Big Wave Surfing  

Potential new world record for German Sebastian Steudtner with 28.57m monster wave  

2024 season, Nazaré - Portugal

German Big Wave Surfer Sebastian Steudtner surfed possibly the biggest wave ever during the XXL swell at premier big-wave destination Nazaré, Portugal, this 2024 season. Steudtner surfed a monster wave that was measured at 28.57m (93.73ft) leveraging state-of-the-art drone technology. The current world record, also held by Steudtner, is 26.21m (86.4ft), which was achieved at Nazaré in 2020. During the XXL swell, the drone prototype was used for quick and precise wave measurement for the first time. Helping to surf the biggest waves possible, Steudtner developed a new surfboard technology with his partners to significantly optimize his surfboard over the past three years. Using the latest simulation methods and wind tunnel validations, the water and air resistances were successfully reduced. As a result, with the new board, Steudtner can now reach speeds of up to 100 km/h, compared to the previous 80 km/h, which now enabled Steudtner to ride the potential next record wave.