HBO’s “100 Foot Wave” provides some visual clues that the world outside the compelling documentary was in the grip of a 100-year pandemic that would kill millions.
The show’s protagonist and protagonist, Garrett McNamara, was not filmed wearing a mask, despite being close to many of the scenes featured in the first and second episodes of season 2. And he was not alone by any means.
But a Covid-restricted plane ride to Portugal was soon required as rare early weather conditions in Nazare prompted a reunion of the world’s best big-wave surfers. They included McNamara, Ian Cosenza, Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca and Kai Lenny.
“We saw this big bump on the map,” McNamara said from his home in Oahu, Hawaii. “It was the best looking swell I have seen, with the best conditions. And it looked like it would be the best waves ever.”
The rush of sightings proved worthy as the remnants of Hurricane Epsilon approached in October 2020, indeed, among the biggest waves of the decade since McNamara discovered the spot provided ample fodder for the sport’s biggest stars. with some
But the logistics told another story. The first sign of trouble came when McNamara’s young daughter broke down in tears at the news that she would not be allowed to accompany her mother to the lighthouse at the top of the majestic cliffs of Nazaire, the traditional viewing spot for the day’s surfing.
From there the tension increased.
“The hype of this swell was so intense,” Lenny said. “It was the biggest swell I’ve ever seen.”
Germany’s Sebastian Staudner soon rode a wave that had rarely roared before that day, roaring like a surfing crowd drawn to the cliffs of the lighthouse.
Guinness World Records would eventually mark Studner’s wave as the largest ride at 86 feet, a record that still stands. Officials put the number of the crowd at Nazre at 30,000.
Cianca then caught a similar massive wave, and said the reaction was unlike anything he had experienced before.
“As soon as he came off the wave, the rocks were like ‘yah’,” recalled Cosenza, who was providing the tow for Chianca. “Everyone’s screaming.”
“It was like Brazil versus France in the World Cup final,” Cianca said.
The other giants of the scene had never seen anything like this. But it was not only the banks that were crowded. The number of surfers and accompanying jet skis in the water created a logjam in the lineup and a dangerous snowball effect in the process of swooping in and grabbing a surfer after their ride – or after they were wiped out.
“I think everyone was surprised by how many people came in October,” said Andrew Cotton, McNamara tow partner and big-wave star. “So many jet skis, so many people. And everybody’s hungry. Everybody wants it.
Whether it was an opportunity for thrill, fame, fortune or the energy bottled up from anticipation and lockdown, the initial crests of the biggest waves had crowds of six jet skis hopping in the hope that magic was at hand. The radio channels of the teams’ walkie-talkies were also clogged and jammed with interference.
“The energy in the water was very intense,” Cianca said. “You could see that everyone in the water was feeling a heavier, more tense energy.”
“We were in the middle of a pandemic, you know,” said McNamara’s wife and spotter, Nicole. “People were scared during that time. Now you have these big scary waves coming. So I think it has increased everyone’s fear and survival mode.
A significant police presence grew and began erecting barricades to limit the flow of people coming into the area, which according to Nicole McNamara had become an “astronomical amount”.
It became clear that the lack of social distancing in such a large crowd had real potential to spoil a good thing as news coverage of the event spread globally.
Cotton said, “You can’t have a football match, there’s no crowd, and then you’ve got 30,000 people on the reef watching people surf.” “So then City Hall had to juggle that.”
A week later, a surfing ban was implemented, a prohibition that lasted six weeks and left it out of sight for many surfers who come there in the colder months to catch waves that reach the height of tall buildings. Let’s grow Even Garrett, the leader of Nazaré, is gone.
As “100 Foot Wave” shows, some surfers tested the rules. But the local police force proved mostly up to the task, issuing warnings and fines to almost anyone who entered the water.
A local said, “Now the rock looks exactly as it looked before Garrett.”
“100 Foot Wave” airs Sundays on HBO and airs on HBO Max.