Startling footage has emerged of a group of slack liners called the Western Riders traversing a line between cliffs in Portugal as huge waves cascade underneath them.
The tightrope walkers performed their daring crossing at the Cliff of Praia do Norte in Nazaré to the Guilhim Rock, a famous landmark known from viral photos of huge wave impacts and water explosions during the Portuguese Big Wave Season, Newsflare.com reported.
The Slack liner on this video was identified as Emerson Machado, 28, from Brazil.
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The slack liners can be seen risking life and limb as they traverse the treacherous waves
The dare devils say they are well trained and well equipped to deal with the hazards of slack lining
A Western Riders member quoted by Newsflare said the the line was installed days before a big swell arrived in Nazaré with everything cautiously planned, checked and re-checked to provide the maximum level of security possible to the slack liners.
‘It’s calculated risk, we are not crazy like it may seems at first sight, in reality everything was planned to the very minor details.’ the unnamed member said.
‘Over the years, we’ve performed walks in many locations before, including Nazaré and we take this very seriously.
Nazaré, in central Portugal, is renowned for the ferocity of its waves which are whipped up by Atlantic storms
‘Over the course of two days, we’ve performed dozens of walks between the cliff and the rock in Nazaré, and no one was ever injured during that time, it’s relatively safe when performed by an experienced crew, working together with planning and caution.’
Slacklining involves balancing on a rope that’s suspended above the ground (or sea) which is anchored between two points.
It looks like a sport that requires extreme bravery – or stupidity – but its practitioners say that well trained slack liners – with all the correct gear and equipment – are perfectly safe.
Praia do Norte beach, near the fishing village of Nazaré on the coast of central Portugal between Lisbon and Porto – has become famous for huge waves since Hawaiian surfer Garrett McNamara set a then record in 2011 for the largest wave ever surfed when he rode a 78-foot wave.
Since then it has attracted many daredevils performing a wide variety of extreme sports.