NAZARE: AS HEAVY AS IT GETS

Posted 11-11-17

And hoooo boy, has Nazare awoken. Sure, there’s been a few scratching sessions over the past few weeks at Praia do Norte but nothing like what was witnessed over the past two days.

Portugal’s infamous big wave nightmare launched a pounding tirade straight out of the Atlantic, thanks to a solid swell maxing at 13.5ft @ 17 seconds. And though accompanied by a fresh NNE wind, it still made for one of the tallest sessions we’ve seen at Nazare this season.

By now, you’ll know that big wave aficionado and all-round gentleman Andrew Cotton copped one of the worst wipeouts we’ve ever seen. But so too in the mix were Maya Gabeira, Lucas Chumbo, Pedro Calado and many more.

Our man on the ground, glued to the lens was Helio Antonio, delivering his own unique stamp on this run of swell.

Rodrigo Koxa.

He said: “The first big swell of the season arrived. An epic wave was ridden by Australian Mick Corbett. I always caution about addressing wave’s size on these days, but it was for sure one of the biggest and gnarliest to be ridden in Nazare.

Mick Corbett

“Talking about commitment and amazing surf, it’s impossible not to be overwhelmed by Lucas Chumbo’s performance everytime he surfs this place. There’s this new generation of Brazilian surfers that are simply blowing everyone’s minds away. Chumbinho, in particular, is pushing the limits on the way a wave can be ridden at Nazare and that’s what he showed when he tried to get barrelled at a bomb.

“And yesterday, the wave size dropped significantly comparing to the day before, so the majority of the riders opted to paddle instead of being towed.”