It does become hard to ascertain just how big the waves get at Nazaré. Although globally recognised as the biggest of the big wave spots, it is still a challenge to put a size number to waves out there.
Portugal’s big wave charger Nic von Rupp was out there on 8 January. A day that has been described by many as the biggest of all time. Still, instead of labelling the wave sizes, Nic just put out a video, another in his Von Froth series, and lets the viewer make the call on wave size.
Von Rupp is also clear that his mission is not to relentlessly search for the tallest waves but to get rides under the belt and have an amazing time doing it. “It’s more channelling my energy and focus into catching as many good waves as I can,’ the Monster Energy rider said in a recent interview on the WSL website.
Nic and partner Pedro Scooby also competed recently in the TUDOR Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge presented by Jogos Santa Casa. Again, they performed well as a team despite not taking top honours.
In his interview, Von Rupp also describes just how much of a challenge it is at Nazaré and just how scary it can get at times.
Nazare is so gnarly,” he said. “You are constantly readying yourself for the worst-case scenario. You are expecting someone to die, and that feeling never stops all day.”
Von Rupp was watching when Justine Dupont fell on one of the biggest waves of the day and got pushed onto the rocks. However, she was eventually grabbed to safety by one of the safety teams. Nevertheless, von Rupp reckons that it was a very unsettling part of the day at Nazaré.
As soon as the Red Alert was declared over via the radio channel, it was back to the business of catching the biggest waves in the world. That day Nic caught 20 such waves, which is a very successful inning.
Video: Big Wave Surfing: Nic von Rupp And Nazaré At Full Tilt
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