According to Andrew Cotton, driving a ski at Nazaré is more stressful than actually surfing there. By that logic, Sérgio Cosme has the least-desirable job of Praia do Norte’s regulars.
For the past five years now, Cosme’s been driving a ski as a water safety specialist and even towed Rodrigo Koxa into his record-setting 80-foot wave in 2017.
“Sérgio’s one of the guys who likes to do his best and when he’s driving, he’s driving with love,” Koxa says. As you’d expect, Koxa was more than elated when he finished the ride of his life, screaming and hooting in celebration. Cosme had been the man cheering him on as he swung into it just a few moments before. But now that the ride was over all Cosme could do was scold the surfer for not saving it until after the rescue. It’s one of those stories you imagine following somebody around as their legend grows and grows, which is apparently what the big wave world has in Sérgio Cosme.
While the athletes themselves are undoubtedly the ones getting credit for the growth and popularity of big wave surfing, Cosme’s story shows us how the leaps and bounds of performance growth aren’t possible without the people entrusted to keep them all safe.
“Big wave surfing is hard to progress quickly,” says Cotton. “A couple years ago the general sort of lines were relatively safe and quite boring and now you’re getting guys pulling into 50-foot barrels.”
