A possibly 100-foot wave off Nazar, Portugal made headlines on Monday when two Brazilian surfers squared off against the behemoth. Maya Gabeira wiped out, broke her ankle and would have drowned had Carlos Burle not found her and brought her back to shore.

Burle made it down the wave , but claims that he broke the world record for largest wave ever surfed have met criticism from surf veterans like Laird Hamilton, who say that since Burle got hit by the wave at the end of the ride, he only wiped out on the biggest wave ever ridden.

Others say it is impossible to measure the wave in the first place, since Nazars unique shape leaves it without a trough, and customary wave measurement is done from the crest to the trough.

Well, make your own opinions about what happened on Monday or any other day at Nazar. While Portugal gets the limelight this week, unmistakably gigantic surf on Oahus North Shore has been ridden without technicality squabbles for decades. Each winter, swells reaching Oahu regularly create waves in the 20-30 foot range, occasionally 40-60 feet, and perhaps even 85-feet at the outer reefs .

Tasmanian photographer Sean Davey has been photographing North Shore surf for most of his career. Below, his work shows that you dont have to go to Nazar to see man face natures fury.

Pipeline

Waimea Bay

Kala Alexander, Phantoms

Darryl "Flea" Virostko, Waimea Bay

Garrett McNamara, Avalanche

Pipeline

Kahea Hart, Waimea Bay

Randy Lane, Avalanche

Jamie Sterling, Phantoms

Waimea Bay

View more of Sean Davey's photography on his website .