The world's biggest wave, explained
VloĆŸit
- Äas pĆidĂĄn 12. 05. 2022
- And how it's transformed a Portuguese town.
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NazarĂ©, Portugal was for centuries just a small fishing village known for its fishermen and dangerous seas. Then one day in 2011, a pro-surfer named Garrett McNamara strapped on a surf board and rode a 78 foot wave right off its coast. It was a new world-record for big wave surfing and the moment that changed NazarĂ© forever. Now, NazarĂ© is the capital of Big Wave surfing. The secret to NazarĂ©âs giant waves lies under the surface, where a huge underwater canyon funnels swells right up to its cliffs, then launches that energy straight up, sometimes 60, 70, or 80 feet. Many surfers visit in the hopes of catching a 100-foot wave.
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Hey everyone, Sam here saying thanks so much for watching. This was a big project for us, but thereâs a lot more to this story. As Tony told us, every surfer in NazarĂ© is hunting for one thing: the 100 foot wave. The âofficialâ record is 80-feet, as certified by Guinness. But there have been several surfers that have ridden waves that appear to be around 100 feet - and they are backed up by experts.
Tonyâs 2020 wave was measured by scientists at the University of Lisbon, who concluded it was 101.4 feet tall. The problem is⊠measuring waves is really, really, hard and thereâs more than one way to do it. Hereâs a great article about how it's done: news.usc.edu/179187/biggest-wave-surfed-2020-usc-adam-fincham-maya-gabeira/
Appreciate it Sammy Hammy
That was an absolute pleasure to watch. Thank you for the care and effort it must of took to make this.
DesĂrreeerrrddĆ”depĂ ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp
I was wondering the same thing, how tf do they measure that humongous wave. Thanks for this!
4:13 that's a pattern...
As soon as Mayor Jorge said "Can you give me two minutes?", I knew that nerd was about to come back with the coolest demonstration ever. Jorge did not disappoint. Love that he has a model of his cove within a two-minute range. Everyone in that town seems wonderful.
there's a bigger more accurate model in the lighthouse, you can really see how the canyon is indubitably pointing towards nazaré :)
that explanation and illustration is what i was looking for
This man mixes oceanography, meteorology, athleticism, physics, all while being 19. When I was 19, I was taking calls at 411. Hope he gets the record. That's a lot of talent right there.
he obviously doesn't do it alone. never forget that there's a team behind a complex venture like that, who also deserve recognition
I am 10
@@sunitamaharjan3771 ok
@@sunitamaharjan3771 ur under 13 ileagel I telling ur mom
@@KBC7050 not really mate, just a filmer and a ski driver, the rest is on the surfer to know when and where and how
Can we take a minute to appreciate what a great piece of journalism this video is? In less than 20 minutes we learned about sports, waves and a fascinating culture.
I'm from Brazil and now I want to visit Nazaré! Cheers for our Portuguese friends.
Cheers back, cara.
crl mano tu aqui, e mais uma coisa PORTUGAL CARALHO kk
As a surfer, who also watched the 100 foot wave. I learned a lot more info and agree this is amazing piece.
Obrigado e Ă©s bem-vindo!
Fun fact: portugal is also home to another âfamousâ wave called Gasolina. Itâs an artificial wave caused by the passage of the ferry boat, creating a small but strong wave which is good to surf. During rush hours, surfers get 2 hours of good consistent waves every ten minutes.
Another quirky fact regarding this Gasolina is that this all takes place in Tagus river, not in the ocean.
Surfers from all around the world travel there to surf this oddity of a wave.
I'm assuming it's in the estuary, with the ferry operating between Lisbon and the towns on the other side of the river?
@@rjfaber1991 Yup Barreiro --- Lisbon. Lisbon --- Barreiro. thats the pathway. The so called Gasoline is surfed in Barreiro.
Isn't there a rap or rnb song from the late 90s or early 00s about this, it rings a bell
@@AirQuotes I think the song was literally called Gasolina
De facto a gasolina é uma onda muito conhecida cå em Portugal... Mas é pelo preço ..
15:48 âthe most important part of pur culture is the ability to change within the cultureâ if only more poeple growing older and wiser in life lived this concept, what an inspirational view.
