Garret McNamara, a Hawaiian surfer who looks suspiciously like the dad from Modern Family, has broken the world record for the largest wave ever surfed. At an estimated 90 feet (30 metres), the wave is off Nazaré, Portugal. Here it is:

This video clip from the Guardian has his board-cam and a short interview with him.

To find out more about the science of riding big waves, this is a good ten-minute clip from KQED Quest explains how giant waves are formed at Mavericks.

Riding Giants, about the history of big wave surfing and Laird Hamilton, is great too.