Surfer breaks giant wave record
Baku, November 11 (AZERTAC). An American surfer is laying claim to the biggest wave ever surfed.
Garrett McNamara caught the giant 27-metre (90-foot) wave at a beach in Portugal.
The self-described thrill-seeker had to be towed into the wave by a jet ski and he described the experience as "magical".
It has been the life ambition of the 44-year-old big-wave rider and adventurist to surf the biggest wave of all time.
"When I got to the bottom of the wave and it landed on me it felt monstrous," he said.
Home to a deep water canyon which funnels large swells from the Atlantic Ocean, the beach at Nazare is renowned for generating breathtakingly big surf. But despite the perfect conditions, McNamara was surprised at the size of the ride.
"I didn`t think at all I was going to get the big one. I was hoping I was going to find a nice new spot to surf and I had no expectations. And I was very surprised and overwhelmed with joy," he said. The largest documented ride was on a 77-foot wave. The largest undocumented ride was on an 85-foot wave, and McNamara is confident he has eclipsed both records with his 90-foot effort.
But even this veteran adrenalin junkie says there are some waves so big and so dangerous no-one could ever catch a ride.
"There`s definitely waves that are too big. If the conditions are perfect I think you could ride almost any size wave as long as it broke. But if the conditions are not perfect, a 50-foot wave can be too big," he said.
The trick is to now get the ride officially recognised. Sean Collins, a California-based surfing expert who judges big-wave riding events, says there is no doubt the wave is one of the biggest recorded. "We use the height the surfer used on the wave, and is he crouching down, so he`s six foot so now he`s only five feet three," he said. Mr Collins says there have been other rides that were probably bigger but were never documented.
"I would say that Garrett`s wave might be the biggest wave ever documented. Other big waves historically, for example, there was Ken Bradshaw on January 28, 1998 when they had a huge swell on Oahu and at a spot called Outer Log Cabins," he said.
"Many, many people said he got one wave that was easily in the 85 to 90-foot range. But there is no photograph."
He also says it is important when the ride is photographed.
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