List of surfing records explained

The following lists present the current title holders of each surfing theme.

Largest (measured) waves surfed

See also: Big wave surfing.

Height ! Surfer	Place ! Date	Notes/Event
86feet	Sebastian Steudtner	Praia do Norte, Nazaré	29 October 2020	Current Guinness World Record.^[1]
80feet	Rodrigo Koxa	Praia do Norte, Nazaré	8 November 2017	Previous Guinness World Record 2017–2020.^[2] Awarded the Quiksilver XXL Biggest Wave Award by the World Surf League (WSL).^[3] ^[4]
78feet	Garrett McNamara	Praia do Norte, Nazaré	1 November 2011	Guinness World Record 2011–2017.
77feet	Mike Parsons	Cortes Bank, North Pacific Ocean	5 January 2008	Guinness World Record 2008–2011.^[5]
73.5feet	Maya Gabeira	Praia do Norte, Nazaré	11 February 2020	Female World Record.^[6] ^[7] cbdMD XXL Biggest Wave Award^[8]
70.5feet	Justine Dupont	Praia do Norte, Nazaré	11 February 2020	Estimated based on a graph by the World Surf League.^[9] WSL Ride of the Year
70feet	Kai Lenny	Praia do Norte, Nazaré	11 February 2020	cbdMD XXL Biggest Wave Award
70feet	Pete Cabrinha	Jaws beach, Peʻahi	15 January 2016	Awarded the Billabong XXL Big Wave Award and $70,000.
68feet	Carlos Burle	Mavericks, Northern California	2001	Awarded the Billabong XXL Big Wave Award.
68feet	Maya Gabeira	Praia do Norte, Nazaré	January 2018	^[10]
66feet	Makua Rothman	Jaws beach, Peʻahi	2002	Awarded the 2003 Billabong XXL Award^[11]
66feet	Mike Parsons	Cortes Bank, North Pacific Ocean	2001	Billabong XXL Big Wave Award. Awarded $66,000; the highest prize ever awarded in the history of professional surfing^[12]
64feet	Mike Parsons	Jaws beach, Peʻahi		Wave was filmed by helicopter and used as the opening scene of the 2003 film Billabong Odyssey
63feet	Aaron Gold	Jaws beach, Peʻahi	15 January 2016
61feet	Shawn Dollar	Cortes Bank, North Pacific Ocean	21 December 2012	Paddle-in world record (without the help of a tow) Billabong XXL Big Wave Award

Other claims

There are various ways to measure the height of a wave.^[13] Miguel Moreira, professor at University of Lisbon's Faculty of Human Kinetics (FMHUL) denotes that "in order to announce world records, all waves should be measured using the same method". WSL has its own method of measuring the height of a wave and has partnered with Guinness World Records to award world record certificates. Below are some claims of surfed waves that were/are not yet recognized by WSL:

• Andrew Cotton - In January 2014, Cotton, was towed into an estimated 80-foot (24.3 meters) wave at Praia do Norte. His feat has yet to be ratified by Guinness World Records.^[14]
• António Laureano - On 29 October 2020, Laureano, 18 at the time, rode a wave estimated by FMHUL to be around 101.4 feet (30.9 meters) at Praia do Norte. This measurement is still awaiting confirmation by WSL.^[15]
• Benjamin Sanchis - On 11 December 2014, Sanchis rode a wave labelled as 108feet by the media. The wave was deemed by Billabong as a "partial ride" (meaning he did not ride it to completion).
• Carlos Burle - On the 28th October, 2013, Burle rode a wave that was claimed to be 100 feet on Praia do Norte.^[16]
• Garrett McNamara - Apart from his 2011 world record, McNamara has reportedly surfed to what was dubbed by the media as a "100 foot wave" on 28 January 2013 at Praia do Norte.^[17] McNamara has said in a 2013 interview he never claimed the wave to be 100 feet, but said the wave definitely felt bigger than the previous record.^[18]

Longest kitesurfing journeys

See also: Kitesurfing.

Distance ! Surfer	Place ! Date	Notes/Event
1184km (736miles)	Kite the Reef (team)	Vlassoff Cay to Cape York	between August 13 and 21, 2015	Longest kitesurfing journey by a team.^[19]
862km (536miles)	Francisco Lufinha	Lisbon to Madeira	between July 5 and 7, 2015	Longest non-stop kitesurfing journey by a man.
489km (304miles)	Anke Brandt	Amwaj Islands to Al Dar Island	April 2016	Longest continuous kitesurfing journey by a woman.

Longest wave surfed by a dog

See also: Dog surfing. Abbie Girl, an Australian Kelpie, completed a distance of 107.2m (351.7feet) at a dog surfing contest at Huntington Beach on October 18, 2011.^[20]

Notes and References

1. News: Surfing a record 86-foot wave took guts. Measuring it took 18 months.. Smith, Noah. Washington Post. 2020-05-25. 2020-05-25.
2. Web site: A timeline of the biggest waves surfed as Rodrigo Koxa sets new record . . 20 August 2021 . 1 May 2018.
3. Web site: A timeline of the biggest waves surfed as Rodrigo Koxa sets new record . . 9 November 2020.
4. Web site: What Are the Largest Waves Ever Surfed? . www.wetsuitwearhouse.com . 27 February 2019 . Geno Seay . 9 November 2020.
5. Web site: Clash . Jim . Big-Wave Surfer Garrett McNamara Recalls His Gnarly 78-Foot, World-Record Ride . . 20 August 2021 . en.
6. Web site: The biggest wave surfed this year . . 9 November 2020.
7. Web site: Brazilian surfer Maya Gabeira breaks largest wave surfed record . . 9 November 2020.
8. Web site: Maya Gabeira Sets New World Record, Wins cbdMD XXL Biggest Wave Award . 10 September 2020 . . 21 January 2021.
9. Web site: GUINNESS RECORD FOR LARGEST WAVE EVER SURFED BY A WOMAN!!! Maya Gabeira wins cbdMD XXL Biggest Wave . youtube.com . 20 August 2021 . en.
10. News: Female surfer sets new world record . BBC News . 9 November 2020.
11. Web site: Big wave surfer Makua Rothman takes us inside the record-breaking ride of his life on Talk Story . hawaiinewsnow.com . 8 March 2021 . 24 May 2021.
12. Web site: 64 Foot Wave – Mike Parsons at Jaws Beach, Hawaii – Pacific Helicopter Private Tours . pachelitours.com . 15 August 2021.
13. Web site: How to measure wave height in surfing . Surfertoday . 27 August 2021 . en-us.
14. Web site: Drughi . Octavia . The 6 Daredevils Who Charged the Biggest Waves Ever Surfed . BookSurfCamps.com . 27 August 2021 . en.
15. Web site: António Laureano surfed a 101.4-foot wave in Nazaré . Surfertoday . 27 August 2021 . en-us.
16. Web site: Lynch . Kevin . Has Brazil's Carlos Burle beaten the world record for largest wave surfed? . . 27 August 2021 . 31 October 2013.
17. Web site: Garrett McNamara surfs 'world record 100ft wave' in Portugal . . 27 August 2021 . en . 30 January 2013.
18. Web site: Garrett McNamara Sets the Record Straight on the '100-Foot' Wave in Nazaré, Portugal . youtube.com . EpicTV . 27 August 2021 . en.
19. Web site: 10 Sensational Guinness World Records in the World of Surfing . booksurfcamps.com . 9 November 2020.
20. Web site: Longest wave surfed by a dog (open water) . . 21 January 2021.