It’s being called Animal Thursday, the ‘Black Swell’, or just simply the biggest day of the year. Pumped out by supertyphoon Hagupit (the same one that smashed the Phillipines early last week), the waves were reaching heights in excess of 100ft.

Thanks to the unique Nazare Canyon that runs straight into the lighthouse at Nazare, Portugal, the pressure from the Atlantic pushes these kinds of swells out nearly once a year. But this weeks effort is the stuff legends are made of, and not only were the waves big in Portugal, they were cranking all over the world.

So how big were these puppies? Put it this way, the swell was reported at 5.2m with a period of 21 seconds. Funnel that up a 5km deep channel with a giant wall at the end, and you’ve got small waves at 40ft. The big ones? We don’t know, and nobody was going to stand around with a measuring tape to work it out. One possible solution would be to measure the size of the kahoonas on the tow-in surfers who rode them, but that too would be difficult due to the simply ridiculous nature of the conditions. These waves were monsters, munching jetski’s, surfers, and anyone else that got in their path.

These guys are crazy, certifiably nuts, but make for incredible viewing. According to witnesses on the day (and cliffs and surrounding lighthouse were lined with spectators), the wave at 0:43 in the below clip was the ride of the day, and is most certainly set to be nominated for the Billabong XXL Big wave awards this year.

Check it out! We’d tell you not to try this at home, but the waves are gone now, and you probably don’t live in Portugal… So try your heart out!

#News #Surfing #Deep