Daring Surfer

The breathtaking moment thrill-seeking surfer catches 'world's biggest wave' off the coast of Portugal Surfing legend Garrett McNamara rode the enormous wall of water to shore as bystanders looked on in amazement in Nazare, Portugal He is believed to have beaten his own record for the biggest wave ever surfed by catching the 100ft break By Kerry Mcdermott This thrill-seeking surfer was but a speck on this enormous wall of water as he appeared to set a new world record for the biggest wave ever ridden. Surfing legend Garrett McNamara caught the towering wave - believed to have measured around 100ft - off the coast of Nazare, in Portugal, yesterday. If the claims are verified the U.S. born athlete will have successfully beaten his own record, which was also set at Nazare, when he successfully rode a 78ft high break at the end of 2011. Monster wave: Garrett McNamara is said to have broken his own world record for the largest wave ever surfed when he rode this 100ft crest in Nazare, Portugal Mr McNamara, 45, was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, but his family moved to Hawaii's North Shore when he was 11 where he followed in his older brother Liam's footsteps and began to surf. He started competing professionally at the age of 17 and spent ten years on the circuit with his brother. His previous record breaking ride in 2011, described as 'inspiring' by fellow pro-surfers, beat the previous record by one foot. The surfer's latest breathtaking feat came yesterday, as huge waves crashed off the coast of Nazare throughout the day. The exposed beach break in the north of the country attracts surfers all year round. McNamara risked being forced dozens of feet beneath the water, or slamming into a reef or the ocean floor, if he had wiped out on the massive wave. Crashing surf: The thrill-seeking surfer is thought to have set a new world record for the highest wave ever surfed Return of the Mac: Garrett, known as GMAC on the surfing circuit has been surfing since the age of 11 when his family moved to from Massachusetts to Hawaii Brave: Barely visible on the wave, Garrett McNamara begins to make his way down the record-breaking water wall Surfing legend: Garrett McNamara of Haleiwa, Hawaii, is seen with the surfboard he used to set his existing record in Portugal in 2011