Surf world in meltdown as world champs and pivotal industry figures line up to claim a ride by Australian Laura Enever as biggest paddle-in wave by a woman ever, “That’s a new world record WSL!”

“This is bigger than anything else in surfing including the Billabong Pipe Masters.”

The former women’s world junior champ Laura Enever has, courtesy of a wild sequence from gun photographer Daniel Russo, laid claim to riding the biggest wave ever paddled into by a woman. 

Enever, who is thirty-one and who learned and polished her formidable skills at Sydney’s North Narrabeen, was the second alternate to compete in The Eddie Invitational, which ran on January 22 and was won by the on-duty North Shore lifeguard Luke Shepardson.

She didn’t get to write a little history at that event but just south of the action at Waimea Bay, Enever paddled out to the same lefthander where the late Sion Milosky rode the biggest men’s paddle wave back in 2010. 

Enever ain’t one to toot her own horn, as they say, and her accompanying caption gives little away as to the immensity, and historical nature, of the wave. 

 

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A post shared by LAURA ENEVER (@lauraenever)

“Dropping in then looking back up at this beauty/ mountain is something I won’t forget 😱 everything was in slow mo 🤣I’m so in awe of the ocean, mother nature & these powerful islands I didn’t think anyone shot the whole wave so it was special to see 🙂 excited to get more comfortable on my big boards to try take some different lines next time :)”

A who’s who of the surfing world, including iconic big-wave surfers Shane Dorian and Grant “Twiggy” Baker and world champ Italo Ferreira, lined up to heap praise, with Twiggy writing simply.

“That’s a new world record WSL.”

Photographer Russo told BeachGrit, “it was the biggest day of waves since Sion caught his. A picturesque setting, clean winds, blue ski. I saw waves that were as big or bigger than Sion’s.”

For comparison, the current holder of the biggest paddle wave by a gal is Andrea Moller, for a “42-footer” at Jaws in 2016. 

(Swing by the Guinness site here.)

I think Laura’s wave a little bigger, no?

And, you’ll remember Laura climbing up the beach a few days ago from Koa Smith’s POV excursion to the joint shortly after the historic ride.

“I got one,” she says modestly.