Monster wave brings world record hope for surfer

A surfer hopes she has made it into the record books after potentially riding the biggest wave taken on by a woman.

Laura Crane, 30, from Devon, was launched into a towering wall of water she described as "one of the most perfect big waves" she had ever surfed after competing at the Nazare Big Wave Challenge in Portugal on Saturday.

The wave is being assessed by the Big Wave Challenge group, which works alongside Guinness World Records, with the current mark for the biggest wave ever ridden by a woman being 73.5ft (22.4m) high.

Crane said she found the moment emotional to deal with and hoped to get the "best Christmas present ever" with the record.

Crane had been competing in the contest when it was halted by a technical fault.

"Most surfers packed up, but I couldn't," she said.

"I had just hours of light left and the swell was dying. It was a race against time."

Towed by team-mate Antonio Laureano, she caught a wave she said grew massively as it rolled towards the shore.

At speeds of more than 30mph (48km/h), Crane said one mistake could have been catastrophic, which she experienced when she broke her ankle at the same spot in 2024.

"When I came off the back, I cried straight away," said Crane.

"The adrenaline is incomparable."

The current women's record is held by Brazil's Maya Gabeira, but Crane reckoned her wave stood taller.

"I'm lucky her angle is similar to mine, so it's easy to compare," she said.

Crane, who was the first British woman to surf the big waves of Nazare in 2024, said she had "invested so much time and money" into her surfing, but moments like this make it "all worth it".

She said she planned to stay in Nazare for one more swell before heading home for Christmas.

"This could be the best Christmas present ever," Crane added.

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