The behemoth of a wave at Praia do Norte is an exceedingly difficult one to surf. A lineup the size of a football field, A-frames the size of buildings, and a kind of haphazardness to sets that is exclusive to Nazaré. In the last decade or so, after a few years of getting looked down on, it’s become a bit of a big wave mecca. November of 2018 showed why.
The Nazaré Challenge ran, and almost no one was disappointed—no small feat in the surf world. Then, just a few days after the final horn sounded, another heart-stoppingly big swell pounded through the deep water canyon. Most of the surfers were still hanging around, and that session, although slightly under reported, was probably one of the best all year.
“Conditions were pretty much the same forecast for the event three days earlier, with the exception of a few variables that made it a bit heavier and challenging for the boys,” wrote Máquina Voadora, the man behind the footage you see above. “The rescue support infrastructure from the event (or the lack of it) was also a key difference during the after party. By late morning, our team counted five broken guns and several physical injuries, the worst of them probably by Portuguese big wave surfer João Guedes (02:01) who ended up in the Hospital with a hurt knee.”
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