You caught that. This is an essential part of Portuguese culture which I really admire and wish for more of in the world. Despite all the forces of globalization, there is a certain self-confidence in how the culture will evolve as it always has, and yet persist. Itâs not seen as frozen under glass. Much of the world is very fearful of any change or outsiders these days.
âWithin the cultureâ was added by the translator, he doesnât say quite that. May be they added it based on a broader conversation not included in the final cut
The problem is not change, it's a change to a homogenic cuture that is based on mass tourism identical to everywhere else. In the video they explain the migration out of town.
But the connection to the ocean is indeed a portuguese feeling. There's a quote from another film "How can such a large thing [the sea] fit and enter within ourselves?". Maybe because the sea, the ocean, is a frontier, but is also Universal, and touches every (or almost) all countries and cultures.
Modernism is cancer
he wants the tourism money
This is a work of art...the filming, the sounding of it...the history telling...everything...big props to the ones envolved...
I'm surprised you don't need to pay to watch high quality stuff like this. Amazing stuff Vox.
absolutely mind-blowing when they explain how it get so big
Donât jinx it!
If you're not paying then you're the product my friend. Think wisely
Youâre paying in data
@@rounaknarayan3813 Thank you, I was just about to reply the exact same thing. nothing is ever free. Your attention is the commodity being traded here. Absolutely love the video and the channel but I wish more people would realize this about the world.
I grew up vacationing in Portugal with my family (my parents are Portuguese) and we visited Nazaré beach every time. We never went to praia du Norte - "the waves are too big and too dangerous"... It was awesome seening the huge waves from the lighthouse -- and this was back in the 1980s!!
I was told the exact same when I was a little boy, that beach is the closest from my home, like half an hour by car.
The love for the sea is why our national anthem starts with "HerĂłis do mar" ("Heroes of the sea"). Respect for the fishermen we had and have!
Eu sou de setubal e ha sempre um amor e respeito pelo mar.
that's also due to the discoveries with did back in 1500, etc (os descobrimentos)
An important aspect of why surfing those waves wasnât started till pretty recently was left out. Itâs not simply that it never occurred to anyone back in the early days of surfing to surf giant waves in winter, but that until recently it literarily wasnât possible. Itâs only become possible because of jetskis and dry suits.
aint no way anyone would be able to handle it otherwise, love technology sometimes !
There are no dry suits used in big wave surfing
@@ferdiacomerford8551 captian obvious wins another round
@@kellyclark2375 it is not obvious for me :/
they've been towing since the 90s. and they are in wetsuits, which have been around longer
Iâm from Queenstown in New Zealand, this story really hit me as itâs more or less what happened to my hometown. My childhood was peaceful and quiet and now itâs owned by millionaires and itâs too expensive to live there. Tourism is a blessing and curse in that sense
U tell me
happening in my country as well. its something that you want until it comes, then you realize it's not all sunshine and roses like you see in the media. you can look at bali and talum and say wow I wish my country could be popular, but then you listen to the true stories and its a lot of consequences that come with that
I'm Portuguese (not from Nazaré though). Your hometown was probably one of the places I loved the most in NZ. And that's saying a lot.
Amen! SPOT ON!
6:59 I love how he just says âitâs Portugalâ đđ heâs funny love the self awareness
My grandfather was born in a nazaré and was (still alive) a fisherman, and he wrote a book about his experience, my heart fills with warmth seeing this little town being shown on vox, thank you for choosing people from nazaré to talk about their town, its really important to us! Great video
And I LOVE that you talk about such a world wide known thing like the wave without alienating nazare's original culture, perfect video, as a portuguese, congratulations, u captured the essence
where can we find his book?
So dope to see Portugal represented on this channel đ
ya i agree people only think of ronaldo when they think about portugal
@@abhikalpshekhar indiansđ€
As someone who is Portuguese-Canadian, I love seeing Portugal get the recognition it deserves. It's so often overshadowed by Spain or France, and even though my family is from Barcelos, where there is no large body of water, it still feels like home. Thank you so much.
Barcelos is based
@@primo4915 barcelinhos is more op tho
Muitos barcelenses aqui ahah, também moro em Barcelos.
