Surfing The Ocean's Biggest Waves | BBC Earth Science

It's the position and size of the canyon which are key to the formation of the mega waves and what makes them so dangerous. There's waves coming from different angles colliding which also you know that creates those ginormous waves. You'll see waves coming up the beach, coming down, crossing and it can be frightening. The direction of the waves changes as they hit the edge of the canyon. This makes them collide with other waves. Where they cross they merge to create even taller waves. The energy of these two waves combines and so this explains why a 10 meter swell arriving from offshore can increase to a 20 meter wave or more. Andrew knows only too well how deadly the waves created by the canyon can be because in 2017 one of these waves nearly killed him. It was a real good peak and like had like that energy from the canyon. I was gonna try and position myself to put myself inside the wave now which is every surfer's dream to get inside the wave. Big barrel and the wave just changed shape. Andrew was flung 10 meters into the air by the immense power of the wave. It seemed like eternity you know it must have been like a split second. It was like jumping onto concrete. I knew instantly that you know I was seriously injured. A rescue team managed to get him out. Andrew had broken his back. Amazingly only six months later he was back on his board. Now Andrew was going to put his life on the line once more. Today the canyon is producing waves of about 10 meters, nearly as tall as a three-story house. The team decides to put their filming plan to the test in preparation for the larger waves when and if they arrive. I think it's a good thing to be nervous. It means you're respecting the ocean. Definitely don't want to go out there cocky even when it's not even that big. With the stakes so high, Laurent and Andrew are told by a safety team on jet skis. If they get hit by a wave the rescue team will only have seconds to pull them out before the next wave breaks and possibly drowns them. Looking good. Laurent plans to film from the side of a wave as close to the breaking crest as he can get. Too close and he and his pilot could get thrown off the jet ski. To survive Nazaret's giant waves they'll need to keep their wits about them. It's complicated because like every big wave in the world has a channel right it's like it breaks and then here's flat and here it's flat so you can always hang out in the channel and get the shot and here it's not at all like that it's coming from all angles. Okay drone's going up. With Laurent out on the water fellow cameraman Peter Keith launches his high-tech drone to capture a bird's-eye view of the wave. That was quite close to the water there. He wants to fly right along the crest of a wave as it breaks. Oh man I don't believe it. He's got too close and lost his drone. I was right at the end of the flight as well. It's not going well and things don't get any better. Out in the thick of the waves Andrew is towed out by a jet ski so he's in the best position to catch the next one. Although the waves today are not huge by Nazare's standards. Their size and the choppy surface is making surfing and filming difficult. Almost lost it I hit a bump. The camera fix to Andrew's surfboard has shaken loose and sunk. I think that's the first wave I've taken on the head this season. It's back to the drawing board. They've had some powerful lessons on how difficult filming in these treacherous waters can be. And today's waves were only 10 meters high. Half the height of the mega waves they hope to capture if they eventually arrive. On land the camera crews get into position. Out on the water Laurent lines up to get the best shot. Go go go. And Andrew is ready for action. This is it man. Some waves are now over 22 meters high. The mega waves have arrived. From the land the team captures stunning shots. From the air an amazing bird's eye view. On the water Laurent is in the perfect position to film the glorious moment a gigantic wave breaks. This was a big one this is a big swell a lot of energy and and yeah it's a different beast. And finally Andrew surfs the sheer face of a giant wave at over 50 kilometers per hour. The team has got everything they set out to film and Andrew's onboard camera has got some extraordinary shots. Who would have ever thought that you could get that close to waves that big. That was the biggest wave of the day. They have caught astonishing images of the biggest waves on the planet. Right from the heart of the action. Mission accomplished. Actually being in the ocean when you see the biggest waves in the world break in like it's amazing. Nazaré is the eighth wonder of the world. To witness these waves from up front front row like we do it's an honor. The team has given us a ringside seat at one of the greatest displays of the ocean's raw power anywhere on earth.