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Historic Nazare Swell: All The Epic Moments From One Of The Biggest Days Ever Surfed In Portugal
WSL
Roaring into day two of the swell from hell at Nazare, Portugal, the waves are absolutely massive and the conditions are about as clean as they get.
The swell started to kick into overdrive during the afternoon on Wednesday, October 28 and continued to build through the night. Thursday morning dawned with surf that can only be described as all-time. Biggest ever? That remains to be seen, and we'll be getting some details from the surfers and folks on the ground and in the water there as things continued to develop, but needless to say, what a preview to the 2020/21 big wave season.
Kai Lenny, Lucas Chianca, Nic von Rupp, Sebastian Steudtner and a handful of other lunatics have been the early standouts, charging absolutely massive Nazare surf that appear to be in the 60- to 80-foot range. Lenny and Stuednter have reportedly got the wave of the day so far, but paid a massive price as they were both beaten and rag-dolled. We're also getting work that Chianca may have just bagged the wave of his life out there just now.
And how's this for a little plot twist, the team documenting all the action for the WSL is reporting that World Champ Italo Ferreira sprinted across the Atlantic and is in the water testing his limits as we speak.
The action in Portugal and along much of the coast in Europe right now is being fueled by a swell generated in the North Atlantic when Hurricane Epsilon merged with another potent low pressure system of of Greenland, forming the perfect swell-creating storm system ... and it was aimed right at the Portuguese coast. Thanks to unusually favorable wind conditions, the opportunity for the clean, massive swell to reach epic levels is in play.
Forerunners of the swell began to show Tuesday. It continued to fill in through the day on Wednesday and by Thursday morning had reached nearly historic levels.
"This is the swell I've been waiting for my whole life," said Portuguese heavy water master Von Rupp in the lead up to the session.
Keep it locked here as the WSL has teams on the ground, in the water, and even in the sky documenting all of the Nazare big wave action. We will continue to bring you the latest and greatest from Nazare as the story continues to unfold.
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