The seaside town of Nazare in Portugal has become a surf haven in recent times, due to its massive waves.

For the past few weeks, surfers have gathered for the annual big wave season to try their luck and test their skills in the ocean.

The big waves season in Nazare happens between October and March, which is the winter season in Portugal. A number of records have been set over the years for ‘biggest wave surfed’ which is part of the draw to the fishing village.

You may recall Rodrigo Koxa’s heroics from 2017, where he set the Guinness World Record for exactly that.

According to Wavelength Magazine, the drive to beat records is the inspiration behind the Nazare Tow Challenge, which is currently going on. Surfers don’t compete to win; they compete to set new surfing records.

Other prizes include Best Men’s Wave, Best Women’s Wave, Best Team and Most Committed.

So far the challenge has yielded some epic footage of surfers doing their thing.

This year alone, French surfer Justine Dupont may have conquered the world record for the largest wave surfed by a woman.

You can see that footage on YouTube here. The wave hasn’t been measured yet, but is expected to be more than 20 metres high. It will have to exceed the 2018 mark of 20,72 metres set by Brazilian surfer Maya Gabeira, also in Nazare, to become a record.

Professional big wave surfer Lucas Chumbo was towed into a massive wave during the session on November 20, which led to a very brave rescue:

Once bitten, twice shy, Chumbo decides not to chance it again. There’s no sound on this one so don’t adjust your volume:

Meanwhile, Brazilian Koxa (the world record holder we mentioned earlier) took on this bad boy at the competition this year:

That tiny dot in the centre of the wave is Koxa, who landed his world record at Nazare on November 8, 2017, with an 80 foot (24 metre) wave.

More epic footage from this year’s efforts:

They weren’t kidding around when they said there’d be ‘big waves’.

[source:wavelengthmag]