I actually know Tony Laureano. We were colleagues in elementary school and yup, i can see he is still obsessed with surfing. Nothing has changed.
Okay what's are his parents names?
It's only a matter of time until someone breaks the record, as someone who's never surfed before, I find this really fascinating.
not you again..
He's verified lol
It's been years since you've been doing this, and I'm curious to know whether you've grown a mustache yet.
should be two sentences
@@rayyanrafat5547 his name used to be just some guy with a mustache
This is fantastic. I'm from Puerto Rico where there's obviously a surfing culture, but this example illustrates all the factors local people worry about. You didn't even talk about erosion on the shore line, which was visible in the pictures.
Can you please develop what you mean by erosion on the shore line? Curious :D
That erosion exists across vast stretches of the Portuguese coast, its a national problem, not a local one. Talking about it and all the ways it is and has been mitigated would be its own docu series
@@fgsaramago yeah, that's what I think he was saying. I know what you're talking about, might not know as well as you, but yeah, I studied it in geography and stuff (I'm Portuguese as well đ). Right now I'm literally standing in front of a paredĂŁo and north of it is currently a bulldozer resupllying sand. I made the question so I could better understand what he was saying tbf... It's just that NazarĂ©'s big wave erosion isn't man made, whilst this that is literally daily in front of my house was human made. I was questioning what kind of erosion he was talking about, the one made worse by bad human intervention, or the natural one
@@fgsaramago in any case, thanks đ€
I love the lady selling fish, she's hilarious. I'd love to hear her story!
The Mayor, The Opponent, The Fisherman, the Mother/Fisherman's wife, and the Youth. Fantastic storytelling on the part of the editor and producer!
Brilliant documentary Vox! Portugal's (and most certainly Nazaré's) coastline is very unique and I think you captured it quite well.
I live near the northern coast of Portugal. In my opinion, we need to start thinking more about how we will deal with the increased tourism and foreign investment because the local residents tend to be always a bit left out.
In Nazaré you can really see this phenomenon, housing prices have skyrocketed, there's not enough parking places just some kilometres away from the city, and there are more tourists than residents. Moreover you can see that the local residents are a lot left out...
Too often, yes. This is an opportunity for growth, but could be disastrous if not planned accordingly.
same in Aveiro
: /
Look to Hawaii as a warning
Yeah, I keep hearing about all these Americans trying to get citizenship in Spain, but they have problems ( or it takes too long ) and decide to immigrate to Portugal đ”đč đ€ đ and đ $?!
"So, why did surfers took so long to find this wave?"
"It's Portugal, lol"
As a Portuguese, couldn't have answered better! Portugal has a lot of issues, and it's not that great of a place to live, but there are things that are unlike anywhere else in the world, and I am proud of that. This wave, the wine, and the food. The food... Anyone who comes to Portugal falls in love with it!
And ronaldo
I havent really heard anything bad about Portugal tho i dont live there
@@felipeguerra8218 o don't give a toss about Ronaldo đ€Ł
I always hear the Portuguese people say this and if always surprises me. Living in the other half of Europe, Portugal definitely isn't some poor forgotten country here, it's talked about and visited by people from here as often as Spain is
I would say you're the perfect example of a portuguese, who highly regards all other foreign countries while neglecting his own. It's not an amazing place to live? Go live abroad for a while and we'll talk later. Sure it's not perfect but don't say "it's not that great of a place to live" because compared to many countries we're actually a freaking paradise. I know you pointed good things about us but that one bit just threw me off.
As a Portuguese, I can tell you that Nazaré is actually amazing
This is such a great look at tradition vs new traditions. Love it
Exactly
As a Portuguese guy, I really appreciate the recognition
"Nazarean culture will never be lost. No, the Nazarean culture is rooted in people. Our heritage isn't what people come here to do. It's what we have here. Here the sea is inside you, it's inside people."
Francelina Quizico
Nazarean Dried fish vendor
Every now and then some random merchant in some random town in a tiny country will drop some powerful words on you.
Or maybe it's just some random old lady who is wise beyond her years and has come to accept the inevitable gentrification of her town.
