Hawaiian surfer breaks wave-riding record at Nazare, Portugal - Polidicks

[quote]Surfer Garrett McNamara breaks the world record for riding the biggest wave ever thought to have been ridden A 44-year-old Hawaiian surfer has entered the Guinness Book of Records for riding the biggest wave ever thought to have been ridden. Last November Garrett McNamara caught a 78ft wave at Nazare, off the coast of Portugal, beating the previous 2008 record by more than a foot. McNamara began surfing at age 11 and became professional six years later. He has described his achievement as a stroke of luck and has used his feat to urge people to follow their passions. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote I knew it was big, but I didn't know how big” Garrett McNamara The giant wave was located above an underwater canyon famous for being the world's biggest wave generator. McNamara has said that on the day he broke the record, he at first had not wanted to take a ride but his friends urged him to catch a few waves. "Everything came together. Everything felt right", he said. Close scrutiny Hundreds of thousands have viewed the video and photographs of McNamara's ride. They show his figure dwarfed by a giant wall of water. "I knew it was big, but I didn't know how big," he said. He later sent the footage and pictures to surfing expert Sean Collins, who guessed the wave was 85-90ft tall. Collins died in December. Last week, McNamara was awarded $15,000 (11,600 euros) for the ride at the Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards in California. Judges for the awards examined the footage and pictures from different angles. They also compared McNamara's height in a crouch and the length of his shin bone with the wave's top and bottom before reaching a verdict, event director Bill Sharp told the Associated Press. Commenting on the record, McNamara said: "The world would be a much better place if everyone was doing what they wanted to do". However, the UK Guardian newspaper quoted him as saying: "I'm not sure I want to ride that peak again".[/quote] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd2jtwviyC8[/media]

thats fucking crazy

gnarly dude

[img]http://en.spongepedia.org/images/0/09/JKLSpongeBobTheBigOne.jpg[/img] It's the Big One.

Rad

It looks like the jetski was pulling him through the whole time. If that's the case this shit counts as wakeboarding, not surfing.......

And then every girl around here "fell in love" with him. Nice achievement though.

[QUOTE=bluesky;35928044]It looks like the jetski was pulling him through the whole time. If that's the case this shit counts as wakeboarding, not surfing.......[/QUOTE] shit man u better call the guinness book of world records because ur clearly the worlds greatest detective

[QUOTE=bluesky;35928044]It looks like the jetski was pulling him through the whole time. If that's the case this shit counts as wakeboarding, not surfing.......[/QUOTE] yeah, you try paddle in to a wave that big. there's just no way you can do that.

[QUOTE=bluesky;35928044]It looks like the jetski was pulling him through the whole time. If that's the case this shit counts as wakeboarding, not surfing.......[/QUOTE] armchair-sport classification expert bluesky cracks another one

[QUOTE=bluesky;35928044]It looks like the jetski was pulling him through the whole time. If that's the case this shit counts as wakeboarding, not surfing.......[/QUOTE] What no, the jetski only got him onto the wave itself.

Fucking terrifying, yet awesome at the same time

[QUOTE=bluesky;35928044]It looks like the jetski was pulling him through the whole time. If that's the case this shit counts as wakeboarding, not surfing.......[/QUOTE] It's only used to pull him into the wave. Hell you can see him let go and the jetski peel off as soon as he drops in. Not to mention he's surfing with his arms out half the time, making it impossible for him to hold on to the tow-rope.

Man, the kids in rocket power totally distorted my expectations for surfers.

Suddenly a shark comes and rips him in two.

Nice find Barlow. Brave brave surfer dude.