A British surfer and former Love Island contestant may have claimed the women’s world record for riding the largest wave ever after taking on a colossal swell in Portugal last Saturday.
Laura Crane, a 30-year-old from Devon, tackled what she described as “one of the most perfect big waves” while competing at the Nazaré Big Wave Challenge.
The current record stands at 73.5ft, set by Brazilian Maya Gabeira at the same Portuguese location in February 2020.
Ms Crane, who competed in the 2018 series of Love Island, believes her wave exceeded that height and Guinness World Records is now evaluating her achievement.
Speaking to the BBC, Ms Crane said she had “never seen a wave that big” before, adding that it came as “a big shock”.
Big Wave Challenge judges are working alongside Guinness to determine whether she has indeed secured the record.
Her teammate, Antonio Laureano, towed her into the massive wave on a jet ski, travelling at approximately 30mph. Laureano had warned her it was going to “be a bomb”.
Ms Crane described the experience as “flying” and “a total out-of-body experience” for which she had no adequate words.
A British surfer may have claimed the women’s world record for riding the largest wave ever after taking on a colossal swell in Portugal last Saturday
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She told the BBC: “When I came off the back, I cried straight away. The adrenaline is incomparable.”
Upon being collected by her support team, she was overcome with emotion.
She told The Times: “It was just incredible tears of happiness and joy, and that I got to have this incredible experience with this wave that I have seen in my dreams a million times over.”
The photographer on scene immediately remarked: “I don’t think you understand how big that wave was.”
Laura Crane is a 30-year-old from Devon
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The remarkable ride came during an unexpected window of opportunity. A technical fault had brought the competition to a standstill, prompting most competitors to call it a day.
Ms Crane refused to abandon the water: “Most surfers packed up, but I couldn’t. I had just hours of light left and the swell was dying. It was a race against time,” she said.
She ventured back out alongside fellow Briton Andrew Cotton despite uncertainty over whether surfing could continue.
The achievement adds to her pioneering status in the sport.
Guinness World Records is now evaluating her achievement
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GETTY
In 2024, she became the first British woman to tackle the notorious Nazaré waves, which reach extraordinary heights due to a three-mile-deep underwater canyon off the small fishing village north of Lisbon.
Earlier this year, Ms Crane broke her ankle while training on Nazaré’s enormous swells and spent months working towards her comeback for this winter’s competition.
Big-wave surfing carries significant dangers, with surfers who wipe out being forced down to depths of 20 to 50 feet.
She said: “I believe I have been training for this my whole life. I wouldn’t want to live through some of the things I have lived through again, but it’s given me a thick skin and belief to keep fighting and keep that path open for someone else after me as well.”
Ms Crane described the prospect of breaking the record as “very exciting for British surfing”.