Surfer Ross Clarke-Jones rode a spectacular monster wave in Portugal's Nazaré during the recent giant swell of January 18th, as footage continues to emerge. Locals described this wave as one of the biggest “bombs” of the day in what was one of the biggest days in years. Ross Clarke-Jones is an Australian Big Wave charger and one of the most renowned personalities inside the Big Wave world, he’s been chasing Giant waves around the globe since the 90’s, and appeared in several TV and Feature productions worldwide. At age 51, Clarke-Jones continues to standout and inspire a new generation of big wave surfers around the world. This swell originated from a North Atlantic storm and produced some of the biggest and heaviest waves the town has seen in years, reaching the 80ft mark on Thursday, January 18th, 2018. Some of the biggest names in Big Wave Surfing have descent on Praia do Norte, in Nazaré - off the coast of Portugal, to ride the Biggest Swell since 2014. Locals already call the day “The Big Thursday”, the same name given to the infamous swell of 2014, also on a Thursday. Benjamin Sanchis, Ross Clarke-Jones, Sebastian Steudtner, Maya Gabeira, Hugo Vau, Alex Botelho, Marcelo Luna, Axi Munian, Andrey Karr, João Guedes, Roland Pierre and many other Professional Big Wave Surfers were in the water, several monster waves were ridden that most likely will end up nominated for the WSL Big Wave Awards, as footage continues to be released. Praia do Norte beach, near the fishing village of Nazaré, has become famous for huge waves since Hawaiian surfer Garrett McNamara set a then-record in 2011 for the largest wave ever surfed, when he rode a 78-foot wave. * (Update 2018.04.05 - This video has been nominated for the "Ride of the Year" category in the 2017/18 WSL Big Wave Awards, this wave has also been nominated for the "Biggest Wave" Award category with a different video)

Pedro Miranda