Not content with breaking the Internet with his exploits in Ireland, Thomas headed to the famed big waves of Nazaré in Portugal. It was a performance that showed again why Thomas is the Red Bull Storm Chase champion and continues to amaze the public, press and his peers. Finn Mullen spoke to Thomas to find out more about the session.
NAZARÉ
FM – Have you always wanted to sail Nazaré or was it a spur of the moment thing when you saw the good forecast?
TT – Sailing Nazaré was never a goal for me but I thought I should have a look at the waves on a good forecast, maybe sail, maybe not. I wasn’t sure what it was really like for windsurfing, I would only go out if I felt like I could have fun and do something on the wave. Going out just to say I sailed there was never an option.
FM – What did you think about Nazaré before and after the session?
TT – Before sailing there I had the impression that the waves were really good for windsurfing, because they are very peaky and really powerful, so you can focus on the one big drop in / top turn combination and really commit to it. As good as each individual wave looked, my biggest concern was that there are 2 different peaks breaking with about 30 degrees of difference in their angle to the beach, and these 2 peaks tend to connect into terrifying “compactor” waves. Then there is this big cliff where you can get smashed really bad if you get caught or crash on the outside left peak. And if the wave closes out and you can’t kick out in time you have no other choice than ending up in the inside, where the wind is light and gusty, and the shore break is very heavy. That also means your session is probably over as it is virtually impossible to sail out of that corner or to get out using a ski, because huge waves are breaking everywhere. For all these reasons I decided not to go out on the really big day, I thought it would not be possible to properly ride a wave and get out again. On the next day the swell was much smaller and only the bigger ones were breaking outside, of course it was still the same 2 peaks situation but it wasn’t life-threatening. I knew I had to choose the good waves and be in the right place, and then I could get some great rides.
FM – What is it like to sail Nazaré, is it like anywhere else you have sailed?
TT – I cannot really tell how it is to sail there when it’s gigantic. But even on a smaller day it is quite intimidating, you are outside and see these lines coming at high speed from different directions, and growing in size as they approach the impact zone. I felt very small and vulnerable! There is no channel, no lagoon, once you decide to go on a wave there is no way back, you must put yourself deep in the wave because there is not so much shoulder. It is all about being in the pit; but you must clear the section and kick out in time to be able to get back to the outside without getting smashed. The adrenaline never stops flowing, there is no downtime! Once you get into this rhythm the wave makes you want to play because it is one big clean peak, kind of like Jaws but even shorter, you know it is all about placing yourself in the best place for the one crazy section.
FM – Did you plan to do an aerial?
TT – I did not plan to do an aerial but I was hoping to do one! Airs on big waves are like barrels in big wave surfing – way better than anything else. It takes a lot of commitment to hit a big lip so I wanted to catch some good waves before trying something crazy, but it was always in the back of my mind. I went for the first air after more than one hour of sailing. The bowl was clean, I went around it and came from underneath to fly off the edge of the breaking lip, into the shoulder of the wave. It was not a huge wave but it always feels amazing, going up the face takes so long, you really have time to look at the section standing up and almost breaking on top of you. After that I was almost happy with myself and caught some more waves, but inside my head I wanted to hit one close out to fly really high. The tide was coming up and the waves became harder to read because of the backwash, until I caught a medium one on the north peak that looked clean. I did a nice carve on the face and saw the south bowl waiting for me under the cliff, I felt it was the moment and went full power into that big section as late as I could to make sure I was going to fly into the flats. Everything went as planned and once in the air I had a lot of time to enjoy the moment and the session in general. I was not going to make anything better that day. I focussed on the landing and rode a few extra metres until I lost all my speed and let the whitewater take me. I was happy.