Surfer surfs biggest wave ever

Surfer rides 'biggest wave of all time'

Hawaii's Garrett McNamara sets a world record by surfing a 90-foot wave off the coast of Praia do Norte in Portugal.
9:45AM GMT 10 Nov 2011

Professional surfer McNamara, 44, was riding large waves with Andrew Cotton and Al Mennie as part of a study with the Portuguese Hydrographic Institute to understand why the waves in the deep-water canyon off Nazare reach such gigantic heights.
Three mammoth waves appeared and Cotton towed McNamara onto the shoulder of one.
"Everything seemed to be perfect, the weather, the waves," said Mennie, who acted as lifeguard for the event
"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"
The previous world record was set in 2008 by Mike Parsons, who rode a 77-foot wave at Cortes Bank, a shallow reef that sits 100 miles off the coast of southern California.