Rising Big Wave Surfer Polly Ralda Hits Rock Bottom on Nazaré Wipeout

Polly Ralda traveled a long way to get to Nazaré. She was born in Guatemala City, well inland from the Pacific Ocean. But she dreamt of surfing big waves since she was 13 years old watching Maya Gabeira at Nazaré. She eventually moved to Hawaii, though she didn’t know how to surf. It wasn’t until age 21 that she moved into big-wave territory. Today, the 33-year-old remains a dedicated Nazaré student. As she explained to Tim Bonython, she started out trying to paddle the peak. With limited success.

“My first day was not successful,” she said. “I tried to go from the north beach and I got rejected and denied; I tried for like an hour. It’s brutal, you get so pounded. I’ve never got that pounded before trying to make it out anywhere.”

Though she hasn’t been in the big-wave game long, she’s learned a lot through trial and error. Looking to pass on her knowledge, Ralda co-founded Big Wave Babes , an all-female big-wave boot camp that happens on the North Shore of Oahu. Their first weeklong retreat had eight girls total, with representation from Spain, Mexico and California. The group’s name is sort of a misnomer. As co-founder Delia Bense-Kang put it, “We had the realization that other women would benefit from all the things we do as big wave surfers. Even if they’re not trying to surf 20-foot waves; maybe they’re trying to surf two-foot waves. But everything still applies. We want to help women be more comfortable in the water, to be assets in the water, no matter what type of surfing they’re trying to do.”

Ralda has gotten more comfortable with more reps, but Nazaré loves to throw a curveball. In this case, some chop upended Ralda and her borrowed board (she forgot hers, the result of frothing the day before). She then got towed into the biggest wave of her life and rode it more or less to completion. But on the next one she got tossed, ragdolled on the surface, then plunged so deep she hit the bottom. A rarity at Nazaré. But she came up intact. And still eager to learn.

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