Truth is, the picture is just too cool. Can you imagine riding a 100-foot tall wave? Can you imagine what would have happened if he wiped out? Amazing.
By Beth Carter
Garrett McNamara rides an epic wave believed to be 100
feet tall off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal. Once the height is confirmed,
Garrett will have eclipsed his previous record of 78 feet. Photo: Tó
Mané/Nazare Qualifica
World record-holding surfer and known thrill-seeker Garrett
McNamara is believed to have surfed the biggest wave ever, a 100-footer he rode
off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal.
Word of the feat still has to be confirmed by the good folks at
Guinness, but the 45-year-old Hawaiian is stoked by the accomplishment.
“Thank you for all your support. It means the world to me,”
McNamara tweeted yesterday. “Today was an awesome day and so fun to be out
there.”
A picture of the feat, taken by surf photographer Tó Mané,
underscores the enormity of what McNamara has done. He is but a tiny dot on the
face of the wave.
McNamara is no stranger to epic waves. He already held the
title for the biggest wave ever surfed, having nailed a 78-footer at the
Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards in Nazaré last year. This record was
originally reported to be 90 feet and not the actual 77.7559 feet that was later
announced after video and photo analysis. So was this really a record breaker?
Whatever the final outcome, that was one amazing ride.
Nazaré is considered to have the perfect conditions for
big-wave surfing thanks to the Nazaré Canyon, an underwater canyon that is 1,000
feet deep, three miles wide and 105 miles long. When Atlantic swells hit the
canyon, it funnels them out, creating monster waves like the two caught by
McNamara.
