Carlos Burle, a Brazilian surfer, may have set the new big wave record off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal, yesterday. In the same break where friend and fellow surfer Garrett McNamara set the record in 2011, Burle rode an estimated 100-foot wave on Monday.
The possibly record-breaking ride came during an intense day of jet ski-assisted surfing, according to ,which included rescuing surfer Maya Gabeira who in a dangerous fall. spoke with Burle yesterday after the ride.
“It was luck. We never know when we will be catching the wave. I still hadn’t surfed any wave and everyone had already had their rides. Maya almost died. For me, it was a big adrenaline moment to get back there after what happened.”
According to , a deep underwater canyon bordered by a shallower shelf causes enormous Nazaré waves to peak and break in a regular and controlled fashion, which is ideal for surfing.
As with McNamara’s 2011 wave, accurately measuring these giants can be difficult and is rarely exact. Photo and video can be studied in comparison to the surfer’s height, yet these methods are greatly dependent on perspective and camera angle.