It goes without saying, Nazaré isn’t exactly a place you stroll up to and check for five minutes before getting in the water. Things like prepping jet skis, making sure they’re in working order, checking and double checking flotation devices and safety equipment, all sound like logical preparation before a session at the world’s largest wave. But you probably wouldn’t imagine official “team meetings,” sitting in a room with a dozen other surfers and safety personnel to discuss conditions.
And you know how every once in a while a friend will be standing on the cliff and give a whistle or a hoot when a set wave rolls along the horizon? That guy exists at Nazaré too, only here he’s on a headset, conducting traffic on at least 10 radios that are spread throughout the lineup.
Most of us only get to see the final product of all this hard work and commitment. We see the photos and videos of athletes on giant bombs but not all the attention to detail before a single surfer even suits up. Here, Sebastian Steudtner does the service of giving us a different perspective on surfing Nazaré. Giving this a watch should offer an entirely new appreciation for the people who surf here and the people who keep its lineup as safe as possible.
