This is the incredible moment a professional surfer rides a huge wave in Nazare, Portugal, narrowly avoiding a wipeout.

The drone footage, captured on January 26, shows Axi Muniain taking on the wave and skirting along underneath it.

As the wave crashes, Axi manages to execute a perfect ride, coming off his board on a controlled exit manoeuvre at the end.

Axi Muniain, 35 years old, is a big wave surfer and professional adventurer from the Basque Country and one of the top Spanish riders at the moment.

Writes the filmer: ‘'Axi has been chasing giant swells around the globe for over 10 years.

‘’He is making a strong name in Nazaré, one of the most difficult big wave spots in the world.

‘’This wave on this video was one of the main highlights of the day.’’

Professional Big Wave Surfer, Axi Muniain catches one of the Biggest Waves of the day during a recent Giant Swell in Praia do Norte, Nazaré Portugal. Local Drone team “Máquina Voadora - Produções” captures the wave and the successful rescue from a close angle, flying at very low altitude, the resulting footage is quite dramatic yet spectacular.

Axi Muniain, 35 years old, is a Big Wave Surfer and professional adventurer-explorer, from the Basque Country and one of the top Spanish Big Riders of the moment. Axi has been chasing giant swells around the globe for over 10 years, yet he’s making a strong name in Nazaré, one of the most difficult big wave spots in the world. The wave on this video was one of the main highlights of the day.

This swell originated from a North Atlantic storm and produced some of the biggest and heaviest waves the town has seen in years, reaching the 80ft mark on Thursday, January 18th, 2018. Some of the biggest names in Big Wave Surfing have descent on Praia do Norte, in Nazaré - off the coast of Portugal, to ride the Biggest Swell since 2014. Locals already call the day “The Big Thursday”, the same name given to the infamous swell of 2014, also on a Thursday.

Benjamin Sanchis, Ross Clarke-Jones, Sebastian Steudtner, Maya Gabeira, Hugo Vau, Alex Botelho, Marcelo Luna, Axi Munian, Andrey Karr, João Guedes, Roland Pierre and many other Professional Big Wave Surfers were in the water, several monster waves were ridden that most likely will end up nominated for the WSL Big Wave Awards, as footage continues to be released.

Praia do Norte beach, near the fishing village of Nazaré, has become famous for huge waves since Hawaiian surfer Garrett McNamara set a then-record in 2011 for the largest wave ever surfed, when he rode a 78-foot wave.