Saturday, November 12, 2011

Surfer rides 90 foot wave (World Record)


The Hawaiian surfer Garrett McNamara breaks the world record for the largest wave ever surfed navigating this 27-metre (90ft) wall of watery death. (in Nazaré Beach, in Portugal) other video
The previous record—77 feet monster at Cortez Bank in 2008—was set by Mike Parsons (the previous unofficial record for the biggest wave ever surfed was held by Ken Bradshaw who rode an 85-footer in Hawaii’s Waimea Bay in 1998.)
According to Geology.com, the biggest wave ever recorded was the result of a 1958 earthquake in Alaska and was estimated to be 1,720 feet.
The Hawaiian surfer Garrett McNamara catches the wave of a lifetime while tackling the Nazare Canyon off Portugal.
The 3-mile deep underwater canyon – which stretches for 105 miles – acts likes a funnel when it receives Atlantic swells, creating huge waves.

From SurfBang

The current official world record for largest wave ever surfed is held by Mike Parsons who tackled a 77 foot wave at Cortes Bank back in 2008.

Hawaiian big wave surfer, Garrett McNamara is looking to take that record from Parsons with, what is said to be, a 90 foot wave he rode last week in Portugal.

On November 1st, Garrett McNamara was out tow surfing with Al Mennie and Andrew Cotton in the waters off a small fishing town in Portugal. McNamara was in Portugal as part of the ZON North Canyon Project which was created by the Portuguese Hydrographic Institute to better understand the gigantic waves that are formed by the deep water canyons off the coast of Praia do Norte, Nazaré, Portugal.

“I feel so blessed and honored to have been invited to explore this canyon and its special town. The waves here are such a mystery,” said McNamara.

Al Mennie who was sitting in the channel watching Garrett on this monster wave had this to say, “Everything was perfect, the weather, the waves. Cotty and I surfed two big waves of about 60 feet and then, when Garrett was ready, came a canyon wave of over 90 feet.”

“The jet ski was the best place to see him riding the biggest wave I’ve ever seen. It was amazing. Most people would be scared, but Garrett was controlling everything in the critical part of the wave. It was an inspiring ride by an inspiring surfer.”

Riding a wave of this size and magnitude is something that Garrett is never going to forget.

“As I rode this wave, it seemed pretty massive, but I couldn’t quite tell how big it was,” he said. “When I got to the bottom and turned and got around the wave and went to kick out, it landed on me and it felt like a ton of bricks. Probably one of the most powerful waves to ever land on me at the shoulder. It was pretty amazing.”

Jackson Chadwick doing some towing on the Outer Reefs

Links :
  • YouTube : Shane Dorian had an amazing ride with a 57-feet bomb at Jaws.
  • YouTube : Giant wave 64 ft,Mike Parsons final part I Billabong Odyssey (part II)
  • Wunderground meteorologist Jeff Masters describes the atmospheric setup:
    ...an approaching cold front extending southwards from a low pressure system centered just south of Iceland generated strong winds off the coast of Portugal, and a west-northwest swell of 8 meters (26’). The canyon generated three big waves in excess of 60 feet that day, and McNamara was able to catch the tallest, 90-foot wave.
  • SurfayToday : Garrett McNamara rides the biggest wave of all time in Nazaré
  • SurferVillage : North Canyon tow-in trials to roll in Nazaré...
  • ABCNews : Hawaiian daredevil surfer survives 90-foot wave

1 comment:

  1. Who is Jason Chadwick? That wave is a fake. It looks 16 times overhead, about 100 feet high. No such wave has ever been ridden, not even close to that.

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