Watch: Why Are The Biggest Waves In The World Ridden At Nazare?
With big wave season in both the Atlantic and Pacific rolling, the waiting period for the Nazare Big Wave Challenge is underway. Europe’s premier big-wave venue, world records for the biggest wave ever ridden by both a male and female have been set in recent years, and with an El Niño winter brewing, it seems anything is possible this year. So, what makes Nazare so giant?
Anytime you’re talking giant swells, fluid dynamics and physics things get complicated fast, but the secret sauce that makes Nazare so special is primarily two things. First, it’s perfectly positioned to receive huge swells from the North Atlantic. Those swells freight train their way straight to the European coastline without any interference or decay, so by the time they arrive at Nazare they’re raw and extremely powerful.
The other factor, and this is the one that really makes the wave unique, is that the bathymetry, or contours of the bottom of the ocean, are such that those big North Atlantic swells are funneled straight to Nazare by a deep, underwater canyon. It’s this canyon that magnifies and intensifies the swell, creating the supersized peaks Nazare is famous for. Essentially, it’s those North Atlantic swells combined with exceptional bathymetry that makes the spot magic.
“The reward of riding a massive wave, it’s incredible,” explains Hawaii’s Kai Lenny, who’s topped the podium at big-wave events in Nazare. “It’s taxing, for sure. When it’s over you might feel alright, but your adrenal glands are drained. Your dopamine is gone. And your serotonin is zapped. But it’s all worth it.”
The waiting period for the Nazare Big Wave Challenge runs through March 31. Stay tuned as the winter progresses and we track those North Atlantic monsters.
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With more than 25 years of writing about surfing, the ocean and action sports, Jake Howard continues to share stories, profiles and issues that shape the surfing world. One of the premier subject-matter experts in the field today, he's savvy in the ways of print, digital and social media, his breadth of work is expansive. Getting his start writing Surfline surf reports and recording the phone reports for 976-SURF in the late '90s, Jake served as the managing editor for Surfer Magazine in the early 2000s before moving on to launch RedBullSurfing.com and cover surfing for ESPN and the X Games. Over the years, Jake has also enjoyed time behind the edit desk at The Surfer's Journal, as well as the World Surf League, where he worked as the Senior Editor for a number of years. Beyond producing editorial content, Jake has served as a digital marketer and copywriter for iconic surf brands such as Quiksilver, Roxy and Rip Curl. Writing thousands of pages of copy for Surfline, he has deep SEO experience as well. The surf columnist for the San Clemente Times, Jake continues to dedicate himself to the culture and history of the sport through his involvement with the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente.