Salvador Villas-Boas is not a professional big-wave surfer. He's a commercial airline pilot. But riding Nazaré is at the top of his wishlist.
However, when things get nasty at Praia do Norte, Mother Nature can be ruthless and spares no one.
Professional videographer Pedro Miranda published unreleased raw footage of one of the most incredible rescues of the season in Nazaré.
The video shows a wipeout followed by a hazardous yet successful pickup between set waves in the middle of the impact zone.
Villas-Boas, 51, takes on one of the biggest waves of the day during a monster swell that hit Nazaré in February 2019.
He rides the mountain of water until a bump on the face of the wave sends him to the flats at 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour) in a dangerous zone near the rocks.
Jet Ski Down
After a painful multiple-wave hold-down, Villas-Boas resurfaces and eventually gets picked up in extreme conditions by jet ski rescuer Ramon Laureano.
The rescue nearly ends in tragedy when the jet ski takes a hit and capsizes, leaving two men in a tricky yet manageable area.
"Those are the moments I pursue my entire life, and when I finally reach them, the only thing that comes to mind is to get out of there quickly," expressed Salvador Villas-Boas.
It was a genuinely heroic moment that fortunately resulted in no serious injuries.
Learn how jet ski drivers save surfers in tricky conditions.