Veteran Brazilian surfer Marcio Freire died on Thursday while tow surfing the giant waves of Nazaré, on Portugal’s central coast, the local maritime authority said.
Support staff on jet skis managed to get the 47-year-old to the beach, but all attempts to revive him failed.
Freire was one of three Brazilian surfers who became known as the “Mad Dogs” after conquering the giant wave “Jaws” in Hawaii. They featured in the 2016 documentary “Mad Dogs.”
Tributes from other netizens poured in on Instagram.
“He surfed all day with a big smile on his face. This is how I will keep it in my memory. Legend,” posted fellow big wave surfer Nic von Rupp.
“Today we lost a great man, a very good friend and a legendary surfer, Marcio Freire. He was such a joyful spirit, always with a smile on his face…Rest in peace my friend,” the photographer wrote sportsman Fred Pompermayer.
Nazaré has some of the biggest waves in the world. They are magnified by a 5 kilometer deep underwater canyon that ends where the North Atlantic meets the shore near the old fishing village.
Hawaiian Garrett McNamara put Nazaré on the map in 2011 when he set a world record for the biggest wave ever surfed at 78 feet (23.77 meters).
Brazilian Rodrigo Koxa bettered McNamara’s mark in 2017, also in Nazaré, and German Sebastian Steudtner broke the record there again in 2020, riding an 86-foot wave.
