List of surfing records

The following lists present the current title holders of each surfing theme.

Largest (measured) waves surfed

See also: Big wave surfing
Height Surfer Place Date Notes/Event
86 feet (26.2 m) Germany Sebastian Steudner Portugal Praia do Norte, Nazaré 29 October 2020 Current Guinness World Record.[1]
80 feet (24.4 m) Brazil Rodrigo Koxa Portugal Praia do Norte, Nazaré 8 November 2017 Previous Guinness World Record 2017–2020.[2] Awarded the Quiksilver XXL Biggest Wave Award by the World Surf League (WSL).[3][4]
78 feet (23.8 m) United States Garrett McNamara Portugal Praia do Norte, Nazaré 1 November 2011 Guinness World Record 2011–2017.[3][4]
77 feet (23.5 m) United States Mike Parsons United States Cortes Bank, North Pacific Ocean 5 January 2008 Guinness World Record 2008–2011.[3][4][5]
73.5 feet (22.4 m) Brazil Maya Gabeira Portugal Praia do Norte, Nazaré 11 February 2020 Female World Record.[4][6][7] cbdMD XXL Biggest Wave Award[8]
70.5 feet (21.5 m) France Justine Dupont Portugal Praia do Norte, Nazaré 11 February 2020 Estimated based on a graph by the World Surf League.[9] WSL Ride of the Year[8]
70 feet (21.3 m) United States Kai Lenny Portugal Praia do Norte, Nazaré 11 February 2020 cbdMD XXL Biggest Wave Award[8]
70 feet (21.3 m) United States Pete Cabrinha United States Jaws beach, Peʻahi 15 January 2016 Awarded the Billabong XXL Big Wave Award and $70,000.[3]
68 feet (20.7 m) Brazil Carlos Burle United States Mavericks, Northern California 2001 Awarded the Billabong XXL Big Wave Award.[4]
68 feet (20.7 m) Brazil Maya Gabeira Portugal Praia do Norte, Nazaré January 2018 [10]
66 feet (20.1 m) United States Makua Rothman United States Jaws beach, Peʻahi 2002 Awarded the 2003 Billabong XXL Award[11]
66 feet (20.1 m) United States Mike Parsons United States Cortes Bank, North Pacific Ocean 2001 Billabong XXL Big Wave Award. Awarded $66,000; the highest prize ever awarded in the history of professional surfing[12][4]
64 feet (19.5 m) United States Mike Parsons United States Jaws beach, Peʻahi Wave was filmed by helicopter and used as the opening scene of the 2003 film Billabong Odyssey[12]
63 feet (19.2 m) United States Aaron Gold United States Jaws beach, Peʻahi 15 January 2016 [4]
61 feet (18.6 m) United States Shawn Dollar United States Cortes Bank, North Pacific Ocean 21 December 2012 Paddle-in world record (without the help of a tow)[4][13] Billabong XXL Big Wave Award

Other claims

There are various ways to measure the height of a wave.[14] Miguel Moreira, professor at University of Lisbon's Faculty of Human Kinetics (FMHUL) denotes that "in order to announce world records, all waves should be measured using the same method". WSL has its own method of measuring the height of a wave and has partnered with Guinness World Records to award world record certificates. Below are some claims of surfed waves that were/are not yet recognized by WSL:

  • Alessandro "Alo" Slebir - On 23 December 2024, Slebir rode an estimated 108 foot (32.9 m) tall wave at Mavericks, California, which would exceed the current world record by over 20 feet.[15] The wave height was estimated by the Mavericks Rescue Team,[16] but has not yet been confirmed by Guinness World Records.
  • Andrew Cotton - In January 2014, Cotton, was towed into an estimated 80-foot (24.3 meters) wave at Praia do Norte. His feat has yet to be ratified by Guinness World Records.[17]
  • António Laureano - On 29 October 2020, Laureano, 18 at the time, rode a wave estimated by FMHUL to be around 101.4 feet (30.9 meters) at Praia do Norte. This measurement is still awaiting confirmation by WSL.[18]
  • Benjamin Sanchis - On 11 December 2014, Sanchis rode a wave labelled as 108 ft (33 m) by the media. The wave was deemed by Billabong as a "partial ride" (meaning he did not ride it to completion).[4]
  • Carlos Burle - On the 28th October, 2013, Burle rode a wave that was claimed to be 100 feet on Praia do Norte.[13]
  • Garrett McNamara - Apart from his 2011 world record, McNamara has reportedly surfed to what was dubbed by the media as a "100 foot wave" on 28 January 2013 at Praia do Norte.[19] McNamara has said in a 2013 interview he never claimed the wave to be 100 feet, but said the wave definitely felt bigger than the previous record.[20]

