Portuguese citizens from Cascais ride giant waves in Cape Raso and in Nazaré

Fhoto: Ricardo Bravo

 

At the age of 27, António Silva, a surfer from Cascais, is among the five candidates for the world XXL Big Wave Awards - The Biggest Wave of the Year, with a value of 10,000 US dollars and which recognises the best and biggest waves surfed throughout the world.

It was Garrett McNamara himself, the world record holder, who confirmed the achievement of António Silva which took place on the 11th of December, on the giant waves of Nazaré. With the ambition of “exceeding his limits”, the surfer now hopes to win the Big Wave Award which may open new doors in the world of surfing. The results of the XXL Big Wave Awards will be announced on the 3rd of May at a special gala held in California.

At Cape Raso, Ruben Gonzalez returned to challenge the giant wave in Cascais that in 2013 earned him the video “The Hidden Wave of Cape Raso” (HYPERLINK "http://vimeo.com/75905266" http://vimeo.com/75905266
) which was filmed with the objective of putting Cascais on the map of giant waves.

In the company of friends as well as national surfers such as Miguel Blanco, José Ferreira, Francisco Laranjinha, André Pedroso and Pedro “Pecas” Monteiro, Ruben Gonzalez used the tow-in technique that allows the surfer to go to the wave by jet-ski. If he had paddled to the main peak of the wave, Gonzalez would probably have earned a nomination for the XXL Big Wave Awards.