Last week team riders Andrew Douglas and Rob Fowlie jumped on a ferry to chase the hurricane Kirk swell that was due to hit Nazaré.
It took a solid 3 days to lug Duggy’s t(rusty) old transit (with jetski in tow) down to Praia Da Norte. The week was to become full of challenge and adversity that had to be overcome.
Usually surf trips consist of relaxed mindsets and carefree attitudes.. but when it comes to Nazaré your head needs to be focused and your wits sharp. There are monsters out there and you need to be ready to handle whatever they throw at you.
“We made the call to down tools a week ahead of the predicted forecast still leaving some uncertainty regarding the winds.
Our main priority was to get on the scene and get as much time on the rope before the hurricane Kirk swell arrived.”
“Our safety driver had a last minute change of heart, making a swift exit for the Santander ferry. It’s totally understandable out there, but this then led to a few issues getting clearance to launch with the maritime police.” Non the less both Rob and Andrew (having trained together religiously the past couple of years for this opportunity) found a way to make it work.
The storm had eased on the last day, giving the guys a chance to head out at first light to catch a window of opportunity for massive and slightly unruly conditions before the swell was due to drop.
Wasting no time at all the guys launched out and soon found themselves bouncing down the face of Duggy’s first wave. A crumbling black run mogul mountain of a right hander… with teeth!
“It felt like riding down Mount Everest on a moped.. It was soo bumpy and fast!”.
Rob kept up with the wave, riding its back in search of Duggy as he popped up on the shoulder with a look of ‘please come get me as quickly as possible’ on his face. “I was thankful to see Rob there on the exit. He got me out of there just in time before the next wave broke.” 
The lads made the switch and it was now time to tow Rob into the arena. They circled a hefty left that was rising in the distance and beginning to accelerate into peak 1. Rob made it clear to put him in good and proper as Duggy hammered the throttle and whipped him into the bulking beast of a wave. Duggy quickly took off and made his way to the giant’s shoulder as Rob carved a high line before sending it down the face. Duggy was right there to make the rescue as Rob came flying off the back. “I was just as stoked to get Rob a bomb as I was to have surfed my own wave earlier. All our summer rescue training had paid off and we did what we went out there to do..”
A massive thanks to Anne (their spotter) Marie and Lea for capturing the images.