Mullaghmore Big Wave Regular May Have Set New World Record In Portugal

19th December 2018

Tom Butler surfing the giant wave off Nazaré on Friday 14 December Credit: Tom Butler/Instagram

#Surfing - A regular visitor to Ireland’s big wave surfing hot spots may have broken the world record for the biggest wave ever surfed, as The Irish Times reports.

Cornish surfer Tom Butler rode a giant swell at Nazaré in Portugal last Friday 14 December that was estimated by onlookers to be 30.5 meters high — more than six meters bigger than the previous record.

It follows previous unverified records claimed by German surfer Sebastian Steudtner earlier this year, and Irish-American surf pro Garret McNamara in 2012.

Butler will have to wait till April’s World Surf League Awards to see if he’s set a new bar, but on social media he said he was already “blown away” by the attention.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by T O M B U T L E R (@tommybutts) on Dec 17, 2018 at 2:20pm PST

Previously, an image of Butler in the barrel of a cresting wave at Mullaghmore Head was notated for a Nomad Big Wave Award in 2016, and also made the front page of The Irish Times.

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MacDara Conroy

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MacDara Conroy is a contributor covering all things on the water, from boating and wildlife to science and business

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