RISKY BUSINESS
The few good waves which I caught had the perfect direction to ride but I would be rewarded with a south-facing bomb on my head after kicking out. It was a horrible feeling finishing my ride only to see a huge wave breaking right onto me. Sometimes Hugo would be able to pick me up at the last possible second and other times he could not. When I lost my equipment it went straight to the rocks and was completely destroyed. But Hugo and Andrew were always right there to pick me up before the next wave would hit me – great job guys! Making trips back to the support boat became a regular occurrence. The other scary thing about Nazaré is that the bigger it gets the further out it breaks. I was basically riding on the first beach break but if a bomb set came through it broke way further out on the second beach or reef break. On one occasion this is exactly what happened to Hugo and me. We saw the set coming, but even on a jet ski, with me hanging off the back trying to hold the equipment, we still almost got closed-out on. I flew backwards off the ski and did a summersault in the air and landed on the side of the ski breaking the fall on my backside. I was in a lot of pain but the water temperature helped relieve that quickly and I kept trying to catch waves till sunset.
“ The whole northern side of the cliff is a death trap, so if you fall in front of the point and miss the Jet Ski pick-up your life is in real danger ”
REWARDED
Nazaré is not about quantity. It is about quality! Finding that one gem is what it’s all about. It was one of the toughest times I have had on the water with my adrenaline at an all time high. But it’s also been the most rewarding personally for me too. It feels good to set a goal for yourself and then follow through with it. I plan to return again and hope to catch a wave that may rival the world record some day. Finally, I would like to thank my sponsor Red Bull for helping me to make this dream a reality and becoming the first ever wind-powered athlete to ride Nazaré!