Thinking about paddling into your first real big wave? From boards and breathwork to fear and wipeouts, here’s how to stack the odds in your favor.

Natxo González paddles a thin line. At 25, the professional big-wave surfer from Spain’s Basque Country has already challenged some of the most legendary waves on the planet, riding giants at Punta ...

Sebastian Steudtner holds the world record for the biggest wave ever surfed. At 26.21 meters (86 feet), it is equivalent to surfing an eight-story building. The record was set in the picturesque ...

For Big Wave rider Garrett McNamara and his wife and manager, Nicole, the HBO adventure series, 100 Foot Wave, began as a way to introduce big wave surfing to the world. What followed was just that ...

NIC VON RUPP is a big wave surfer, but he doesn't tend to present himself as the type of steely, overly-serious athlete you might expect. His sport—which might be closer to a vocation—demands someone ...

Well, that sport lost an icon last week. The famed Brazilian surfer Marcio Freire died tow-in surfing in the Portuguese town of Nazare. An underwater canyon there that is three miles deep generates ...

A look at the big wave surfer’s physical and mental preparations that led to a nomination at the 26th annual Big Wave Challenge awards.

The tiny town of Nazaré on Portugal’s west coast has become famous around the world for the monster wave that breaks in the waters off its beach, Praia do Norte. But that fame has turned to tragedy ...

Sachi Cunningham is one of the few photographers who shoots surfers at Mavericks while swimming. “You don’t want to get the same shots as everyone else on the boat,” she said. The surf photographer ...