Surfing the 100ft swell at Nazare | 60 Minutes Australia

it may not be important for everything but when it comes to big wave surfing size definitely matters and at up to 100 feet or more than 30 meters high the largest and meanest waves in the world slam into a headland in Portugal called Nazare such as this monster break it often breaks those brave or crazy board riders who attempt to take it on but the precarious divide between disaster and Glory is precisely the reason Australians like Ross clarke-jones and Mick Corbett can't stay away from Nazeri Mesirow Portugal to spectators and surfers alike it's becoming famous as the eighth wonder of the world home to the largest waves on the planet this is the final frontier there's the hundred-foot of possible or a myth I don't know I think he if anywhere it'll be here surfers come to ness ray with two goals in mind to ride the biggest wave of their life and to stay alive like that wave can kill you for sure so it's the most dangerous wave in the world and if you don't have the right team and the right experience in your team you can die it quite easily out there ten years ago this ancient clifftop fort of Nazare wasn't even a surfing map but the sheer size and power of the monster Atlantic swells rolling in here has developed a reputation for fear and danger that has turned this place into the new Coliseum of big wave surfing and when you see what these board riding gladiators are taking on you realize how truly epic this arena is [Music] it struck me that all those people watching your doing that you know there is an element of sort of almost bloodlust yeah it goes back to the gladiator days I guess people want to see the Lions eat the gladiators you know they want to see them die blood they want to see blood there is a bit of that isn't there is an attack I guess it's human nature it is like it's carnage everyone loves watching carnage you know which is why preparing to surf nazaré is like preparing for battle for Australian big way of legend Ross clarke-jones every small detail is vital like ensuring his surfboard fins are screwed in tight once you're doing right ATK's now you're like you don't want it like if it ended smallest little nick in the fin can like vibrate really and sort of cavitate and you know oh this is no good this is not good another crucial bit of kit are these safety vests equipped with cartridges of co2 and for inflation pool taps a true lifesaver getting really worked in your underneath you would like okay it's time to pull it it's just inflating you're straight to the roof I'm glad you trust me with these but I'll find now than you I I hope you don't see use them West Australia's meet Corbett has already earned a reputation for being fearless in big surf feedstock we didn't have and stuff it's no good so you better best off being calm and it's doing like you normally do you know and with that we can Ross set off it's a beautiful morning here at nazareth which lies about an hour and a half north of Portugal's capital Lisbon [Music] this early season arctic swell has been trapped for weeks and now it's arrived slamming into the Nazare headland these waves are so powerful and fast paddling on to them is impossible the only way you can catch them is being towed by a jetski and wasps clarke-jones gets the first wave of the day watching it from the shoreline is shocking to the point of profanity oh look at the size of the tiger look at that the first wave you got me and I was like yes you know it's like the the elation of like Oh aren't you afraid of hot sauce I actually even I am but you all right you're all right on top of these things oh yeah it's water taint water no no but Ness Rey is the heaviest water in the world thanks to its unique topography that funnels the swells into the headland getting caught inside can be disastrous for man and machine this is like the disown thanks for inviting me know when it's big we don't want to be here at all if you come off here it's certain and well it's not certain death was highly likely just last week Ross wiped out on the way and for nearly ten minutes was trapped in the Death Zone only a lifetime's experience and his inflated vest saved him from serious injury [Music] you get cocky you get too complacent you just keep you keep pushing it push it despite the risks surfers from all around the world are now flocking to this ultimate proving ground England's Andrew cotton is famous back home for his exploits here but on this morning things go horribly wrong he literally gets catapulted out of the way and breaks his back when you actually hit the water at that speed it feels like concrete because you smack to see a surfer actually get ejected like that I think that's the first for me yeah Cotton's full recovery could take up to a year but serious injuries are all part of the big wave surfing equation is it worth it yeah it's worth it I mean that's that Andrew Cotton's been here you know some biggest waves ever surfed here for the