Either way, it struck a chord. Well said, Francelina.
Vamos, Portugal!!!
I was literally thinking, this is going to turn into a Hawaii situation and it did. Its sad that new generations in small local communities can't even afford to live in the places where they have been for centuries. But I love the passion they have for their home, as someone that has never really stayed in a country for too long, I can't imagine what that feeling of pride must be like.
In the early 2000s Donald Trump went on Oprah. She asked what's the best investment to make.... without thinking of local people, people of diversity were absolutely priced out by mainland money within 2 months.... So I knew he was thoughtless and has no concept of economics well beforehand.
I must say that the architecture in Nazaré is so breathtaking.
Great stuff Vox. Amazing content. Also super happy for the shout out to Nazaré, Portugal.
Nazaré's history of having a fishing culture, then that dying out from trawling, then turning to tourism, it's almost exactly the same in Newfoundland, where I'm from, only we don't have surfing as an industry.
Vox really stepped up their production đ
HBO has a great series called 100 foot wave that is well worth watching if you want more backstory on how Garrett McNamara and others started surfing at Nazare.
I live 15 minutes from Nazaré , and believe me , there are a lot of local surfers and surfers from the nearby beaches and villages who have been surfing record breaking waves for years, specially the Nazaré surfers, but before the McNamara wave, no one bothered to make a fuss or tape whatever we were watching because no one else knew or cared about Praia do Norte massive waves.
Fun fact: the NazarĂ© women traditional clothing includes 7 layers of skirts. Men here are patient and never get tired đ€Ł
Also worth mentioning if you ever visit NazarĂ© is that there's a lovely funicular railway that links the lower beach area to the clifftop (called SĂtio). It has been opened since 1889, originally powered by steam engine and now by electricity.
It is totally worth a visit if you're in the area, I find funicular railways amazing and the view is simply superb.
The Portuguese are after all, heroes of the sea.
I remember one time surfing on north shore up on Oahu and someone goes âdo you know who that is?â I say no. He goes âthatâs Garrett McNamara, he rode the worlds biggest waveâ. Such a cool and nice guy, kept telling us to paddle into waves and push push push. His sons name is Barrel lol
I fell in love with that entire family during that movieâŠ..
I love how the people of Nazare are so proud and passionate when talking about their land. Its not all boasty like "America is great" but its more with respect and pride and the depths of their value, culture, history.
I visited Nazare in March 2020 and it was amazing. Wonderful people, beaches and nature
This is hands down my favorite vox video, and I'm in awe of it - the story, the editing, how each person's personality shone through their interviews, and the amount of love for Nazaré you were able to portray is absolutely stunning
O comentĂĄrio que estĂĄs Ă espera: PORTUGAL CARALHOOOOO
Pictures cannot begin to comprehend how large these waves are when youâre there in the water itâs probably a holy experience for some
Portugal đ”đč is my home country, thank you for portraying it so beautifully!
11:53 For those who donât know, this issue is far from exclusive to NazarĂ©. A rising flux of tourists might be helping our country sustaining itself economically in the short term, but itâs destroying and flanderizing our culture. More and more land plots are being occupied by hotels and other commodities, destroying natural landescapes, and entire buildings are being acquired by foreign businessmen, causing a myriad of already established local businesses (many of them decades old) to close. Tourists also produce a lot of waste.
If youâre thinking of visiting Portugal, please think twice. Choose local and ethical businesses, from the place youâre sleeping at to where you eat. Get informed, be mindful, be civil, and help preserve our dying culture and nature.
Donât Spain my Portugal!
Do all those tourists get free healthcare free food and free housing like people that enter the USA illegally do?
@@dce9018 It's ok. 'Murica can afford it. They're the best and richest country. Freedom!
@@karmasauce2323 Americans first, Freedom isn't Free.
As someone that lived 10km away from Nazaré, it's awesome to see it being recognized and people having interest in it!!
McNamara (mac na mara) means "son of the sea".
I thought you might enjoy that.
Interesting! What language did the meaning come from?
As a proud portuguese it's incredible to see Vox covering this massive wave spot we're so lucky to have!
