Big wave surfing goes hand in hand with dangerous rescues. Handling the punishing waves is a task in itself. On top of that is the daunting whitewash which is enough to take a life in itself. The year 2017 saw one of the most dramatic rescues in big wave surfing ever. This rescue, which took place on February 28, 2017, was nothing short of a miracle.

The incident, not a surprise here, took place in the Praia do Norte region of Brazil. The region is popularly known as Nazaré and is one of the most dangerous areas when it comes to surfing. The waves there have been known to reach as high as 100 feet. Two big wave surfers got stuck there, and their rescue video recently resurfaced.

The most unbelievable rescues in big wave surfing

Pedro “Scooby” Vianna, who is a professional surfer from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, got wind of a storm that was building on the coast of Greenland and moving toward Europe. Due to the weather conditions, one of the biggest swells of the year was predicted to hit the shores. As soon as Vianna heard the news, he was off to Portugal, where he met his friend and fellow surfer, Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca.

“Scooby” hit the waves and caught a giant one. The experienced surfer started riding it, however, he could not defeat the violent force of the angry sea. He was thrown off his board into the terrifying whitewash. As soon as Chumbo saw his friend fall into the roiling sea, he rushed to rescue him on a jet ski.

As Chumbo reached Scooby, another gigantic churning wave started rushing toward them. While Scooby was able to hold onto the jet ski, it was already too late and the jet ski capsized and both of them got ‘knocked into’ the sea once again.

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The video, which was posted by The Epoch Times, showed a bird’s eye view of the entire incident and the surfers looked like tiny dots against the might of the sea. Subsequently, surfer Everaldo Pato had no option but to try to rescue both of them. He came riding in on a jet ski and first rescued Scooby and drove him to the shore. Then he went back for Chumbo.

Due to the time elapsed, Chumbo had gotten too close to the rocks. However, somehow Pato somehow brought him to the shore as well. The video is a perfect showcase of the might of Nazaré.

Nazaré: a surfer’s dream and nightmare

Nazaré is one of the most popular destinations for big-wave surfers. According to a report by National Geographic, titled, ‘Watch this Dramatic Rescue of a Fallen Big Wave Surfer’, there are majorly two factors that make the place a heaven for those looking for skyscraper waves.

The first one is weather conditions. The second is the Nazaré Canyon, which is 130 miles (210 kilometers) long and 16,000 feet (5,000 meters) deep. The canyon points directly to the region and results in barreling waves.

The canyon is like an amplifier, taking currents formed by midwinter storms and multiplying the water’s force, and throwing it toward the coastline. The local residents in the villages nearby claim that the winter waves shake the coast to the extent that it sometimes feels like an earthquake.

But what is surprising is, on that fateful day in February, the waves were not actually record-high. What made the surfing expedition more dangerous were the unfavorable winds that made the whitewash even more threatening than it could be.

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Luckily, both Chumbo and Scooby had the fortune of making it back to the shore alive, courtesy of Pato. Though this is not the first or the last time that a risky rescue will be performed for the surfers visiting Nazaré, that is for sure.