Dangerous beauties with unimaginable force: the waves of Nazaré
Bild: picture alliance / ZUMAPRESS.com
Brazilian big wave surfer Márcio Freire dies in a wave crash in Portugal. Sebastian Steudtner, the German world record holder, has long warned of a drama like this.
JNow what everyone feared has happened. On Praia do Norte, the dangerous northern beach of the Portuguese coastal town of Nazaré, where the world’s largest waves break on stormy days, a big wave surfer has died for the first time. It wasn’t one of the many gamblers who venture into waves that are way too big, it was a seasoned athlete, albeit at the ripe old age of 47. Brazilian Márcio Freire died on Nazaré beach after falling in a wave.
It was a day like many others this winter on the Portuguese Atlantic coast. A sunny, almost warm day in the middle of winter. Light offshore wind. The waves are big, but not nearly as powerful as they get on the really big days.
