For many competitors in the inaugural Nazaré Challenge



In the days leading up to the Nazaré Challenge, the waves were deemed too big and burly to surf – not even to tow, forget about paddle. In the years leading up to the event, the wave was only ridden via jetski assist when it reached a certain size – Garret McNamara riding the highly-speculated “100-feet” wave. But the paddle resurgence has flipped conceivable reality on its head, creating new definitions of what a man (and woman) can do with his own bare hands.



The maiden Nazaré Challenge will go down as an unforgettable event – but not like the past two Pe’ahi Challenges, which were historic for an abundance of progressive surfing. No, the newest member of the Big Wave Tour will be remembered as a day of survival, one when the physical limitations of what’s possible became very real. It left many competitors questioning whether the risk was worth the reward. We caught up with Damien Hobgood, Nic Lamb, and João de Macedo to hear just a few of the many harrowing stories that went down that day.



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Damo: I went home with my tail between my legs. I think there were some physical scars and maybe some mental and ego scars, too.



By the end of the day, I think a lot of people were asking themselves: ‘was the risk really worth the reward?’ For myself and definitely a few other people, we were second-guessing ourselves. I don’t know if it was worth it, especially in a contest setting. In a contest, you have to put yourself in the zone and if a wave comes, you gotta go. You don’t really care what’s behind it because you might not have another shot to go again. When you’re freesurfing, you might wait until the last wave in the set.

“We were happy to just make it out alive.” – Damien Hobgood

You can get a perfect ride and do everything right out there, but you’re kicking out in the death zone. A perfectly ridden wave still puts you in a gnarly place.I was trying to get out for my next heat, and I was riding on the sled of the ski while holding my board. From the sled, it’s kind of hard to see what’s in front of you. But all of a sudden, I saw a wave coming in from the left and a wave coming in from the right. I don’t know if we could’ve spun around in time. It was closing in on us from either side. So he [Garret McNamara] just had to hit it and it was just a perfect launch ramp. It looked like a Travis Pastrana motocross ramp. As we get to the top, I just see G-Mac jump and I’m like, ‘this ain’t good when the driver jumps.’ So I tried to get away from the jetski, too, but from the sled you can’t get as much leverage. Then time stood still – I was in the air forever. Then, like a receiver waiting to catch the ball but getting laid out, it hit me like a bag of bricks. I was disintegrated. I don’t really know what happened after that. I came to and my vest was blown up and I was in the death zone. There was no one around. I took about four or five waves on the head, then Abe Lerner came out of nowhere and took me to the beach.I had a standard concussion, I was seeing stars. I still have a little headache, but it feels better every day. Luckily I had my hood on so I think that helped from completely splitting my head open. After that, I was done. I can barely handle those waves when I’m 100 percent. It would’ve been stupid to go back out after that. I wasn’t even remotely thinking about that.And that guy, Tom Butler – I don’t know what did it, if it was his fin or his board, but his ear looked like someone took knife and just cut his ear from the top of it all the way to his ear canal. It was in two pieces. But that wasn’t even his biggest concern. He was more worried about how much water he took in his lungs. They had the bag over him and then they took him to the hospital.I think you could see it in the final, how few waves were caught. The amount of energy it took for each heat was crazy. I don’t think people realize how gnarly Jamie Mitchell was to have that energy to do what he did in the final. By the time the final came around, I think a lot of people were like: ‘I’m going to paddle out the back and if a wave comes, it comes. If not I don’t even care.’ Everyone was stoked that nobody got really, really,hurt. We were happy to just make it out alive.: It was a dream event. In the final, I almost made a crazy drop, and if I had, I think I would’ve given Jamie [Mitchell] a run for his money. It was borderline what you can paddle out there. I think it’s awesome that people were questioning whether it was too gnarly. That’s what Nazaré is all about – pushing the limits. That’s why the best guys come here. That is the future right there. Nazaré has earned its place in the echelons of amazing giant waves.You can be taken out there. You’re not in the channel. You can’t just do your thing and ask for help from anyone. The jetski safety team is so crucial, because sooner or later, something is going to happen to you. It makes it less of a stupid undertaking.I never lost my consciousness during the event, like a few guys did. Nothing too critical. But in the first heat, my board hit me in the temple. I didn’t really notice. And towards the end of the day, I hit the bottom on one and just so many gnarly beatings. I was trembling, there was a bit of hypothermia. We were all fine because we were breathing, but we were just talking, like, ‘whoa, that was insane.’ I felt like my head was going to explode, I had a minor concussion, my eyes were all swollen. The WSL doctor was inferring that and telling me not to surf for the next couple days.These guys are the best in the world. To see them in Portugal in the intense conditions it was that day, was just so cool. The performance level was through the roof. I felt a lot of pride being from Portugal and having these sessions go down from these guys. They’re animals.: This wave is what the Big Wave Tour is all about! The mountain sized waves, risk and inherent danger are essentially the ethos of the tour. If you’re not feeling it, that’s fine – have a seat, smile, and enjoy the show. Nobody is being forced to put on a jersey. People need to be supportive of those who’ve dedicated their lives to this tour. I’ve been hearing about negative-toned articles going around by those who are disconnected, uninformed and/or haven’t experienced the ocean here. Those people need to quietly take a seat. I have a few bumps and bruises – a concussion and blurred vision from my wipeout in the final – but that’s on me. I won’t be pointing the finger at anyone.(via Instagram ): Yesterday was pretty unique in my surfing life, riding a 20ft double up shore break where you have to catch 2 waves in an hour for a @wsl event was insane. Nazare as a wave is a phenom, as challenging and beautiful as any big wave I've surfed but the dangers involved seem to out way the rewards. Those 20 minutes during each heat, on the back of a ski, holding on with all your strength while jumping 10ft foamies, were some of the most terrifying experiences of my life and something I can't see myself repeating? The water safety team did a fantastic job and special thanks to them. Of course @jamie_mitcho the maddest dog won and hoping all the guys with injuries recover soon. #riskvsreward++++++More stories by Dashel Pierson:Want breaking surf news, fresh videos, fullscreen photo galleries and more delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for the Surfline weekly newsletter and 'like' our Facebook page