We all know the ocean delivered for the Nazare Tow Surfing Challenge presented by Jogos Santa Casa, but the waves kept on pumping on Wednesday for an all-star free surf session featuring the likes of Ian Walsh, Nic von Rupp and Justine Dupont.
Some of the world's biggest chargers enjoyed a free-surf session after the Nazare Tow Surfing Challenge presented by Jogos Santa Casa.
While Maui's Walsh wasn't a competitor in the Challenge, he was on hand to support pal Kai Lenny on the day, and also to make sure he didn't miss out on any of the action in Portugal. Looks like it was worth the flight to Europe.
"It looks like a big run of swell this week and it looked like a good chance to tow out here and there's a few paddle days in between these two big swells," Walsh, who came second in the recent Jaws Championship Pe'ahi event, told the WSL.
"It's a really fun time to be a part of all this, you feel the level rising every time there's a big swell and it's just a fun feeling to sense the energy lifting in each one of those sessions. It's a good time to be a surfer right now."
Justine Dupont, winner of the Women's Wave of the Day award, was back out there and enjoying the swell, along with a host of others chargers, doing what they do best.
JustineDupont - WSL
And while it may have been taken during the contest, this is as good a time as any to enjoy the GroPro footage captured by Justine, which is as close as most of us will ever come to riding one of these monsters.
Justine Dupont captured this GoPro footage during the Nazare Tow Surfing Challenge presented by Jogos Santa Casa.
An All-Star Free Surf at Big Nazaré
Ben Collins
We all know the ocean delivered for the Nazare Tow Surfing Challenge presented by Jogos Santa Casa, but the waves kept on pumping on Wednesday for an all-star free surf session featuring the likes of Ian Walsh, Nic von Rupp and Justine Dupont.
While Maui's Walsh wasn't a competitor in the Challenge, he was on hand to support pal Kai Lenny on the day, and also to make sure he didn't miss out on any of the action in Portugal. Looks like it was worth the flight to Europe.
"It looks like a big run of swell this week and it looked like a good chance to tow out here and there's a few paddle days in between these two big swells," Walsh, who came second in the recent Jaws Championship Pe'ahi event, told the WSL.
"It's a really fun time to be a part of all this, you feel the level rising every time there's a big swell and it's just a fun feeling to sense the energy lifting in each one of those sessions. It's a good time to be a surfer right now."
Justine Dupont, winner of the Women's Wave of the Day award, was back out there and enjoying the swell, along with a host of others chargers, doing what they do best.
And while it may have been taken during the contest, this is as good a time as any to enjoy the GroPro footage captured by Justine, which is as close as most of us will ever come to riding one of these monsters.
Nic von Rupp
The big wave guy cancelled a holiday in Costa Rica when he saw a swell on the radar that was going to turn this spot on.
Grant Baker, Russell Bierke, Lucas Chianca, Nathan Florence, Billy Kemper, Kai Lenny, Tom Lowe, Eli Olson, Nic Von Rupp, and Ian Walsh.
2020 Ride of the Year Entry: Nic von Rupp at Nazare, Portugal on December 12, 2019. Video by Laurent Pujol.
Nick Von Rupp broke a 2-month dry spell with some pumping cold-water barrels.
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