Mega Nazaré

At the south side of the Farol, the lighthouse at Nazaré above Praia do Norte, Lucas Chianca drops into a massive peak.

Already deep in what could be called “no man’s land.” From that position, any mistake can drive a surfer toward the towering cliffs as enormous Atlantic swells detonate against the rock face, making rescue extremely difficult.

Chianca hit a hidden piece of chop masked by whitewater and was suddenly airborne, fully launched from the face of the wave, the worst possible place to lose control. He didn’t reconnect with the face, and the pitching lip of what I estimate to be a 75–80 foot wave came down with devastating force crushing the speck like figure on the massive wave.

Lucas is now submerged in a mountain of white water in the most precarious place on the planet.

Leading the rescue was Sebastian Steudtner, ironically, Chianca’s fiercest rival in the pursuit of the largest wave ever ridden. Rivalry vanished instantly. Steudtner drove his jet ski straight into no man’s land, threading through detonating whitewater at the base of the cliffs.

His instinct proved right in locating the surfer, Chianca surfaced in the chaos and was pulled clear of the impact zone with no time to spare.

Together they escaped what remains one of the most daring rescues I have ever witnessed at Nazaré.

A moment where rivalry dissolved into respect in the raw theatre that is home to the Giant swells of the Atlantic Ocean.