Holy Poseidon, that’s a BIG wave.
Back in November, Hawaiian pro surfer, Garrett McNamara caught a 78-foot rogue wave off the coast of Praia do Norte in Portugal, manhandling the ocean and setting the surfing world record in the process. To put this in perspective, McNamara rode a wall of water about the size of a seven-story building for almost half a minute. Count to thirty right now and pretend the only thing separating you from the bottom of the ocean is a narrow strip of fiberglass.
Obviously, we were wowed by McNamara’s remarkable feat, and we weren’t the only ones. The 44-year-old surfer has been collecting accolades for the last six months, culminating in an official nod from the Guinness World Records last week. Guinness acknowledged that McNamara set the surfing world record, beating the previous world record run by more than a foot.
The official wave height of 78-feet was determined by judges of the Global Big Wave Awards, who studied video footage and hi-res photos, using the length of McNamara’s shin bone to compare to the wave from base to peak. Global Big Wave director Bill Sharp likened McNamara’s achievement to a career-defining feat in baseball, like pitching a perfect game. But he did make one important distinction: “Add to that the fact that the stadium could collapse on you at any second.”
Huge props to Garrett McNamara for riding the monster wave and capturing the surfing world record. Check out the mind-boggling video below.
With less than tasty waves rolling into Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia earlier this week, the crowd’s mood was officially mellow while awaiting Rip Curl Pro 2012. We are talking waves that could have been dominated by our baby’s babies. Ok… maybe not, but seriously. 