last ten years you're so experienced yeah and you saw him you could see him getting spat out by that Wow [Music] why has this become the Holy Grail well it is the biggest right of a wife but it's been here all those years well why is it only recently been discovered well I think it's because it's a death to find Australian filmmaker Tim benaiah 'then lives what he calls his endless winter chasing the big winter swells of both the Southern and Northern Hemisphere's he's captured some of NASA's most iconic moments you filmed in a lot of surfing locations around the world would be the best of the years and years and years how does this rank where does it sit this is on top of him of big wave surfing doesn't get any bigger than this it's great job it's the best job on the planet there's nothing more exciting and and you know the wonderful thing these well events don't happen all the time this is once in a blue moon calm swell event this is going to go down in history as one of the great swell events in big wave surfing they were here the swell builds through the morning peaking at over 60 feet as Ross and Mick trade wave for wave with the other riders it's turning into a day to remember one good wife makes you whole we're really like um it's amazing feeling to get that one bomb and yeah that way I can go on for years yeah and get excited about it when you remember it yeah you know like that one way I can remember yeah so that's that's one of the feelings we're striving for yeah just that one wife you know big waves big memories yeah hang on he's a set hang on hang on hang on down here that now look at the Gallagher Ross clarke-jones has a well-deserved reputation as a Hellraiser in and out of the water he loves playing the lair but not when a serf is serious it's almost this skillful writing this as it is to the board no no it actually takes more skill to ride the jetski tend to ride the board that's for sure I reckon it's more down to the driver but the realm of the driving a you got more responsibility as it's driving that you have to get them on the wave and rescue them so you've got twice the responsibility [Music] so when he towed Mick Corbett onto one of the waves of the day it was total concentration on waves this big there's a fine line between glory and oblivion Mick is racing down the line at a speed of 80 kilometres an hour yet the wave catches up with him and Mick is buried under tons of white water that wave basically chased you down underneath yeah I can tell it was because I was going down it I was feeling to myself I'm pretty sweet you know and then like I could just see the shadow coming over me I saw no I I thought was gonna actually like land straight on top of me but I sort of looked up and then land and strike behind me and just ran straight over me Ross knows he has to go in and rescue me but he has to find him and not run him over the first attempt fails and Mick gets buried by the Whitewater again even though I got a few eyes on the head I'm still pretty relaxed by the time he got me and these eyes were like direct like when I pick up people sometimes they just cross-eyed and they're bleeding and you know it's not good and you have to pick them up by the hair bleeding yeah bleeding noses or like they've had too much pressure you've got tons and tons of water coming down on your so we've been hit burqa imagine that's what it feels like I've come up before and I thought I broke all my arms and legs watching this all unfold from the safety of dry land I was truly in awe yet I couldn't decide whether these athletes were brave or stupid [Applause] [Music] what do you like - well not putting my life at risk on that sighs why what excites you well suppose that's the question isn't it what is the level of excitement versus the amount of risk that's the question yeah you bucks inside the advanced chip yeah I think it's just the whole adventure oh it's not just that dive surfing we've tracked this swell for two weeks and then you finally make the call and you fly from Australia to Portugal to surf these waves but the amount of risk you're prepared to take on here I'd suggest you it would be a lot more than the average person yeah but then without risk there's no reward you know that's like you take the risk and you get the reward the feeling of getting that rewards just amazing and as they say only a surfer knows the feeling incredibly this was the first time Ross and Mick had ever surfed together but it won't be the last so the old bulls working out all right then spring chicken seasoned chicken regular chicken

Channel: 60 Minutes Australia

Views: 3,550,107

Rating: 4.8020105 out of 5

Keywords: Nazare, Portugal, Surf, Surfing, Ross Clarke Jones, Mick Corbett, Ocean, Sport, Surfer, record wave, record wave surf, record wave surfed 2018, biggest waves, biggest waves surfed, nazare wave, nazare surfing, nazare surfing wipeouts

Id: JkMWoHjnaRw

Length: 14min 23sec (863 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 05 2018