Wipeout rescue: Surfers push to outrun monster wave on jet ski (VIDEO)

Two big wave surfers tackling the Atlantic Ocean swells off the coast of Portugal found out the hard way that to outrun nature you need a little more engine power than a jet ski.

Professional wave rider Pedro ‘Scooby’ Vianna was surfing the powerful breakers in the ocean off Nazaré, when he reportedly had to be rescued by fellow surfer Lucas Chianca on Tuesday.

The only trouble then was the pair had to go toe-to-toe with nature on a jet ski, with Vianna clinging onto the back.

According to photographer Pedro Bala, who captured the dramatic rescue attempt, the incident happened after Vianna caught “one of the biggest [waves] of the day”.

Video footage posted to Instagram shows the duo almost outpace a monster wave, only to be engulfed by a wall of water close to the Nasaré shore.

“Nazaré is no joke,” Bala captioned an image depicting the incident online. “Lucas Chianca rescuing Pedro Scooby after catching probably the biggest one of the day. As you can imagine the jetski wasn’t faster than nature this time.”

A surfing Mecca for those brave enough to tackle the Atlantic Ocean, the coastal resort of Nazaré is home to some of the gnarliest waves on the planet. Some of the biggest waves ever recorded have been surfed at the location, with Garrett McNamara officially smashing records by taming a 78ft (24 meter) wave there in 2011.

Brazilian surfer Carlos Burle later surfed a roller in Nazaré believed to be over 100ft tall.