If you’re a person looking to break the world record for surfing the largest wave (you’re likely not), there is no better place on earth to do it than at Nazaré. It is uniquely situated to churn out enormous mountains of rolling water, and it has a viewpoint like nowhere else. In 2011, Garrett McNamara was awarded a Guinness World Record for largest wave ever surfed when he rode a 78-footer there. He held onto it until Rodrigo Koxa broke it with an 80-footer, and recently, Maya Gabeira latched onto a Guinness World Record for the largest wave ever surfed by a woman. But records, as they say, are made to be broken, and Justine Dupont may have done just that on November 13.
Gabeiras’ record-setting wave was officially measured at 68 feet. And while it’s not official yet, many are speculating that Dupont’s wave above is bigger. “I’ve captured Maya Gabeira’s record wave in 2018 and it’s difficult to call which one is bigger,” said Pedro Miranda, the filmmaker responsible for the footage, to Newsflare. “It’s definitely a proper candidate to beat Maya’s record wave, but I prefer to avoid any speculation and let the WSL judges compare all angles. I’m really happy for Justine, she’s a warrior!”
It’ll be a while until the numbers are in, though. The official measurements will be posted in May 2020 during the WSL Big Wave Awards. So until then, let’s just compare from the safety of our couches.
