Biggest Wave Ever Surfed

Action starts with Professional Big Wave Surfer Lucas Chumbo getting towed into a huge wave in Nazaré, Portugal, during the big wave session of November 20th, 2019, which was one of the biggest days of this Winter season in Praia do Norte.

After an impressive ride, Chumbo exits the wave successfully and waits for his team mate Ian Cosenza (on the jetski) to pick him up before the next waves rolls in. This wave was not the last on the set, a bigger one approaches, so the rescue needs to be done quickly as Chumbo is now on the inside, which is the most dangerous spot in Praia do Norte, also known as the impact zone.

Cosenza reaches Chumbo in a matter of seconds, Chumbo grabs the sled and they speed up to outrun the upcoming wave. Cosenza has to go full speed and needs critical control to avoid the bumps in the water that can easily flip the jet. Given this was a high period swell, waves are faster than usual (reaching speeds of 60mph) and eventually the monster wall of white water that is chasing them, end up swallowing the jetski and both surfers.
When something like this happens it generally doesn’t end well, but incredibly and against all odds, Ian Cosenza saved the day successfully riding the jetski out of the white water and putting them both out of harm’s way (in the same session, two other jetskis were washed by the huge surf with one ending up heavily damaged).

The WSL (World Surf League) already called this episode as “one of the craziest rescues ever seen”, and the hundreds of people watching the surf action from the Cliff in Praia do Norte were all euphoric with this rescue.

But it was not just about luck for Ian Cosenza, this Brazilian Big Wave Surfer is an experienced waterman and was previously involved in other spectacular rescue sequences. Lucas Chumbo, also from Brazil is no stranger in this kind of game, he’s been surfing in Nazaré since 2016 and was also involved in one of the most dramatic rescue episodes of all times known as the “Big Ugly”, at age 24, Chumbo is currently one of the most proeminent Big Wave Surfers in the World, he won the Best Performance award at the prestigious Big Wave Awards last season and clinched the WSL Nazaré Challenge and Puerto Escondido Challenge titles in previous years.

After this incident, both surfers returned to the outside and they were catching waves on the very next set, this kind of live threatening situations are considere “business as usual” for them.

Watch the incredible Drone footage of this sequence: https://youtu.be/Eq-eAhiX18E

Praia do Norte beach, near the fishing village of Nazaré, has become famous worldwide for huge waves in 2011, when Hawaiian surfer Garrett McNamara set a world-record for the largest wave ever surfed at 78-foot at the time, in 2017 that record was broken by Brazilian surfer Rodrigo Koxa, setting the bar at 80-foot.
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Copyright © 2019, Pedro Miranda, all rights reserved
Surfer: Lucas Chumbo (BR)
Jet Ski Rescue: Ian Cosenza (BR)
Location: Praia do Norte, Nazaré – Portugal
Date: 2019.Nov.20
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Related Videos:
Thiago Jacaré’s Wipeout & Rescue: https://youtu.be/LrNcrwHERpc
Rodrigo Koxa’s Word Record: https://youtu.be/u_q9VI7pDqU
Andrew Cotton’s 2017 Wipeout of the Year: https://youtu.be/buMIbUPhT_A
Russell Bierke’s Wipeout on Nov 7th 2018: https://youtu.be/3T0yayo7mAU
Andrew Cotton’s 2016 Wipeout & Jetski Crash: https://youtu.be/W9mG-atemFE
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