Joana Andrade is a pocket-sized female big-wave charger you should have heard of but probably haven’t. She is a local at Nazaré and has been out there with the best in the world since Garrett McNamara first put the wave on the map. Just weeks ago, Joana won Best Local Female Big-Wave Surfer for the 4th year running at Portugal’s XXL Big Wave Awards.
Despite rising to international acclaim thanks to her 2015 Ride of the Year nomination for taming one of Nazaré’s monsters, Joana still remains somewhat of a big-wave underdog and far from a household name (especially outside of Portugal). Despite this, Joana has made her mark on the international big-wave scene, earning herself an invitation in 2017 to the Women’s Waimea Bay Championship.
