Australian Laura Enever broke the record for the biggest wave surfed by a woman, with a height of 13.3 meters, Guinness World Records announced Thursday. The feat dates back to January 22, when the 31-year-old surfer stood up on the famous record wave off the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
The delay is explained by the quantity of checks carried out by the Guinness Book judges before validating the performance. The previous record was held by Andrea Moller with 12.8 meters. He will have lasted eight years.
To “catch” such waves, surfers are most often taken offshore by jet-skis, but Laura Enever has chosen to confront these walls of water with the strength of her arms. On a video published by the World Surf Leaguewe can see the surfer paddle into position then slide to the base of the wave, before being enveloped by a huge cloud of foam.
“When the wave arrived, I was in the ideal place,” Laura Enever told the Sydney Morning Herald. I turned around and just had to paddle a few times, it was like the wave was taking me with it. »
“I knew it was big when I paddled on it, but it wasn’t until I looked at its face (the wall formed by the wave from the top to its base) that I said to myself, ‘this “It’s a long descent, it’s the biggest wave you’ve ever caught.” “I was so happy, there is nothing like” that feeling.