The surfing pioneer Buzzy Trent once said: “Big waves are not measured in feet and inches but in increments of fear.”
If that’s the case, Vini Dos Santos must have been terrified on February 25 when he rode what is believed to be a 97ft wave at Nazare, north of Lisbon.
The Brazilian surfer sent recordings of the wave to Douglas Nemes, an oceanographer at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. “He studied my wave and the results are amazing,” Dos Santos, 31, told Magicseaweed, a surfers’ website.
“I don’t know if my wave will set a record — all I can say is that it has potential.” If the wave height is confirmed, it will be regarded as a step towards the 100ft swell.
And Nazare, a shallow shelf at the end of a 140-mile underwater canyon, is where big wave riders are flocking. “We are living a very special time,” Dos Santos said. “It’s possible the record ride will happen soon.” The present record is 80ft.
