Surf Nazaré
Lone surfer at the bottom of a huge breaking wave

Records set at Praia do Norte

Biggest waves ever surfed

Nazaré's Praia do Norte sits at the mouth of an underwater canyon that funnels deep Atlantic swells upward, amplifying wave faces to heights found almost nowhere else on Earth.

Men's records

Women

Women's world record

Verified records

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Sebastian Steudtner (Germany)Praia do Norte, Nazaré. Tow-in; measured by the WSL and ratified in May 2022.26.21 m / 86 ft29 October 2020Guinness World Record - largest wave surfed (men)Guinness World Records
Maya Gabeira (Brazil)Praia do Norte, Nazaré, during the WSL Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge.22.4 m / 73.5 ft11 February 2020Guinness World Record - largest wave surfed (women)Guinness World Records
Aaron Gold (USA)Set at Jaws (Pe'ahi), Maui — not Nazaré. The paddle-in record has never been set here.19.2 m / 63 ft15 January 2016Largest wave paddledGuinness World Records

How waves are measured

Official heights are measured from trough to crest — the vertical distance between the lowest point in front of the wave and the top of the crest at the moment of the ride. That is not the same as the "face height" surfers shout from the cliff, which is why the same wave is often reported at several different sizes.

The World Surf League verifies claims using photogrammetry: multiple synchronised video and stills angles are analysed frame by frame, with the surfer's known height used as the scale reference and the board and camera geometry corrected for perspective and lens distortion. Since 2020 the WSL has worked with researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography to formalise the method. A ride only becomes eligible once it wins or is nominated in the Red Bull Big Wave Awards; Guinness World Records then ratifies the figure. Steudtner's October 2020 wave, for example, was not confirmed at 26.21 m until May 2022.

How records are made

How a record is verified

Ratification

Guinness World Records

Officially certifies the largest wave surfed, from Steudtner's 26.21 m to Maya Gabeira's women's record.

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Awards

World Surf League

Runs the Nazaré Tow Challenge and the Big Wave Awards that recognise the biggest waves each season.

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Measurement

Photogrammetry

Wave height is calculated from video and photos using the surfer as a scale — reviewed by scientists.

Notable seasons

  1. 2011-12

    Nazaré arrives

    On 1 November 2011 Garrett McNamara rode a 78 ft wave at Praia do Norte, the first Nazaré ride to hold a world record and the moment the break entered surfing's mainstream.
  2. 2017-18

    The 80-footer

    Rodrigo Koxa's tow-in on 8 November 2017 measured 80 ft (24.38 m) and took the Guinness title, confirming Nazaré as the place records are set rather than an outlier season.
  3. 2020-21

    Two records in one season

    Maya Gabeira's 73.5 ft ride on 11 February 2020 set the women's record during the Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge; that October, Sebastian Steudtner rode the 86 ft wave later ratified as the largest ever surfed.

Plan your own Nazaré trip

Big Waves experience with a local guide

2 hours · Clifftop walk at Praia do Norte with a Nazaré local, timed to the swell.

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Find a place to stay in Nazaré

Compare hotels, guesthouses and apartments near the town beach and Praia do Norte.

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