Adventure Magazine

Image by Daniel Russo
LAURA ENEVER
SETS GUINNESS WORLD RECORD
Laura Enever has set a new GUINNESS WORLD
RECORDS title for the largest wave surfed
paddle-in (female). The WSL officially analyzed,
measured and verified Enever's 2023 recordbreaking
ride at 43.6 feet (13.3 meters) as part of
the WSL Big Wave Record Chase, making it the
biggest wave ever paddled into by a woman.
She successfully surfed a wave measuring 43.6
feet (13.3 meters) from trough to crest at Outer
Reef, the big-wave break on the North Shore of
Oahu, on January 22, 2023.
"I knew it was big when I paddled into it and then
when I took off I looked down and I knew it was
definitely the biggest wave I've ever caught,"
said Enever. "I knew it was the wave of my life,
the whole way it all came together and the way
I committed, backed myself, told myself to go,
and trusted I could do it. The ride was such a
breakthrough for me and a moment that will be
really special and monumental in my surf career. To
get awarded this months later is really cool, I can't
believe it."
Enever's World Record adds to an already stellar
surfing career. She was the ISA Junior World
Champion and Triple Crown Rookie of the Year in
2008, and World Junior Champion in 2009. In 2011,
Enever qualified for the WSL Championship Tour,
where she competed for seven years, consistently
finishing in the Top 10. She has gone on to
compete in WSL Big Wave events and push the
limits of big wave surfing.
Enever was awarded the GUINNESS WORLD
RECORDS certificate in her hometown of
Narrabeen in New South Wales, Australia, where
she celebrated the accomplishment with her family
and friends.
Enever's record bettered Andrea Moller's previous
record by just one foot, which was caught on
January 16, 2016, at Pe'ahi, Maui. Moller, an
internationally recognised waterwoman, pioneer
of big wave surfing, and respected paramedic,
held the record for seven years. She was the first
woman to paddle into a wave at Pe'ahi, the first
woman to catch a wave in the prestigious Eddie
Aikau big wave contest, and an advocate for
equality and progression in big wave surfing.
About the Measurement Process
The WSL Science Team, led by Michal Pieszk,
Senior Research and Development Engineer of the
Kelly Slater Wave Company (KSWC), collaborated
on the analysis of the largest waves ridden in the
Paddle-In category during the 2022/23 WSL Big
Wave Record Chase season. The team uses a
range of wave-measuring techniques using video
footage, detailed information about the site, the
location of the videographers and the location of
the wave to determine the wave height.
Several frames from the video footage were
extracted and geometrically corrected based
on camera positions and angles. Using known
objects such as jet skis and actual measurements
of Enever's body geometry, it was possible to
calibrate the images for conversion from pixels to
feet. The location of the trough and crest of the
wave was determined from analysis of the video
from two different angles.
Laura's long-time association with both Curl and
Adventure Magazine began when we started
photographing in the Maldives when she was only
15 years old (she is now 31). Congratulations
Laura.
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