Aussie Laura Enever Sets World Record For Biggest Wave Ever Paddled Into By A Woman
This month is was announced that Australia’s Laura Enever had broken the world record for the largest wave ever paddled into by a woman. The wave, ridden at an outer reef off the island of Oahu on January 22, 2023, measured in at 43.6 feet.
“When I looked over the edge and saw how far I had to go down and how big the drop was, I was like, ‘Okay, this is the biggest wave you ever caught,’” Enever told the Washington Post.
The previous record belonged to Andrea Moller thanks to a 42-footer at Peʻahi, Maui, in June 2016. That same winter, at that same spot, Aaron Gold set the world record for largest wave ever paddled into by a man, a 63-foot monster. It’s worth noting that Gold, live Enever, got blown up at the bottom of the wave. There has been some controversy around Enever’s wave due to the fact that she doesn’t safely ride the wave out into the channel. But the fact remains, like Gold, she successfully paddled into the wave, made the drop and made it to the bottom of the wave.
In terms of riding giants, the current record for the largest wave ever ridden by a woman is held by Maya Gabeira, who was towed into a 73.5-foot wave at Nazaré in Portugal in 2020. The men’s record is currently held by Germany’s Sebastian Steudtner, who rode a 86-foot monster at Nazaré, also in 2020.
In less than ten years, every big wave record in the books has been broken. With an El Niño winter on tap, we’ve already seen some heavy surf in Ireland, Hawaii and California. It’s going to be fun to see where what happens next.