Longest kitesurfing journeys

See also: Kitesurfing
Distance Surfer Place Date Notes/Event
1,184 kilometres (735.7 mi) Kite the Reef (team) Australia Vlassoff Cay to Cape York between August 13 and 21, 2015 Longest kitesurfing journey by a team.[21]
862 kilometres (535.6 mi) Portugal Francisco Lufinha Portugal Lisbon to Madeira between July 5 and 7, 2015 Longest non-stop kitesurfing journey by a man.[21]
489 kilometres (303.9 mi) Germany Anke Brandt Bahrain Amwaj Islands to Al Dar Island April 2016 Longest continuous kitesurfing journey by a woman.[21]

Longest wave surfed by a dog

See also: Dog surfing

Abbie Girl, an Australian Kelpie, completed a distance of 107.2 metres (351.7 ft) at a dog surfing contest at Huntington Beach on October 18, 2011.[22]

References

  1. ^ Smith, Noah (2020-05-25). "Surfing a record 86-foot wave took guts. Measuring it took 18 months". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  2. ^ "A timeline of the biggest waves surfed as Rodrigo Koxa sets new record". Guinness World Records. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d "A timeline of the biggest waves surfed as Rodrigo Koxa sets new record". Guinness World Records. May 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "What Are the Largest Waves Ever Surfed?". www.wetsuitwearhouse.com. Geno Seay. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  5. ^ Clash, Jim. "Big-Wave Surfer Garrett McNamara Recalls His Gnarly 78-Foot, World-Record Ride". Forbes. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  6. ^ "The biggest wave surfed this year". The New York Times. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  7. ^ "Brazilian surfer Maya Gabeira breaks largest wave surfed record". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  8. ^ a b c "Maya Gabeira Sets New World Record, Wins cbdMD XXL Biggest Wave Award". World Surf League. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  9. ^ "GUINNESS RECORD FOR LARGEST WAVE EVER SURFED BY A WOMAN!!! Maya Gabeira wins cbdMD XXL Biggest Wave". youtube.com. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Female surfer sets new world record". BBC News. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  11. ^ "Big wave surfer Makua Rothman takes us inside the record-breaking ride of his life on Talk Story". hawaiinewsnow.com. 8 March 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  12. ^ a b "64 Foot Wave – Mike Parsons at Jaws Beach, Hawaii – Pacific Helicopter Private Tours". pachelitours.com. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  13. ^ a b Lynch, Kevin (31 October 2013). "Has Brazil's Carlos Burle beaten the world record for largest wave surfed?". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  14. ^ "How to measure wave height in surfing". Surfertoday. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  15. ^ Black, Lester (31 December 2024). "A Santa Cruz surfer rode potential world-record 108-foot-tall Mavericks wave". SFGate. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  16. ^ Quirarte, Frank (29 December 2024). "alosleiber's wave". Instagram. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  17. ^ Drughi, Octavia. "The 6 Daredevils Who Charged the Biggest Waves Ever Surfed". BookSurfCamps.com. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  18. ^ "António Laureano surfed a 101.4-foot wave in Nazaré". Surfertoday. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  19. ^ "Garrett McNamara surfs 'world record 100ft wave' in Portugal". the Guardian. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  20. ^ "Garrett McNamara Sets the Record Straight on the '100-Foot' Wave in Nazaré, Portugal". youtube.com. EpicTV. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  21. ^ a b c "10 Sensational Guinness World Records in the World of Surfing". booksurfcamps.com. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  22. ^ "Longest wave surfed by a dog (open water)". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 21 January 2021.