Brazilian surfer breaks ‘biggest wave’ record – plus five more must-see videos

Rodrigo Koxa rides 80ft-high wave off the
coast of Portugal

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The 38-year-old surfed the monster wave at Praia do Norte, off
the coast of Nazare, on 8 November 2017.

That feat has now bagged him the Quiksilver XXL Biggest Wave
Award, which comes with a $25,000 (£18,300) prize and “goes to the
surfer who catches the largest wave of the year by any means –
either by paddling into it or being towed in by a jet ski”, says
CNN.

“I’m just so happy and this is the best day of my life,” Koxa
said at the awards ceremony, in Santa Monica, California, on
Saturday. “It’s a dream come true.”

The record was previously held by Hawaii’s Garrett McNamara, who
rode a 78ft-high wave off the same coast in 2011.

Other surfers claim they have also broken McNamara’s
record, but Koxa’s wave was the first to be confirmed as the
biggest yet. “Experts can measure a wave from trough to crest by
comparing it with the size of the people surfing it,” explains
National Geographic.

The waves of Praia do Norte, where Koxa achieved his record
feat, are famous for being among the largest in the world.

The beach’s westerly location on the European coast allows it to
catch excessive amounts of wind from storms that sweep across the
North Atlantic, which in turn produces ocean swells.

“The ocean swells get focused in this submarine canyon and have
much more energy,” surfer and forecaster Micah Sklut told news
website NPR in 2013. “So, first you’ve got really deep water, and
then as it approaches the shore it gets very shallow, and that
enables the waves to climb really, really big all of a sudden.”

Here are five more gravity-defying waves and their riders:

Garrett McNamara, Portugal

Raimana Van Bastolaer, Tahiti

Kelly Slater, Hawaii

Dylan Longbottom, South Pacific

Mike Parsons, Pacific Ocean