British surfer, Andrew Cotton (35), got absolutely wrecked by a 60-foot wave while surfing at Farol da Nazare, Nazare, Portugal. Thankfully, footage was captured of him getting leveled from several different angles so the entire world can see just how miserable surfing can be when things don’t go as planned.
Above all, in the surfing community Winter means massive waves are on the way. This British surfer and father of two decided to take advantage of the dropping temperatures and swelling waves by heading to Nazare, a village north of Lisbon. While there he took in the sights, waves, and then probably won an award for ‘Worst Wipeout Of The Century’ when he ate it on a 60-foot set.
After wrecking on this skyscraper of a wave he was caught out in the slush for a subsequent 3-wave set, thankfully for him he appeared to be wearing a life vest which helped keep him afloat.
It’s honestly a near-miracle that this man survived a wreck that severe. All of the air from your lungs disappearing the second your body smacks against the surface at speeds of probably 60MPH, then you spend the next 120 seconds fighting to stay above the water.
A British surfer escaped with a minor arm injury after wiping out on a 60ft wave in Portugal while attempting to break a world record.
Andrew Cotton, 35, was at notorious big-wave spot Nazare, a quiet fishing village north of Lisbon, when he fell and lost his surfboard.
The father-of-two from Braunton in Devon was towed into a wave by a jet-ski, having already successfully ridden a wave in excess of 60 feet, but fell and found himself alone and treading water with a series of giant waves about to land on his head.
“The wipeout was intense but not that bad, although I was under for quite a long time, about 15 seconds,” said Cotton.
“Because I was under so long, I surfaced behind my safety ski and within seconds faced a 60ft wave which broke directly in front of me. There was nothing the safety ski could do. He just couldn’t get to me in time.”
As the second wave approached, Cotton swam down and prepared for impact.
“This wave was a lot more violent, almost like being hit by a truck,” he said, “I hyper-extended my right arm underwater, it felt like my arm had been pulled off. I was under for a long time on this one, too.”
Cotton was eventually pulled to safety after he was hit by a third wave.
“Success in big wave surfing is often based on how you deal with wiping out in these life threatening waves,” he said.
What a badass. Much respect to this man for taking it in stride.
And last but not least, here’s a GIF of him wiping out over and over and over again:
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