Photo: Laura Crane // Instagram
On Saturday, Laura Crane took part in the Nazaré Big Wave Challenge. Located at the famed Praia do Norte in Portugal, the event took place in monstrous surf that some were calling the swell of the year. Though France’s Justine Dupont took home the win at the actual competition, a wave that Crane caught after the contest was halted may very well turn out to be a record-breaker.
“Most surfers packed up, but I couldn’t,” Crane told The BBC. “I had just hours of light left and the swell was dying. It was a race against time.”
For her efforts, Crane was rewarded with a monster. Towed by Antonio Laureano, she caught a wave that had stunned even the jaded eyes of Nazare regulars. “As soon as I came out of the water the photographer said, ‘I don’t think you understand how big that wave was,’” she recalls.
The wave to beat is a 73.5-foot behemoth surfed by Brazilian Maya Gabeira at Nazare in 2020. That wave broke another record set by Gabeira, for a 68-footer in 2018. Luckily, Crane says the angle of her ride is similar to Gabeira’s 2020 effort, which will make a direct comparison more straightforward.
However, it will likely be some time until a final decision is made. Not only that, but a new group of judges will be deciding the record this time. Back in September, the WSL ceded the duties of verifying world records back to Guinness citing a “strategic focus on live events.”
As she waits for the results, Crane remains optimistic. “This could be the best Christmas present ever,” she said.
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