Surfing
Let the big wave games begin
A big late October swell smashes into Portugal, igniting the big wave season. Watch all of the action from the winter's opening sessions here.
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See the maxing first swell of the season at Nazaré
The 2017/18 big wave season gets off to a throttling start at Praia do Norte. Watch all of the action from the winter's opening sessions here.
In this business, there are always false starts. A swell map goes purple, but the angle is off. The waves come, but the wind wreaks havoc. Nothing could be truer at Portugal's famed Nazaré, where the forces of nature are often laid bare in the form of massive surf.
So it was that around mid-October, we thought the first big swell of the season was on its way. Not so. Then, just a few days later, it was red alert once again. This time seemed much more promising, given the steady stream of big wave pros flooding the streets of the once-sleepy fishing village turned Garrett McNamara fun farm.
Sure enough, the weekend of October 21–22 saw the likes of Maya Gabeira, Justine Dupont, Ross Clarke-Jones and a raft of other Nazaré regulars whipping and paddling into some healthy early-season beasts. A Red Bull ski even got in on the action, sending it on a massive sneaker set. Yes, it all happened and it's all in the video above for your viewing pleasure. Don't get comfortable – we've got a long season ahead of us.