Laje do Gardenal – Pedro Matos

I stopped at Laje do Gardenal, the heaviest slab in Rio de Janeiro and one of the most dangerous waves in Brazil. It breaks far away, about 2 km from the beach, in front of the Tijucas Islands, on top of a shallow rock. That kind of wave that for years was only a legend among the big wave surfers in Rio.

And the idea was crazy: to take the Gardenal with a FOIL. In the morning, we entered the slab on a surf foil towed by jet ski. It was the first foil session I experienced on that peak, with the whole gang together, 8 to 10 foot wave breaking with the Christ, the Two Brothers and the Stone of Gávea in the background. In the afternoon the wind came and we returned to surf the same peak with a KITE. He had a bad fall, got scared (Léo almost went into one), and had that day that aligns the stars: wave, wind and the right friends in the water.

Foil in the morning, kite in the afternoon, on the most dangerous wave in Brazil. One of the most unbelievable days I’ve ever filmed.

WHO WAS IN THE WATER
I (Pedro Matos), Léo, João, Bruno e a galera.

ABOUT THE GARDENAL SLAB
It is an oceanic slab that breaks at the tip of the Tijucas Islands, in Rio. The name comes from the medicine (the wave “erases you”). Because of the shallow rock and thick tube, it became known as the “Teahupoo do Rio” and is almost always tow-in (jet ski). Few people enter there.