SHOW TIME
I took a fishing boat-ride out to deep water off the lighthouse point with two Portuguese fishermen who did not speak a word of English. They each stood quietly and just looked out to sea as we made our way offshore. The trip out was slow, so I had time to reflect on things but nothing prepared me for my first look at waves from sea level breaking off the lighthouse point. The waves looked giant and when we got closer I could see the real magnitude of my situation. For me the most worrying thing was the lack of wind and knowing that I would be drifting around the impact zone with no speed to get away from any dangerous situation.
At that point in the boat I had to stop thinking and looking at the waves and just concentrate on the job in front of me. Small steps like rigging up, getting my wetsuit on and going through my breathing exercises kept my mind busy and focused. I told myself I had gone past the point of no return and to just get on with it. Once I told myself that, my mind started to calm down.
The wind had come up a little and it was time to get out there. I finished my can of Red Bull, threw my gear off the boat and jumped onto the awaiting jet ski to get me closer to the impact zone. The wind was way too light to sail around, so working with Hugo to get me in the right position was essential to my success. I sat with Hugo on the ski, holding my gear as we motored into position to get a closer look at the line-up. I have to say sitting right in the impact zone watching massive waves break all around you was incredibly intimidating. It is not like Jaws or Fiji or Teahupo’o where you can sit and be relatively safe. Here you are truly exposed and it’s really the first time I’ve sailed a huge beach break.
I was looking for a right-hander but the best waves were finishing right in front of the lighthouse point, which was the most dangerous place to finish your ride in Nazaré. Once there you are totally at the mercy of the ocean and reading the waves in this area is almost impossible. South waves jack up without warning, swing across the point and join up with another wave and double in size and break without any way of reasonable prediction. This is the reason tow teams spend years down here working to ensure a fast pick-up after surfers finish their ride. If you wipe-out off the point and the ski does not pick you up before the next wave you are probably going to end up on the rocks right in front of the cliff and in big trouble. For these reasons I tried to find some waves a little further up the beach where I would be safer if I was pushed inside but the waves were just not as good there. After an hour of unsuccessful rides we decided our only option was to ride the waves into the point. At this stage I had to put my life in Hugo’s and Andrew’s hands and trusted they would be there if things went wrong.