• Chasing world's largest waves for chance at history

    Patricia De Melo Moreira / AFP - Getty Images

    Garrett McNamara rides a wave during a surf session at Praia do Norte in Nazare on Jan. 30. McNamara currently holds the world record for the biggest wave surfed after riding a 78-foot breaker in Nazare, Portugal, on Nov. 1, 2011 but on Jan. 28, 2013 was thought to have gone better at the same location.

    Patricia De Melo Moreira / AFP - Getty Images

    Garrett McNamara waits for a wave during a surf session at Praia do Norte in Nazare on Jan. 30.

    Hawaii's Garret McNamara may have broken his own world record by surfing this estimated 100-foot wave in Portugal. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

    By Natalia Jimenez, NBC News

    Not one to turn away from big waves, surfer Garrett McNamara went back to the shores of Nazare, Portugal, to continue his quest for the world’s largest wave. A day earlier, McNamara possibly set a new record for surfing an estimated 100-foot wave, but the exact size of the wave is yet to be officially confirmed. 

    PHOTO: Enormous wave dwarfs surfer Garrett McNamara along coast of Portugal

    "Personally, it was very challenging. You just have to stay in the moment, stay focused on what you're doing,” said McNamara to SurferToday.com.

    Below are photos of what may go down in history as the day McNamara surfed a 100-foot wave.

    Francisco Seco / AP

    Garrett McNamara rests after a surf session at Praia do Norte beach in Nazare, Portugal, on Jan. 29.

    Rafael Marchante / Reuters

    Big-wave surfer Garrett McNamara jokes with his colleague Kealli Mamala before a surf session at Praia do Norte in Nazare Jan. 29.

    Rafael Marchante / Reuters

    Big-wave surfer Garrett McNamara drops in on a large wave at Praia do Norte in Nazare on Jan. 29.

    Francisco Seco / AP

    Garrett McNamara meets media before a surf session in Nazare, Portugal, on Jan. 29.

    Rafael Marchante / Reuters

    Big-wave surfer Garrett McNamara looks at the sea with his colleague Kealli Mamala before a surf session at Praia do Norte in Nazare, on Jan. 29.

    Patricia De Melo Moreira / AFP - Getty Images

    Hawaiian surfer Garrett McNamara carries his surfboard as he leaves the beach after a surf session at Praia do Norte in Nazare on Jan. 29.

     

  • Tó Mané / Barcroft Media via Landov

    Enormous wave dwarfs surfer Garrett McNamara along coast of Portugal

    By Natalia Jimenez, NBC News

    Surfer Garrett McNamara catches what could be the largest wave ever surfed, off the coast of Nazare, Portugal, on Jan. 29. The estimated 100-foot wave, if confirmed, would beat the current world record of 78 feet, which McNamara has held since 2011. According to SurferToday.com:

    Garrett McNamara traveled from Hawaii and hit the water with Kealii Mamala - with whom he surfed waves generated by glacier blocks in Alaska - Kamaki Worthington and Hugo Vau, as their support team on the jet ski. The conditions in Nazaré were heavenly perfect. Light southern winds and strong swell coming from northwest and hitting the local canyon as it should.

    Judges with Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards will work to determine the actual size of the wave.

    VIDEO: McNamara rides massive wave in Portugal

    McNamara's surfing skills developed when his family moved to Hawaii from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, when he was 11 years old. As a professional big wave surfer, he regularly seeks out the largest waves in the world.

    "It's like riding a moving mountain," said McNamara to TODAY after he broke the last world record in 2011. Watch the video.

    See more photos of McNamara surfing the historic waves off the coast of Portugal.