Nazare’s Praia do Norte has made quite a name for itself in the realm in big wave surfing. The wave has made mincemeat out of many, churned and spit out an elite of class of surfers who are willing to risk their lives for a piece of the action. We’ve watched surfers wipe out who were unable to penetrate the wave’s face just skitter or tumble along on top of the mountain of water. It’s similar to falling on concrete. Men and women have left the break on stretchers due to broken bones and or internal injuries. The wave is a premier location for multiple categories of XXL Awards.
We aren’t sure if water safety operator and also an all around waterman, Glyn Ovens is eligible for an award. If not, he should be! He survived an explosion of whitewater after towing big wave surfer, Toby Cunningham into a monster wave. It was amazing how long he was able to hang onto his ski with tons of turbulence erupting on and around him. Ovens’ comment on his Facebook page simply says, “Sometimes those waves eat you alive! Just another day in Nazaré!” He was only sore after the breaking wave exploded all over him. Amazing!
