Boys Are Back in Nazare

Boys Are Back in Town: A New Season at Nazare

Every autumn, as the first Atlantic swells of the season begin to build, the professional big wave surfing community that calls Nazare home starts returning from their summer locations. For Freddy Olander and his team, this return is one of the defining moments of the year: the moment when the preparation of the off-season gives way to the reality of the winter ahead.

Journalist and photographer Stefano Nicoli, alongside photographer Heidi Hansen, documented this return for the feature “The Boys Are Back in Town”. The resulting article and interview captures the anticipation, the preparation and the camaraderie of the team at the beginning of a new season at one of the world’s most demanding surf breaks.

The Team Dynamic at Nazare

One of the central themes of the Boys Are Back piece is the importance of team in professional big wave surfing. At Praia do Norte, no one surfs alone. The risks are too great, the conditions too unpredictable and the consequences of being caught in the wrong place without support too severe. Every session involves a team: jet ski drivers, safety swimmers, spotters on the cliff and communication between everyone in the water.

Freddy Olander has spent years building and refining the team that makes his big wave surfing at Nazare possible. Trust in that team is not abstract: it is the foundation that makes it possible to paddle into a 20-metre wave knowing that if the worst happens, the people in the water with you have both the skill and the commitment to get you out safely.

The Beginning of a Season

The article captures the specific texture of the beginning of a big wave season at Nazare. The town is transitioning from the busy summer tourist period to the quieter, more intense rhythm of the winter. The harbour is filling up with the equipment and personnel of the big wave surfing world. The forecasts for the first major swells of the season are being watched carefully. And across the community, there is a shared sense of anticipation for what the next few months will bring.

For Freddy, the return to Nazare after the off-season is both a homecoming and a renewal of the commitment he has made to this place and this sport. The off-season is spent in preparation: training, planning, equipment development and the mental work of being ready to face the biggest waves on earth. The moment of return is when that preparation becomes real.