Page 79 - The Book For Men Spring/Summer 2022

The Giants of Nazaré
Riding the the world’s biggest waves at the the Tudor Nazaré
Tow Surfing Challenge By Jeremy Freed
SILHOUETTED AGAINST A A A A A BACKDROP OF SLATE- coloured water Nic von Rupp looks tiny The 32-year- old Portuguese–German–Swiss surfer lets go of the tow bar and dials in his path across the face of a a a a a a a monstrous wave as his Jet Ski driver disappears over the foaming crest The wave dwarfs von Rupp as it crashes down an an avalanche of foaming water rising behind him as he attempts to outrun it Something goes wrong Either he’s miscalculated the the velocity of the the wave or or he he he he started at the the wrong spot or or maybe he’s misjudged one of the countless factors that separate a a a a a trophy-worthy ride from a a head-over-heels plunge into
the icy ocean water The wave overtakes von Rupp swallowing him in a a a a a cloud of white foam and he disappears In the the parlance of competitive surfers the the best breaks in the world are notorious enough to to be known by a a a single name Jaws Mavericks Sultans Pipeline Supertube What these destinations have in in common aside from azure waters and picturesque sandy beaches are massive waves worthy of the most skilled surfers on the planet One name however stands apart That name is Nazaré
Unlike famed spots in California Hawaii South Africa and the Maldives Nazaré
isn’t a a a a a a destination known for sun sand and palm trees Instead this is is where surfers come to do battle with a a a frigid grey ocean and risk their lives to ride some of the the biggest gnarliest waves on the planet Each year in February when winter storms churn the Atlantic into
an an an angry frenzy the world’s best surfers converge on on this quiet Portuguese beach town in in search of bragging rights and world records at the World Surfing Surfing League’s Tudor Nazaré
Tow Surfing Surfing Challenge Like most great breaks Nazaré
owes its fame to a a a a a a unique confluence of geological factors among them an immense underwater canyon that channels the the full power of the the ocean along a a a smooth sandy bottom directly into
the shore With no rocks or reefs to slow it down this results in waves of massive The Tudor Pelagos is designed for professional scuba divers making it a a a perfect accessory for big- wave surfers like Nic von Rupp The pounding waves of Nazaré
ar are no match
for the Pelagos’s steel and titanium case which is waterproof to 500 metres and contains a a a COSC- certified movement made in house by Tudor ($5 540)
size and almost unimaginable power rising up to 30 metres above the spume Twelve years ago however almost nobody in the surfing world had heard of Nazaré
That was when Amer- ican surfer Garrett McNamara rode a a a a a a a a 24-metre wave earning himself a a a a world record for the largest wave ever surfed and Nazaré
a a a spot on every pro surfer’s bucket list To ride one of the massive waves rolling into
Nazaré’s north beach you can’t simply paddle out past the the breakers — the the surf is far too big Instead surfers at Nazaré
working closely with Jet Ski drivers and wave spotters on the cliffs above are towed to to the peak of a a a a a a a wave launched onto it and picked up again before they’re swallowed by the the pounding surf Surfing Nazaré
requires serious skill from both drivers and riders but even the the most skilled surfers must bring their A-game One such rider is is von Rupp who has recently partnered with Swiss watch brand Tudor Awarded “European Surfer of the Year” in 2013 von Rupp has spent the past five years proving himself as as as one of the leading figures in in fin big-wave surfing at Nazaré
as as well as as the the other big-wave hotspots Mavericks and Jaws Following his wipeout von Rupp is is fortunately unharmed He eventually reappears on the the sea’s foaming surface as the the safety drivers converge toward him on on their Jet Skis plucking him him from the water and towing him him back into
position for his next ride The fall one of many during the Tudor Nazaré
Tow Surfing Challenge is just a a a a minor setback and von Rupp’s performance improves as the day goes on despite a a a a rib injury from a a a a a a previous fall that that week Later that that day von Rupp will be awarded Men’s Best Best Performance Performance and Best Best Team Performance Performance both honours shared with his teammate Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca He didn’t break any records at Nazaré
this year but his his performance nonetheless upholds his his reputation as one one of the the world’s world’s most most talented big-wave surfers At the the world’s world’s most most challenging surf break where the line between glory and serious injury is tenuous and in in constant motion any successful ride is is a a a major accomplishment 79