Aussie big wave surfer escapes death

There are few surfers on the planet who would have survived the terrifying ordeal Australian big wave legend Ross Clarke-Jones just went through.

Even with decades of experience and meticulous training RCJ just escaped with his life and after crawling to the top of the cliff, out of breath declared it was definitely his last surf of the season in Portugal. It was time instead to ‘Look at some castles, eat some food and drink some wine.’

Just moments before RCJ had been fighting for his life at the base of the cliffs which face the famed and feared big wave spot, Big Mama, near Nazare in Portugal.

After coming off a 25-foot wave the Aussie was washed into the ‘death zone’, as he calls it, where the ocean meets the cliff amid countless jagged outcrops of rocks.

It is the last place you want to be. Rescue jet skis can not navigate the area so any surfer that ends up there is on their own as wave after wave pounds you onto the rocks.

“I caught my first wave on the second peak, which I went right. Bailing off the wave I was pulled under the water for about 30 seconds, using my Quiksilver Airlift to inflate me to the surface I came up looking directly at the cave and rocks,” Clarke-Jones said in an email to The Inertia explaining what happened.

“At this stage, they said they couldn’t even see me.

“I took another hit which washed me straight onto the rocks, hitting my side which rolled over the rocks. Completely out of breath, I put myself into a safer area and hid behind a rock.

“Another set came in which dragged me in and out, exactly like a washing machine. Launching back into rocks, I hit my head and side. Forcing myself to stay conscious, I had an instant flashback to when I was 12 when my brother and I used to hide behind the rocks at Terrigal’s tube rock.”

He managed to find a break in the surf and drag himself out of the water and up the cliff. As always the larrikin Aussie ended up with a smile on his face.

“You know what you sign up for when you surf Nazare,” he said.

“I always have a hell of a time but this was a nice reminder that you never take it for granted. Especially on the smaller days like today where you can get complacent… it was a big mistake.”

Axi Muniain was one of the people on jet skis looking for Ross after he fell and recounted the moment.

"This is first time I've seen someone get caught in this zone," he said.

"There was 5 of us on jet skis trying to find him and we couldn't reach him, or even see him.

"I personally think that there aren't many surfers that could have gotten themselves out of this situation. It was RCJ’s age and wave knowledge that saved him. He used the waves and water to his advantage.

"At the end of the day thankfully he wasn't hurt badly. If you come to surf Nazare you know the risks that you are taking. Ross always has fun in Nazare and anywhere he surfs!”