Portugal’s Praia do Norte officially opened for business Tuesday and nearly claimed its first victim: Brazilian big-wave charger Pedro Scooby.
According to reports and drone footage captured of the incident, Scooby was whipped into a wave, went left, and was quickly overtaken by a mountain of whitewater trying to make it to the shoulder.
The drone filming the ordeal is unable to find Scooby in the channel for over a minute-and-a-half as three jet skis frantically search for him. Apparently, Scooby suffered a four-wave hold down before he was located by fellow big-wave charger Sebastian Steudtner.
“I am alive. It was the worst wipeout I had in my life. I’ve never been so close to death,” Scooby told Surfer Today.
“Maya [Gabeira] told me that when Sebastian found me, I was disoriented. Apparently, he yelled at me, and I woke up and was able to grab the jet ski. But I don’t remember it. It’s crazy!”
Once Steudtner got Scooby to the beach, they administered first aid and treated Scooby with oxygen. He’s expected to fully recover.
Scooby’s incident is far from the first near-death experience suffered at the hands of Big Naza.
Back in 2013, Maya Gabeira was knocked unconscious and nearly drowned at XXL Nazaré, an experience she detailed for us a few months after the incident.
And in 2017, Andrew Cotton famously broke his back after a monster of a wave effectively detonated on top of him.
All three have their friends, who were running water safety, to thank for keeping them alive – a fact not lost on Pedro Scooby.
“I really have to thank Sebastian – he was my angel,” Scooby said. “[He] saved me, revived me, carried me up the beach, and gave me extra medical care to get back to my normal state.”
Pedro definitely used one of his nine lives. We wish him a speedy recovery.