I live 20 min away from NazarĂš! Thanks for shining light on this! NazarĂš is such a beautiful place to visit :) đ”đč
I'm Portuguese and from Leiria, which is just 20 minutes from Nazaré. I'm so glad that you tell this story. Thank you so much.
Leiria nĂŁo existe, Ă© sĂł um mito
The timing of this is perfect. I've recently dived into a CZcams rabbit hole of big wave surfing. It started with just watching a few shorts and now I know most of the big names and spots lol
Same here
as a portuguese i'm so happy about the quality of this video. congrats guys
I didn't realise how beautiful Portugal is, and the people are amazing
From anywhere I got, I loved Portugal the most, obrigadođâ€ïž
Everyone talks about Nazare because of the waves , but there's much more to it , the culture, the people, the food , the atmosphere, I loved every minute of it...
my heart goes out to that woman who lost her father to the sea 30 or 40 times, must be rough
As a dude who lives in Leiria a 30 min drive away from nazaré i can say this is really well documented. Thank you! Btw the sunset viewed from the lighthouse at the cliff is one of the best views in the world
Great video Vox. I'm so glad to see a small piece of my country on your channel. Much love from Portugal.
Interesting that the largest wave in the world isnât located in Hawaii or Australia, but in Portugal. Really cool.
Why is it interesting?
@@bingusbongus3916 Hawaii and Australia are the biggest places for surfing
@@fhinnes biggest as in waves or in the community?
@@bingusbongus3916 Community. I think the biggest are Hawaii, Aus, Brazil, Cali, S. Africa. Of course there are more, but those are the ones that go hand by hand with surfing I think
@@fhinnes thanks. i thought you meant aus had big waves. which we do, but not anything like nazare, jaws, waimea, etc
Que lindo lugar! Portugal, meu sonho! Um grande abraço desde Filipinas!
I have been to Nazare a few times, great place to visit and surf in. When the waves are in the 1.5 to 2m range and its barreling its honestly one of the best European waves out there, both the North and south beach work great on that size.
My nana was from Portugal and Iâm proud to be part Portuguese! She was from Nazare!
this is so well made. thank you! i'm from nearby nazaré, and my grandfather died fishing. i think it is so important that those now travelling to nazaré or learning about it just because of the giant waves know a little more about the town, its culture and history. so i really think this ticks everything on the list, especially with the massive foreign interest now really changing nazaré - while it can be good for many things it also comes potentially with a lot of bad that needs to be addressed in order to make it more sustainable for everyone. great job sam + crew!
As someone who grew up relatively close to there and went there a lot, it really does make me happy to see it get represented like this.
Ayy, Portugal was mentioned, epik!
Nazare in hindi actually means Beautiful Scene.
That`s one of those videos that makes me feel proud of being portuguese. Thank you this amazing piece of art and lots of love from Portugal!!!
Lol I thought it would be Nazare when I saw the photo.
I love this town and this beach. My family have visited Nazare almost every time we go to Portugal to visit family. It's a lovely place, really fun beach, the waves are still quite big even on the main beach side, and the restaurants are all great!
Also recommend flying stunt kites here haha
Nazare is a beautiful city, treat it well, it's full of history and kind people.
Also while you are there visit other parts of Portugal, go to Battalha is a really lovely town.
Are you portuguese?
@@vascobranco5296 my father and his whole side of the family is.
He's from a small town just next to Batalha
@@Samantha_yyz Ah funny, my mom side is from Caldas da Rainha, close by. Never forget your roots, never forget you are a true lusitanian.
@@vascobranco5296 Yeah I love Portugal, I'm not good at handling heat (just to Canadian for that lol) but aside from the heat, every time we went there to visit my AvĂł and AvĂŽ was great.
...imagine living in the old days in Nazaré thinking these waves are just some average waves one can see on every seashore...:D
This documentary is a work of art
In case you're wondering,the 2004 boxing Day and 2011 tohuku earthquake tsunami waves were as tall as this wave
You can't really compare tsunami waves to this, even if nominally they have the same crest height.
Tsunami waves have such a long wavelength that it's more akin to a wall of water rising and rising and rising until it reaches maximum height. Tsunami waves are on a completely different level.
