Largest wave ever surfed? 28.57m claim to break German’s own world record

German big wave surfing extraordinaire Sebastian Steudtner is pitching to have broken his own world record for the largest wave ever surfed after taking on a monster wave claimed to measure 28.57 metres high.

Steudtner has been based at iconic big-wave destination Nazare on Portugal’s west coast throughout the northern winter, tackling a particularly heavy season of massive swells.

On February 24, the 38-year-old and his extensive support team, which has included a partnership with Porsche Engineering for the past three years, took on the swells produced by Storm Louis.

Steudtner is claiming one of the waves surfed that day measured 28.57 metres in height, presenting a new means of wave measurement via drone technology developed by Porsche.

Any determination of an official world record is made by the World Surf League (WSL) as competitive surfing’s governing body and Guiness World Records. It is typically a lengthy process that takes several months.

Steudtner already holds the current world record for a 26.21m wave he caught at Nazare in 2020.

“Big wave surfing is a beautiful sport; I love it and I am very proud to be able to bring it to the next level through development of safety and technology and believing in my dream,” Steudtner said in a press release trumpeting the potential world record.

“It is my goal to improve big wave surfing and take it to the next level. Together with my team, which is driven by its unique ‘can do’ mindset to define [what is] possible in big-wave surfing, we were able to accomplish this mission.”

Previous measurements of record waves – including Australian Laura Enever’s, who rode the largest wave ever paddled into by a woman last year – have been calculated using video sequences, still images and geometry to compile an accurate size of the wave.

Porsche claims that its new prototype drone can “measure all areas of the wave and the surfer within a radius of about 100 metres”. The drone is equipped with cameras and control units, as well as sensors from vehicle development to measure wave height.

“We are open to share our technical insights from the drone development with official experts,” Marcus Schmelz, Project Manager at Porsche Engineering said.

“Our goal is to further increase transparency in big wave surfing and to provide accurate measurement data more quickly.”

Steudtner and Porsche also spruiked a new board developed by the engineering giant in pursuit of record-breaking waves.

Steudtner has worked extensively in Porsch’s labs on his own surfing technique, using wind tunnels and wave simulations to become faster in the water given the higher a wave is, the faster a surfer has to be to avoid being caught up by it.

Steudtner’s previous big-wave exploits had him clocked at around 80 km/hr, whereas Porsche engineers have now recorded his new equipment and improved technique at speeds of up to 100km/hr.

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