There’s some weird perspective stuff going on with this photo (do those waves break right on shore?) but holy crap look at the size of that fucking wave!
The teeny speck speeding down that wall of water is Garrett McNamara, who already holds the world record for the largest wave ever surfed and will likely extend that record with this estimated 100-footer.
There’s no video of the ride but in this promotional video, I think you can briefly see McNamara riding the monster wave at 38 seconds and perhaps again at 42 seconds.
Garrett McNamara rode a wave off of Nazare, Portugal last November that some surfing experts billed at 85-90 feet. This would have smashed the world record wave height of 77 feet held by Mike Parsons. However, last month, after judges compared “McNamara’s height in a crouch and the length of his shin bone with the wave’s top and bottom,” the Guinness Book of World Records decided the wave was 78 feet and gave him the record. To get a feel for McNamara’s feat, go find an 8 story building and imagine riding down it on a surfboard.
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