Garrett McNamara: Surfer Breaks Record Riding 100-Foot Wave Caught On Camera [PHOTO, VIDEO]
Professional surfer Garrett McNamara may have – yet again – broken the record for "Largest Wave Surfed" after successfully riding an enormous 100-foot wave.
McNamara, a 45-year-old Hawaiian big wave rider, surfed the largest wave ever, estimated at around 100 feet, off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal on Tuesday.
And if the size of the wave is accurate, the Pittsfield, Mass., native will have beaten his previous record of 77.75 feet, which was also surfed at Nazaré.
Best of all, an amazing photo was snapped by Tó Mané, which Surfer Today called “one of the best surf photographers in Europe.” The surfing website said the photo was taken from an upper angle, showing McNamara descending the face of the wave.
“Thank you for all your support. It means the world to me. Today was an awesome day and so fun to be out there,” McNamara wrote on Twitter.
A video of McNamara riding the 100-foot wave by Tobias Ilsanker was posted on AllAboutPortugal.com, which you can view below, showing a recap of the day.
With perfect weather conditions on Tuesday, McNamara, along with friends Kealii Mamala, Kamaki Worthington and Hugo Vau, hit the waves at Nazaré, the same spot where he broke a previous record.
In November 2011, McNamara was surfing with Andrew Cotton and Al Mennie when he broke a record in Praia do Norte, Nazaré, Portugal during the ZON North Canyon Show 2011. The surfer rode what appeared to be an impressive 90-foot wave while surfing at a small fishing town off the coast of Nazaré. He was awarded the Global Big Wave Award prize at the Billabong XXL Awards later in May, after officials determined the wave measured 23.7 meters, or 77.7559 feet, high.
“It's amazing we get to do what we do, I'm so grateful,” McNamara said at the time. “The world record doesn't mean as much to me -- this is for the town of Nazaré and Portugal and for all my family and friends there. To be able to give them something to be proud of and inspire them, a world record for this town doing it tough in the middle of nowhere is great.”
McNamara was also recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records for his accomplishment on the waves in November.
Before McNamara’s 90-foot record, Mike Parsons held the previous record of 77 feet in 2008 at Cortes Bank off the coast of Southern California.
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