A British man who drowned after getting into difficulties while swimming at a beach in Portugal has been named.
Paul Calow, 41, got into difficulty when he went for a swim at Sao Pedro de Moel beach near the town of Nazare, north of Lisbon.
A surfer saw him being dragged out to sea by strong currents and went to his aid.
He made attempts to revive him at the scene but he died.
A Dutch national was also taken to hospital after getting into difficulties himself during the incident on Wednesday.
His brother Dale Calow paid tribute to him, describing him as his “best friend and a beautiful person”.
He revealed his sibling was turning his life around at a rehab centre after struggling with his mental health.
Dale said Paul and a group of other recovering addicts had gone to the beach for a walk and swim when the tragedy happened.
He wrote on Facebook: “My brother didn’t make it. He was so happy, waiting to show you all [he was turning his life around] and make me proud. Remember the smiles he made and the laughs, how he would go out of his way.”
Referring to Paul by his nickname, he added: “Ginge was a beautiful person, please remember his eyes and smile, please remember my brother. You will never find another Ginge. I already miss him.
“He struggled hugely with his mental health because he had a huge heart.
“He was my brother, he was my best friend. He was on the mend.
“He didn’t take his own life, he was buzzing to prove everything he was the old Paul, he was my Paul. He would jump through hoops for you.”
The two brothers had run a design business called Positive Signs and Designs in north of Benidorm, Spain before Paul went to rehab.
Sao Pedro de Moel beach has become famous for the giant waves that hit its coast every year from October to February and attract surfers and spectators from all over the world.
Local maritime police chief Joao Lourenco had already confirmed a 41-year-old foreign man had died after “being swept away by currents” at the beach.
He said another man of about the same age had been taken to Santo Andre Hospital in the city of Leiria as a precaution. Overnight Portugal’s National Maritime Agency confirmed the dead man was British.
It said in a statement: “A British man aged 41 died on Wednesday afternoon after getting into difficulties at Sao Pedro de Moel beach. “There was no lifeguard service at the beach at that time.”
Local reports said the dead man, who has not been named, was part of a group of recovering addicts who were being treated at a nearby drug addiction clinic and made regular trips to the beach as part of their therapy.
In January a British teenager drowned after being caught up in a rip current while swimming with friends on a Portuguese beach. The 19-year-old and two pals got into difficulties during a dip off a small sandy beach on the Costa da Caparica coastline south of Lisbon.
Two of the three people, all thought to be Brits, had managed to get out by the time help arrived and a search was launched for the third which ended with his body being discovered on neighbouring Tarquinio-Paraiso Beach.
In June 2021 British financial consultant Trevor Pelling, 45, drowned while trying to save his two daughters they got into difficulties while trying to save his two daughters aged 12 and nine at Calada Beach north of Lisbon.
The girls were later taken to Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon for a medical examination and a psychologist was provided to assist the grief-stricken youngsters and their mum.
In October 2019 yoga teacher Kim Fletcher, 33, and her former hip hop musician fiancé Danny Johnson, 34, died at Zambujeira do Mar in the south-west of Portugal.
Danny swam out to try to save his partner as she got carried away by a dangerous rip tide, but they drowned after he reached her and tried to get her back to the shoreline.
The couple, from Stoke-on-Trent, had a four-year-old daughter called Aveyja and also cared for Kim’s 15-year-old girl Maicee from a previous relationship.
In July this year, a British tourist drowned at his Algarve hotel pool. The hotel where the incident involving the 27-year-old holidaymaker occurred was named locally at the time as the Paraiso Hotel in the popular resort of Albufeira.
