Nazaré - Split Second
In this piece, we witness one of the most violent moments ever captured involving a jet ski in the giant waves of Nazaré.
During Gigantes de Nazaré, Willyam “Will” Santana takes off on a massive wave at Praia do Norte. The wave breaks almost directly over him, swallowing him in an enormous mass of white water.
Daniel Rangel, known as Foamball, is driving the rescue jet ski. As soon as he locates Will in the foam, he moves in for the first rescue and reaches him. Will grabs the rear of the ski, while Daniel stays in the impact zone until the last possible moment, trying to accelerate away before the next wall of water arrives.
This is also the most misunderstood moment of the sequence.
After the original footage was published, many people questioned why Daniel abandoned the jet ski. From the outside it may look like a strange decision, but the images show what was actually happening.
The white water in front of them begins to form again. The wave lifts the jet ski, it loses speed, and in a fraction of a second Daniel realizes there is no longer enough time or distance to escape. The lip is about to land directly on their path.
At that moment, the jet ski is no longer the way out.
**It becomes a danger.**
Staying with the machine could mean taking the full impact beside it, being struck by it, trapped around it or violently thrown with it under thousands of tons of water.
Daniel has only a fraction of a second to react.
**He abandons the jet ski and dives into the wave.**
Will remains holding the rear for a few more moments before he too disappears beneath the white water.
There was no time to stop, think or reconsider. There was only what stood in front of them and instinct built through experience.
Both men disappear completely after the impact. Will is eventually rescued, and Daniel also makes it out safely. The jet ski is violently carried through the impact zone toward the cliff, suffering severe damage. Its rescue sled is badly bent, and several attempts are made to recover and restart the ski, without success.
For the next ten to fifteen minutes, Praia do Norte seems to stand still. From the cliff to the beach, everyone's attention is on the people in the water.
Fortunately, both Will Santana and Daniel Rangel make it out.
But there is another side to this story:
**how these images were captured.**
The entire sequence was filmed with an FPV drone, from Will entering the wave to the rescue attempt, the impact and everything that followed.
And incredibly, this was **my last FPV battery of the day.**
After several batteries and hours following the action, I stayed in the air waiting for one more set. The plan was simply to follow someone into one of Nazaré's giant waves.
Nothing was prepared for what happened next.
Will takes off. The wave closes. Daniel goes for the rescue. From that moment, I simply kept flying and followed everything unfolding in front of me.
Through an almost impossible combination of position, battery, timing and circumstance, the FPV drone was exactly where it needed to be to capture the sequence from beginning to end.
That is what makes these images especially rare. Moments like this are normally filmed from a distance, with long lenses, cameras on the cliff or conventional drones. FPV placed the viewer inside the action, in one continuous perspective.
There was no second attempt.
No replay.
No way to know what was coming.
**It was the last battery.
It was that set.
It was that flight.
And it was that moment.**
The footage went on to travel around the world, surpass one million views and receive **2nd place in the Aerial Wipeout category at the Mercedes-Benz Nazaré Winter Sessions Awards.**
But beyond the numbers and recognition, this piece exists to give context back to a sequence that has been watched — and judged — thousands of times in only a few seconds.
There is a huge difference between analyzing a decision after it happens and making that decision inside a giant wave.
At Praia do Norte, sometimes there is no perfect choice.
**Only experience, instinct, and a fraction of a second to prevent something far worse.**
Nazaré, Portugal.
Filmed, crafted and edited by
MCYDRO — Márcio Costa
Featuring with Will Santana; Daniel Rangel;
Music: mcydro