INTERNATIONAL: Brazilian surfer Lucas Fink is hoping to enter the Guinness Book of Records having surfed a monster wave on a skimboard off Nazare, Portugal. Fink says a wave he rode was close to 20 metres high.

He says, ''I came here (to Nazare) focused on the mission to surf the biggest waves of my life and catch the biggest wave in the world with a skimboard if possible and make history, have fun, overcome my limits and do what I love.''

A skimboard is smaller than a surfboard, measuring approximately 131cm x 50cm and is no more than 2.5cm thick. It does not have fins to help with stability like the bigger board or the leash that ties the surfer's ankle to the board.

He has added, "And all the time I have been living here in Nazareth. I will spend every day in this place that is so special, so mystical, so extreme, where nature shows all its power. We learn a lot. I trained a lot for this. I prepared myself. I did my best. I dedicated myself a lot and now I am here, ready to face the biggest waves."

Fink, a Rio de Janeiro native, was a former youth footballer on the books of Flamengo before turning to skimboarding, a sport in which he was crowned world champion in 2019.

^{PHOTO: VARIOUS OF BRAZILIAN SURFER LUCAS FINK SURFING A MONSTER WAVE ON A SKIMBOARD, SOUNDBITES FROM FINK}