đ
You asking like as which one is real UFC or WWE
amazing video, one love nazaré, one love portugal.
Congratulations to AntĂłnio on winning a big wave competition in Spain! They seem like great fun. The Gen Z Representation we need, speaking as Gen Z myself.
It's the majesty of those waves that blew me away, along with those wild spirited ones who are called to ride. I'm not fussed about measuring waves and records personally, tho all hail to those that are. The connection to our wild spirits and the terrifying glory of the sea is what turns me on. Thank you for a great peice of filmaking x
Thank you for showing us both sides of this, as a Portuguese myself I think you guys did a great job!
Portugal is such a stunningly beautiful place. Probably my favorite port call in the Navy was Lisbon. Funny enough I would also love to visit Brazil some day.
what an amazing spot, geographically thinking. I also can't help but wonder, is this place potentially a HUGE source of clean energy?? Just tossing my thoughts out here, but if you somehow secured turbines along the top ridge of that canyon, as the water rushes up out of the canyon to meet the other half and generate the giant wave, would that not potentially surge MASSIVE amounts of power through those turbines with every wave? I imagine during a swell they wouldn't actually run due to the sheer force, but if tuned to run on regular daily waves produced in that spot, I could see an incredible potential for power generation. Also makes me want to consider trying to find anywhere else that might have off shore canyons lol
Monterey bay in California has a very deep water canyon just off shore as well off the top of my head.
Surfers showing respect to fishermen :) Heartwarming to see
Superb production quality đ
great documentary! i loved the interviews with the "common" people from nazaré, the editing never disappoints and its always a prideful moment seeing portugal get the recognition it deserves!
I went to Nazaré just a couple months ago, and it was stunningly beautiful. Such a joy to see this in-depth video on it from one of my favorite channels!
17 mins this video! felt like an 1 hour documentary in the good way! you have culture, action, emotion.. different points of view.. you name it! very well filmed , fantastic edit!
I'm so disappointed I missed out on seeing Nazare! I was suppose to go on a tour of Nazare from Lisbon, but got sick. At the time I thought "no big deal, just some small fishing village", then I come across this. It looks amazing and beautiful.
Great documentary on HBO about Nazaré called "100 Foot Wave" highly recommend!! Made me fall in love with surfing
What everyone forgets about this story, is the bodyboarding legends having surfing the shore break in Praia do Norte years before. It's just that surfing that break was pretty much impossible for surfers until they managed to go to the outside due to how shallow and inbreak the waves were. Smaller but extremely powerful. Nazaré Special Edition started in 2003 for example. So riding waves there in Praia do Norte has history much before McNamara, just not particularly right outside the canyon.
Such a nuanced little window into this amazing part of the world, great video.
I spent several weeks in Nazare in 2019
To be on the beach on north of the light house is really spectacular.
The water đ rises up 100 feet above you out in the sea then disapates as it comes to the beach.
The restaurants are the best in all of Portugal. I hope I can go back sometime
78ft?? I canât imagine surfing a wave that high. I think it takes a certain level of bravery and stupidity to do stuff like that đ
Not stupidity, passion.
And all without a parachute, a net, a jet pack, nothing except his surfboard & skills! I'm just gonna watch, thank you very much. đ°đ
@@LoriAW3791
They have jet skis assist and special inflatable life vest
one of my favorite videos EVER!!! Congratulations to all the people involved in this awesome project!
I'm portuguese and have been following Vox and the amazing work you do for years now, seeing my country featured is incredible đ”đčâš para os portugueses: mĂ©kie??
Itâs really good to hear that the people there actually facilitated the surf industryâs entry into their town. I was expectin a much more forced story.
This man is the Ronaldo of surfing! Look no further than Portugal for incredible talent and athleticism!
12:31 True words. Isn't it ironic that the more people come to a place to see its culture, the less culture is left to be seen?
Absolutely loving these longer videos from Vox!
It's beautiful and thrilling!!
I loved the desert circle one
Yeah, that was an Amazing video.
Amazing documentary. Wonderful work!
I'm so glad to see a big channel do a video about my country âșïž
Portugal, CARALHOOO đ”đčđ”đčđ”đč
Amazing, Portugal caralho