Nazaré, a Portuguese town on the Atlantic coast 125 km north of Lisbon and 250 km south of Oporto, has for some years now become the true Mecca of extreme surfers. They challenge the ocean, common sense and sometimes even physics by riding the biggest waves ever surfed in the world. The last feat was a few weeks ago: a Portuguese surfer from the Azores, Hugo Vau, a boxer-faced guy who makes a living as a fisherman in Angra do Heroismo, rode "the Big Mama", a water giant about 35 meters high. The official Guinness Book of Records has not yet arrived, but this should be the highest wave ever tamed in the world. Always here, always in Nazaré.
The previous record was set by Hawaiian Garrett McNamara, who surfed a 100-foot wave last year. Before that, in 2014, Andrew Cotton was stopped at 27; Brazilian Carlos Burle at 24. The first to realize the potential of Nazaré was Garrett McNamara, superstar of the board. He was the first to come here in 2011. Then he rode a 23.77 metre wave, putting Nazaré on the global surf map.
