Nazaré, Portugal: How A Fishing Village Became a Surfing Mecca

October 8, 2021 CATALYST Team

For centuries, Nazaré, Portugal was a traditional fishing village; until it made its way on the big wave surfing map. Now, it’s what many consider to be the Mecca of surfing, drawing crowds from across the globe.

Luis Ascenso from Lisbon, Portugal, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Historically, big wave surfers gravitated towards the waves found in the surfing communities of Hawaii and California. Locations like Jaws, Mavericks, Shipstern Bluff and Mullaghmore were thought of as the best of the best. However, it wasn’t until recently that Nazaré, Portugal made its name as a surfing destination. Nazaré’s beach of Praia do Norte has all the elements for disaster—a deep underwater canyon and currents of waves that collide into one, breaking towards the coast of monumental cliffs. Surfing there, in the winter especially, was long thought to be impossible. It wasn’t until 2010 that someone was daring enough to surf the uncharted waters and alter the history of Nazaré forever.

Just a few meters off the shore of Praia do Norte is the Nazaré Canyon, an underwater submarine valley 3 miles deep. When water currents move through the valley, they get compressed and begin to move faster. When these currents collide with the local water current, they forge waves upwards of 10 stories high. Among villagers, the waves in Praia do Norte were forbidden. Many had loved ones who died at sea, and they taught their children to avoid the huge waves. So in 2010, when Garret McNamara first arrived, locals were apprehensive about getting behind him and his mission to ride a 100-foot wave.

It took five years for McNamara to take up an invitation from Dino Casimiro, a local bodyboarder who worked to publicize Nazaré’s waves. When he first laid his eyes on the view from the cliff, he told The New York Times, “it was like finding the Holy Grail.” He’d spend the next year preparing, studying the rhythm of the waves, and developing a safety system with his team of jet-ski tow-riders and spotters on walkie-talkies. Finally, in November of 2011, McNamara conquered a 78-foot wave, earning him a Guinness World Record, and serving as proof that Nazaré’s waves were real and surfable. From that moment on, every big wave surfer in the world wanted their shot to make a name for themselves at Nazaré. Today, at least 20 professional surfers stay in Nazaré during any given week in the winter, including men and women like Justine Dupont, Lucas Chianca, and Kai Lenny.

In 2013, the town’s current mayor Walter Chicharro was elected. Chicharro worked with McNamara and Casimiro to capitalize on their waves’ fame and invested in the professionalization of the surfing scene. The World Surf League now hosts an annual big wave surfing challenge event every winter, a time that Nazaré’s 10,000 locals were accustomed to having to themselves. In additon, Mayor Chicharro opened the town’s 17th-century lighthouse, Farol Da Nazaré, both as a museum showcasing the town’s history and as a space to view the waves. According to an article in The New York Times, about 40,000 people visited it in 2014, while more than 220,000 entered the fort in 2018.

Today the town is used to the presence of surfers; even the local fisherman welcome them thanks to the business they bring. Joao Carlines, a retired fisherman, told reporters that “Surfers have a different relationship with the sea, but I’m happy the town’s become known for surfing because it means we have people coming here in the winter.” While the elusive 100-foot wave has yet to be ridden, rest assured that it will be one day, and it will be in Nazaré. In anticipation of that day, surfers and their fans will continue traveling to the seaside village in hopes of witnessing the historic event for themselves.