A British surfer from Devon is on the cusp of making history, pending official confirmation that she has broken the world record for the largest wave ever surfed by a woman.
The Ride of a Lifetime at Nazaré
Laura Crane, 30, tackled what she called "one of the most perfect big waves" off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal, on Saturday. The monumental ride took place during the Nazaré Big Wave Challenge, though the competition itself had been temporarily halted due to a technical fault. Seizing a fleeting opportunity as the swell began to fade and daylight dwindled, Crane decided to continue surfing.
"Most surfers packed up, but I couldn't," Crane explained to the BBC. "I had just hours of light left and the swell was dying. It was a race against time." She was towed into the massive wave by her teammate, Antonio Laureano, on a jetski reaching speeds of around 30mph.
Awaiting Official Verification
Crane is confident the wave surpassed the current female world record of 73.5 feet, set by Brazil's Maya Gabeira in 2020. The ride is now under formal assessment by judges from the Big Wave Challenge, who work in conjunction with Guinness World Records, to determine if a new benchmark has been set.
Reflecting on the immediate aftermath, Crane's emotions were overwhelming. "When I came off the back, I cried straight away. The adrenaline is incomparable," she said. She described the experience to The Times as "incredible tears of happiness and joy," adding that it was a wave she had "seen in my dreams a million times over."
A Lifetime of Preparation
This is not Crane's first pioneering moment at the infamous Portuguese break, known for its monstrous waves generated by a deep underwater canyon. She became the first British woman to surf Nazaré's waves in 2024. She credits her life experiences for forging the mental resilience required for big-wave surfing.
"I believe I have been training for this my whole life," Crane stated. "Big wave surfing is really interesting and your life experiences play a part in your mental strength... It's given me a thick skin and belief to keep fighting and keep that path open for someone else after me as well. It's a lifetime in the making."
The moment of triumph was followed by sheer relief. "Once you look over your shoulder at the most critical part, when it's breaking over your head, you are just trying not to freak out about what is towering behind you," she recounted. The confirmation of the wave's scale came quickly from the shoreline, with a photographer telling her, "I don't think you understand how big that wave was."
