POINT BREAK

Avid surfers live to ride the “big wave.” And thanks to the calculations of UNCW professor Dylan McNamara, Wrightsville Beach native Mason Barnes may have managed a Guinness World Record-setting ride in the waters off Portugal. Barnes asked McNamara, a fellow surfer and chair of the UNCW Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography, for help determining just how big that wave in Nazaré was in October 2020. The answer: 95 feet, 10 inches – more than 15 feet higher than the previous record of 80 feet.

As of publication, no announcement had been made as to whether his wave will officially be listed as a world record for the largest wave ever surfed, but it was certainly a contender for the XXL Big Wave Awards, sponsored by the World Surf League. “To be judged based on the size of a wave, it helps if you can have scientific calculations,” McNamara said. In his case, he had only a photo of Barnes surfing the wave to go on. “In that image, I used Mason as a guide and had him measure the length from his knee to the bottom of his foot,” McNamara said. Once he had that measurement and determined the bottom of the wave, he could estimate its height. McNamara, who has taught classes on the physics of the sport, met Barnes shortly after moving to Wilmington in 2008. Barnes was one of a number of young surfers who mastered the local waves. While Barnes chases records and the next big wave, McNamara acknowledges that the calculation could potentially pique the interest of prospective students who are eager to find a university that offers strong academics and the recreational benefits of coastal living. “Our university is certainly filled with students who like the ocean,” said McNamara. “It is one of the big draws for UNC Wilmington. If you like the ocean and are math- or physics-minded, UNCW is a great place to come.”

– Tricia Vance

Photo: Noora Lindström