An engineering professor outside of Alaska has created a simulation and video game that can help people understand the scale of August 2025’s Tracy Arm landslide and tsunami in Southeast Alaska.
And I would say that Waimaea is like, maybe not as scary as Nazaré, just because it is more slabbed up and a more reliable right. Like, I coudn’t say that when Waimaea is firing its not pure chaos because cmon. 50+ft waves. But like, the way the break is and how it forms, its why people can still paddle into that wave an not have to get towed in.
And structurally its the same concept. Waimaea canyon is right behind the break and its a deeeeeep canyon. Just that we get bigger direct sets with a lot more ocean behind them than Portugal.
Yeah, the underwater of topography at Nazaré is just right to funnel all of the energy into a single point where the wave then breaks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAF7k8cSJsk&t=106s
Video of current world record holder for largest wave surfed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFEh_-tYTS0
:100:
And I would say that Waimaea is like, maybe not as scary as Nazaré, just because it is more slabbed up and a more reliable right. Like, I coudn’t say that when Waimaea is firing its not pure chaos because cmon. 50+ft waves. But like, the way the break is and how it forms, its why people can still paddle into that wave an not have to get towed in.
And structurally its the same concept. Waimaea canyon is right behind the break and its a deeeeeep canyon. Just that we get bigger direct sets with a lot more ocean behind them than Portugal.