The saying goes that records are made to be broken and now Australian big wave surfer Laura Enever is getting in on the action. Enever is the proud owner of a new Guinness Book of World Records feat as she now holds the record for the biggest wave ever paddled into and surfed by a female surfer.
There are huge waves all around the world and the big wave surfing community is always pushing the limits. With advancements in board technology and with the invention of foil and tow-in surfing, men and women can now ride waves that years ago people thought were impossible. What makes Enever's feat so impressive is that she paddled into this massive wave.
The ride took place on Jan. 22, 2023. At first, Enever knew that it was a massive ride but it wasn't until later when photographers showed her a picture that she began to realize that she may have a world record on her hands. Enever sat down with Fansided to chat about this momentous achievement.
"I woke up that morning, and we checked the buoys online, and they were just massive," she said. "Like 60-foot faces coming through. Those are the sort of waves that people would use a jetski usually to get into but we were out there on our boards and we are trying to paddle into these waves. Sort of when I got out the back, it was when I really realized it was the biggest wave I've ever been in...I was telling my friends that I caught this amazing wave, it was the biggest wave of my life and I was so stoked. Then on Instagram one of the photographers actually messaged me and was like, I got a photo of your wave and I think it might be a world record."
The actual measurement of the wave was 43.6 feet. The process of finding the height of a wave is a tricky one and one that takes time. The experts will look at the photographic evidence and see how the peak of the wave stacks up to the proportions of the surfers on the wave. That whole process took about nine months and now the wave has been verified.
"That's the beauty of big wave surfing. I was a competitive surfer on the world tour, going for a world title for my whole life," she said. "I did seven years on the tour, and then I quit competing for big wave surfing, for the love of it. I was never doing it to try and get the record or anything, you just do it because you kind of are addicted to that feeling. Every time you go out, you want to catch a bigger wave or a better wave and you have these goals. But well, the record never was my goal and so it's just, it's so cool the way it's happened. It's given me so much empowerment."
The previous owner of this record was Andrea Moller for her 42-foot ride also in Hawaii. Enever has great respect for the big wave ladies who have come before her and is enjoying the role she is playing to inspire the next generation of girls who want to charge big waves.
"I've always been so inspired by all the other female big wave surfers that have been doing this before me, and I do think it opens the door," she said. "I'm hoping to hold the record for a while but with the amount of talent and the females at the moment, charging waves, it could get broken this winter, in a couple of months, because we've got this big El Nino season coming to Hawaii and there's gonna be some big beautiful waves out there. I hope everyone keeps pushing it and I feel like it has opened the door for hopefully young girls and anyone to go out there and charge and try and get bigger, better waves."
Enever's ride could be the beginning of expanded possibilities in the ocean. Each year big wave riders are putting it all on the line to get the biggest wave. The search for the tallest and most powerful ride is an endless one and the unpredictability of the ocean is what makes the chase that much more meaningful to Enever and all the riders all over the world.
