Garrett McNamara's wave was BIG, but was it 90 feet?

 

Garrett McNamara caught a monstrous wave this week off Nazaré in Portugal, but did the wave face measure anywhere close to 90 feet, as a witness in the surfer's group implied and as news reports suggested? Is it the largest wave ever ridden, as stated in the headline of a news release issued after the epic tow-surfing session?

Both points are debatable based on footage provided by McNamara to GrindTv.com, for its Tuesday afternoon post on the surfer's incredible ride.

It was, without doubt, an amazing performance by the big-wave surfing icon from Hawaii. The wave face, however, might appear to some to fall significantly short of 90 feet. It's worth noting, though, that footage captured from up high or far away, as was mostly the case here (there is some helmet-cam footage), can be misleading. A more accurate perspective can be obtained from up-close, at water level.

McNamara was tow-surfing with partner Andrew Cotton at the helm of the jet-ski when the huge set rolled in. Al Mennie was aboard a separate personal watercraft, and acting as lifeguard from the channel. His assessment was provided in the news release.

"Everything seemed to be perfect, the weather, the waves. Both Cotty and I rode two big ones in the 60-foot-plus range and then when Garrett got on the rope a wave, maybe 30 feet bigger, came out of the canyon," Mennie said.

"I had the best seat in the house as he dropped down the face of the biggest wave I've ever seen. It was incredible. Most people would look scared but Garrett looked in control as he went down the most critical part of the wave.

"It was an inspirational ride by an inspirational surfer. After the ride it was as if the sea calmed down. We sat out there and just absorbed both what had just happened and the surroundings."

According to Guinness World Records, a 77-foot wave ridden by Mike Parsons in 2008 at Cortes Bank, an offshore Southern California seamount, is the record. (It's pictured immediately below, for the sake of comparison.)

Hawaii's Ken Bradshaw rode what was described as an 85-foot wave at an outer Oahu reef in 1998. (These biggest-ever feats are almost always disputed.)

Footage of McNamara's ride will be entered in the Billabong XXL Global Big-Wave Awards, a year-long competition that announces winners in several categories at the end of each April.

Bill Sharp, director of the competition, would not guess the size of the wave McNamara rode, explaining that estinations are not made until the fields are narrowed to finalists in the spring.

It's likely that McNamara will be among the finalists for the XXL's biggest-wave category. But the biggest wave ever ridden? You be the judge.

-- Image of Mike Parsons at Cortes Bank in 2008 is courtesy of Robert Brown/BillabongXXL.com

Comments

[guest]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqT1fn18GCE

Yeah if you stop the video at 0:26 sec and then measure on the left side of the screen (which gives the most view from trough to crest) the wave appears to be 15.2 times his height (i don't know how tall he is but i just guessed 5'10" which puts the wave at 88.6 feet. Its definitely a big one and prolly is in the 90 foot range.

[Marco G.]

This is a portuguese TV report with Garrett. After Garrett's interview there's some footage that can be seen for the first time.

http://sicnoticias.sapo.pt/desporto/article977332.ece

[Marco G.]

Btw, here's the best video I was able to get from youtube. All other videos are shorter and edited, even in ESPN.

This is the full and uncut version in HD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqT1fn18GCE

[TheRoyalWe]

Tall, but not a very critical looking wave. I still believe Peahi (Jaws) is the premier tow-in wave out there..

[Marco G.]

I made some calculations and triangulated with Garrett's size. The result is almost 29 meters. More than 90 feet. I guess the video is a bit misleading because you can't see the trough of the wave clearly. It's hidden by the front wave. But you can see it for a brief moment at the bottom left, snapshot and calculate from there.

Another important aspect of this shot is the way Garrett exits the wave. He rides it just 3/4 of it's height then exits just before getting wiped out. Remember he exits the wave through the right section of the video which has the trough hidden.

[Two Finger Poi]

Waves are measured by NOAA from the back trough to the peak, which is usually 25-30% more than the face.

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/wavecalc.shtml