I know you've all been scouring the Internets today for the latest news from the world of surfing. Well here you go! All the big headlines of late are devoted to 39-year-old Kelly Slater who just secured his 11th Association of Professional Surfers world title.
More on that from The New York Times:
SAN FRANCISCO — Just 10 events into the 11-stop schedule, Kelly Slater clinched his 11th world title, at the Rip Curl Search San Francisco. He proved that at 39, he is still surfing’s most dominant force after a year in which he occasionally wavered on making a full-time commitment to the tour.In 20 years on tour, Slater has won more tour events and more prize money than any other surfer in history and become both the youngest and oldest champion the sport has seen, dispatching a steady succession of young talent.
Impressive, no?
But another amazing bit of surfing news that I found while surfing the Internets (cue groan for awful pun) is the amazeballs video you see above. In it surfer Garrett "G-Mac" McNamara conquers a mammoth wave that, by all accounts, was nearly 90-feet tall. That's the same size as a ten-story building. For serious.
A press release issued by the Portuguese city of Nazaré where G-Mac nabbed this monster wave, it's the biggest wave ever surfed. Ever. In the history of ever. Here's a bit more from Surfer Today:
The Hawaiian big wave rider caught the huge monster in Praia do Norte, Nazaré, Portugal, during the ZON North Canyon Project 2011...This was not the first time that Garrett McNamara rode giant waves at Praia do Norte, which is under the influence of a phenomenon known as "Nazaré Canyon" that creates unusual giant waves.The conditions of swell and wind direction observed on McNamara's big day were quite special. The local maritime authorities registered a wave of about 8 metres off Nazaré coast, in one of the buoys. With a WNW swell direction and a favorable wind, the canyon does the rest."I feel so blessed and honoured to have been invited to explore this canyon and its special town. The waves here are such a mystery," says Garrett.
So how much of a record is this wave if everything checks out? ESPN reports "... the wave estimate would dwarf previous 'biggest wave ridden' candidates such as Mike Parson's 2008 frontrunner at Cortes Bank -- estimated in the 70-foot range -- or Ken Bradshaw's 1998 wave at Outer Log Cabins -- estimated at 80-feet (but lacking solid documentation)."
Whether it's confirmed or not, our congrats to G-Mac (and Kelly Slater)!