As far as big wave surfing was concerned, it seemed like a quiet winter in Portugal. Of course, that’s all relative. We just didn’t notice because Jaws was in the driver’s seat through an El Niño for the ages. Nazaré pumped out it’s usually unthinkable levels of XXL waves. It saw the inaugural running of the Mercedes AMG Red Chargers contest, a season long big wave throw down spearheaded by Garrett Macnamara. Throughout the winter surfers came to Portugal to hunt meet up with one of the heaviest waves on the planet, while The Go Big Project documented the entire season in this seaside town.
The stories we’ll eventually be told won’t be as much about the waves as they will be about the people who come here to ride them. And now that the Red Chargers contest is officially wrapped up, fans will be voting for these surfers (and more) to take home any one of the competition’s six awards.
Here’s just a handful of some of the wildest rides we saw this winter.
Editor’s Note: To place your own vote and see even more highlights from this past winter visit RedChargers.com here.
