One is home to the tallest surfable waves in the world.
From Winter 2021/2022, Tudor will be partnering with the World Surf League on its two legendary Big Wave events.
These are the Tudor Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge presented by Jogos Santa Casa in Nazaré, Portugal and the Quiksilver Jaws Big Wave Challenge presented by Tudor in Maui, Hawaii. Tudor will be the title partner of the Nazaré event and the presenting partner of the Jaws event.
Riding big
Big wave surfing is both daring and exclusive. Only a handful of women and men worldwide can surf the 20-plus meter high monster waves of Nazaré, the Portuguese fishing town that is home of the tallest surfable waves in the world.
Twelve years ago, almost nobody in the surfing world had heard of the tranquil fishing town north of Lisbon. Then in 2010, Garrett McNamarra surfed a 24-meter giant wave and Nazaré instantly became world-famous and the cliff-top vantage point of Fort de São Miguel Arcanjo, became an iconic image of daring, extreme sports.
McNamarra had previously been tipped-off by a bodyboarder friend and though a little skeptical, visited the surf spot. The rest is history. The unique configuration of the sea bottom at Praia de Norte in Nazaré, with its combination of sandy bottom and immense underwater canyon that channels all the power of the ocean, generates the tallest waves ever surfed by humans.
Some say that if a 30-meter wave is ever surfed, it will be at Nazaré. The intimidating power of these waves makes Nazaré a tow surfing spot, meaning that surfers are taken to the peak, launched and picked-up after the ride by jet-skis, which also keeps the surfers safe.
Power and speed
When it comes to paddle-in big-wave surfing, Peʻahi aka Jaws is the gold standard, and not many more dare to venture out to the Maui destination on any day of the year.
The Pe’ahi break on the North shore of Maui, Hawaii has made the careers of some of the biggest names in the sport, was a center in the development of tow surfing, and has now become an arena for some of the heaviest paddle-in sessions imaginable.
What makes Jaws such a spectacular big wave venue is its water depth, specifically the sudden change in the seabed from very deep to relatively shallow. There is an extremely deep trench uncommonly close to shore, which comes up from around 30 to 6 meters. Beyond the immense power and high-speed waves, Jaws is also renowned for its gigantic tubes through the intimidating west bowl.
Contrary to the Tudor Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge, surfers compete at the Quiksilver Jaws Big Wave Challenge under their own paddle power, in an individual competition format.
Global events
A global sports, media and entertainment company, the WSL oversees international tours and competitions, a studios division creating over 500+ hours of live and on-demand content, and via affiliate WaveCo, the home of the world’s largest high performance, human-made wave.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, the WSL has regional offices in North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and EMEA.
The WSL annually crowns the men’s and women’s surfing World Champions. The global Tours and Competition division oversees and operates more than 180 global contests each year across the Championship Tour, the development tiers, including the Challenger, Qualifying and Junior Series, as well as longboard and big wave properties.
The official holding period for the WSL Big Wave competitions runs from November 15, 2021 through March 31, 2022. Each competition will take place on the best day of waves during the holding period and event officials will monitor swell-producing storms, watching for the precise conditions that will produce waves in the competition range.
Once the call is made the competitors will have a 72-hour notice to travel to these destinations and be ready to compete.
For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com
