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Praia do Norte (‘North Beach’) is a beach located in Nazaré, portuguese Oeste region, which due to its giant white
breaking wave In fluid dynamics and nautical terminology, a breaking wave or breaker is a wave with enough energy to "break" at its peak, reaching a critical level at which linear energy transforms into wave turbulence energy with a distinct forward curve. ...
s is famed for its surfing conditions. Nazaré's waves were listed on the ''
Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
'' for the biggest waves ever surfed and have also been featured multiple times on the Billabong XXL awards in the categories of Biggest Wave and Ride of the Year.


Overview

Praia do Norte’s very high breaking waves form due to the presence of the underwater Nazaré Canyon. The canyon creates constructive interference between incoming swell waves which tends to make the waves much larger. The TUDOR Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge is a big wave surfing competition held at Praia do Norte every year during the winter months. It features some of the world's best big wave surfers competing on massive waves, often reaching 40-50 feet in height. The event is part of the WSL Big Wave Surfing series. In November 2011, surfer Garrett McNamara, who resides in Hawai'i, surfed a record-breaking giant wave: from trough to crest, at Praia do Norte in
Nazaré, Portugal Nazaré () is a Portugal, Portuguese town and municipality located in the Oeste Subregion, Oeste region, in the historical province of Estremadura Province (1936-1976), Estremadura, and in the Leiria District. The municipality has a population of 1 ...
. On 28 January 2013, McNamara returned to the spot and successfully surfed a wave that appeared even larger, but is awaiting an official measurement as of November 2018. On November 8, 2017, Brazilian surfer Rodrigo Koxa took the record by surfing an wave at Praia do Norte which was captured in a video that went viral over social media. On the same day portuguese surfer Nuno "Stru" Figueiredo, broke the world record for the biggest wave to be surfed in
kitesurf Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, snow, sand, or other surface. It combines the aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, sn ...
with a 19 meter wave (62 ft), a record that lasted until the 22nd of January 2023, when Patri McLaughlin took the record at
Jaws (beach) Peʻahi ( ; ) is a place on the north shore of the island of Maui in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It has lent its name to a big wave surfing break, also known as Jaws. Location Pe'ahi (Jaws) surf break is roughly three miles east of Paia, Hawaii, ...
in Hawaii. In January 2018, Brazilian surfer
Maya Gabeira Maya Reis Gabeira (born April 10, 1987) is a Brazilian big wave surfer. She surfed a high wave in Nazaré, Portugal in February 2020, recorded by ''Guinness World Records'' as the biggest wave ever surfed by a woman. She also held the previous ...
got the record for biggest wave surfed by a woman at 20.8 m (68 ft) a record that Gabeira would break again on February 11, 2020, by surfing a wave that measured 22.4 m (73.5 ft). On October 29, 2020, German surfer Sebastian Steudtner broke the previous record by surfing an 26.2 m (86 ft) wave. On February 24, 2024, Steudtner once again rode potentially the biggest wave ever recorded that measured at 28.5 m (93.7 ft) with the collaboration of
Porsche Engineering Porsche Engineering (Porsche Engineering Group GmbH) was established in 2001 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Porsche AG, with headquarters in Weissach, and traces its history back to 1931 when Porsche created its first engineering office subsidiary. ...
; however, this wave has yet to be declared as the official world record.


See also

*
List of beaches in Portugal This is a list of beaches in Portugal, listed by regions and subregions, municipalities and parishes. Norte Alto Minho * Praia Azul (Caminha) * Praia da Amorosa Nova (Viana do Castelo) * Praia da Amorosa Velha (Viana do Castelo) * Pra ...
*
Supertubos Supertubos ( Portuguese for ''Supertubes'') is a wave and beach located in Peniche, Portugal. The break is the site of the MEO Pro Portugal from the World Surf League Men's and Women's Championship Tour event. The wave did not come into mainstre ...
* List of surfing records


References


External links

{{commons category, Praia do Norte (Nazaré)
Praia do Norte, Nazaré
– Live Beachcam (Southern view)
Praia do Norte, Nazaré
– Live Beachcam (Northern view) Beaches of Portugal Surfing locations in Portugal Nazaré, Portugal