5 Things You Didn’t Know About Lucas Chianca’s (Potential) 100-Foot Wave at Nazare
As told to the Surf Bugle by the man himself
When I called Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca this week he was just driving back from taking his daughter swimming in the Nazare pool. She had been diving in the deep end and carrying rocks underwater in a series of 10-metre sprints. Not bad for a two-year-old.
“I need 10 minutes Chumbo to talk about the waves on the weekend,” I said. “10 minutes, half hour, an hour, whatever you need,” was his reply. What a good cunt, as my mum would say.
Half an hour later I had the inside track on what he called the biggest waves of his life. And potentially maybe the biggest wave ever surfed.
I pitched it to a well-known surf platform. The editor called Nazare “fucking stupid” and said that his readers wouldn’t be interested in “the biggest soggy tortilla of Lucas Chumbo's life.”
That was a no then. Fair enough, I trust him, he knows his readers. But I disagree. Everything Chumbo does in the water is interesting. And this was, potentially, a 100-foot wave. And he hadn’t talked anyone through it. I had, and I discovered these five things that no one else might know. Except you, The Surf Bugle reader.
300HP Nearly Wasn’t Enough When Waves Are Travelling 80 Clicks An Hour
“I’ve only had two maybe three swells like that in my life so it was pretty special. To see waves of that size, and the water moving that fast was rare. Even the skis weren’t almost fast enough the keep up with the speed of the waves. We had to do a really big slingshot with maximum power of the ski just to get a whip in. I had new 300HP Seadoo, and I said before to the team that we’ll have enough speed now. But on that day the driver was doing 80 km/h, which was the fastest he had ever gone, and I said I wouldn't mind just a little bit more.
Was it a 100 Foot Wave? Maybe.
“Maybe this wave could be a 100-foot wave, who knows? I just know a wave I caught in October 2020, that was the biggest wave of my life, and I think that came close to 80 feet. This felt bigger, but I've never had a wave measured in my life, so I have no clue. I’ve collected all the footage from all the angles we’ll just let that play out and see what happens.”
(Editor's Note: Current world record is 26.21 m (86 feet), ridden by Sebastian Steudtner.) Lucas’ wave below captured by @abovecreators
It Was A Two-Man Heat
“It was just two teams out there - myself and Sebastian Stuednter’s team. We had some moments where we all helped each other, but to have that line-up to ourselves was crazy. We were able to choose any wave we wanted. On those days there aren’t that many surfers who want to try and ride the biggest waves possible. I was feeling 100 per cent ready, and watching Sebastian surf he must have felt the same. We just spent the day each trying to get the biggest waves of our lives.
Old Board With Some New Magic
“I was riding my magic Dylan board, a 9-kilogram quad fin. I have however moved to the new John John Florence Future Fins and that has really changed my surfing. I am in love with those fins, it feels so solid. The board is also a different construction. It has a kevlar inlay, then carbon on top and finally fibreglass. So it's stiff and solid, but it feels so safe, and that's what you need.”
Team Work Makes The Dream Work
“I’m just so proud to have that team. We had four rescue skis and one driver for me. To have all those incredible people working just for me to try to catch the biggest wave of my life is fairly humbling. I had Alemao de Maresias driving on the big days, with Lucas Fink, Ian Consenza and my friend Jose on safety. Plus spotters and a safety team on land. With support like that, it shows that anything is possible. Nazaré can provide the biggest waves of your life. You just need to be there, be prepared and let the ocean do the rest.”
