on the angle of the shot, the size of the lens used, and even stuff like mist and water color."

The latest example is McNamara's wave from Monday, it looks incredibly massive, bigger than his 2011 ride. But will it hold up under scrutiny? "It's hard to say," says Sharp. "We should be seeing video of it in the next day or so, and that will be a lot more revealing because it allows us to see where and when the surfer reaches the bottom."

Check out Zon North Canyon

Video: Tobias Ilsanker

Photos: Tó Mané/Zon North Canyon

Source: Zon North Canyon/Nazaré Qualifica

Author: The Editors

Tags: Portugal, Garrett McNamara, Nazare, Portugal 100 foot wave,

Big Wave: Surfersvillage