Big‑wave surfing isn’t for the faint‑hearted, but when you’re chasing the ten biggest waves ever ridden, the adrenaline outweighs the fear. From 12‑meter monsters in Hawaii to 26‑meter behemoths off Portugal’s coast, each swell tells a tale of daring, skill, and sometimes sheer luck.
Ten Biggest Waves Overview
10 Greg Noll: Makaha, Oahu, Hawaii, USA, 1969
No chronicle of monumental surf would be complete without Greg Noll, the 1960s big‑wave icon whose striped trunks were as legendary as his appetite for massive surf. Noll, who passed away in 2021, left an indelible mark on the sport not just for his flamboyant style but also for his relentless pursuit of towering swells.
On the crisp morning of December 4, 1969, during the famed “Swell of ’69,” Noll and a small crew tackled Makaha Point’s western face on Oahu. He caught a wall of water that onlookers proclaimed the “Biggest Wave Ever,” estimated at over 12 meters (40 feet). The sheer size of that wall left spectators breathless.
After riding the monster, Noll survived a brutal wipe‑out that stripped him of his board and left him scrambling to the shore. The harrowing experience convinced him to abandon big‑wave pursuits, prompting a move to northern California where he became a commercial fisherman and a master surfboard craftsman.
9 Alec Cooke: Outside Pipeline, Oahu, Hawaii, USA, 1985
During the 1970s and ’80s, the rise of professional tour surfing eclipsed the traditional quest for monstrous swells. Alec “Ace Cool” Cooke, a dedicated big‑wave rider with deep Hawaiian roots, was determined to refocus attention on the colossal.
In 1985, Cooke devised a daring plan: be dropped from a helicopter, complete with board and emergency oxygen tank, onto the North Shore’s giant surf. A media crew aboard the helicopter would capture photo‑proof, ensuring the feat received worldwide verification.
The stunt unfolded dramatically. Cooke rode a massive wave, captured on film, before a larger wave swallowed him, forcing him to lose his board and swim ashore. The images sparked global coverage, though skeptics argued the helicopter’s angle exaggerated the wave’s size.
Cooke remained active on the North Shore, but tragedy struck on October 27, 2015, when he vanished while paddling at Waimea Bay. Despite an extensive Coast Guard search, his body was never recovered, adding a somber note to his adventurous legacy.
8 Brock Little: Waimea Bay, Oahu, Hawaii, USA, 1990
The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau event—affectionately known as “The Eddie”—revitalized interest in big‑wave surfing. This prestigious contest, held only when conditions met Eddie’s exacting standards, became a beacon for surf culture.
By January 21, 1990, the event received the green light, and expectations surged alongside the swell. Young Hawaiian surfer Brock Little, fearless and hungry for glory, seized the moment.
Little rode an astounding 15‑meter (50‑foot) wave, captured from multiple angles. Although he hit a bump and fell before completing the ride, the consensus was clear: he had stood up on the largest wave ever recorded at that time.
7 Ken Bradshaw: Outside Log Cabins, Hawaii, USA, 1998
On January 28, 1998, Hawaii’s north shore entered a “Code Red” alert, a rare declaration that the surf had reached a magnitude warranting the closure of all harbors and beaches.
Just before the shutdown, several two‑person teams launched personal watercraft (PWC) from Haleiwa Harbor. Each team paired a surfer with a driver, using a tow‑rope to achieve the speed necessary for catching gigantic waves—human paddling alone simply wasn’t fast enough.One team headed to the remote Outer Log Cabins reef, a deep‑water break that only erupts during the most massive winter swells. Estimates placed the waves between 15 and 18 meters (50‑60 feet).
Amid a crowd of onlookers armed with binoculars and telephoto lenses, Ken Bradshaw was towed by driver Dan Moore into a colossal wall, later photographed as an 18‑meter (60‑foot) monster—the biggest ever ridden at that moment.
6 Mike Parsons: Cortes Bank, California, USA, 2008
In the late 1980s, surf‑magazine legend Larry “Flame” Moore began investigating Cortes Bank, a submerged seamount roughly 160 km (100 miles) off southern California. A newspaper story about the USS Enterprise striking the bank hinted at a hidden surf haven.
By 1990, Moore surmised that waves could indeed break over the bank under the right swell and wind conditions. He chartered a plane, flew out during a sizable swell with light winds, and captured the first images of perfect, rideable giants breaking over the underwater ridge.
Subsequent expeditions in the early 2000s confirmed the site’s potential. In 2008, a massive north‑Pacific winter swell, paired with calm local winds, set the stage for a historic ride.
Professional surfer Mike Parsons joined a crew of big‑wave enthusiasts, boarded a vessel, and rode a wave estimated at more than 23 meters (75 feet)—the largest documented at that time—before safely heading back into deeper water.
5 Garrett McNamara: Nazaré, Portugal, 2011
In 2005, a Portuguese local urged Hawaiian big‑wave legend Garrett McNamara to check out Nazaré’s winter surf, insisting that towering walls rose in front of the lighthouse. McNamara, convinced that Hawaii held the world’s biggest waves, initially dismissed the Atlantic’s potential.
After five years of gathering photo evidence, McNamara finally ventured to Nazaré in 2010 and was immediately impressed by the sheer magnitude of the swells.
The following winter, McNamara secured a certified Guinness World Record by riding a 23.7‑meter (78‑foot) wave, establishing a new benchmark for the biggest wave ever surfed at that moment.
Now residing in Portugal, McNamara’s pursuit of massive surf is chronicled in the documentary series “100 Foot Wave,” cementing his status as a modern big‑wave pioneer.
4 Ramón Navarro: Cloudbreak, Fiji, 2012
Chilean surfer Ramón Navarro earned National Geographic’s “Adventurer of the Year” award in 2013 after conquering a monumental wave at Fiji’s Cloudbreak in June 2012. The swell formed a colossal blue tube over a coral reef miles offshore in the South Pacific.
Navarro flew from Chile after learning of a rare alignment of powerful low‑pressure systems beneath Australia, which combined to generate a massive groundswell directed toward Fiji’s reefs.
Although Cloudbreak had been surfed since the 1970s, no one had witnessed waves of this magnitude. Towed by partner Kohl Christensen on a PWC, Navarro rode an 18‑meter (60‑foot) tube, navigating the deep water channel beside the reef.
3 Jamie Mitchell: Belharra, France, 2014
The Bay of Biscay, notorious for its ferocious winter storms, funnels massive groundswell energy toward the southern French coast. In January 2014, a ferocious North Atlantic storm named Hercules generated an unprecedented swell aimed at the reef of Belharra.
Belharra, a deep‑water reef that only breaks during the most extreme swells—perhaps two or three times a season—became the arena for a small cadre of elite big‑wave surfers.
Australian surfer Jamie Mitchell paddled into a 20‑meter (65‑foot) wave, ultimately wiping out but surviving the ordeal. His performance earned a “Wipeout of the Year” nomination for 2014, highlighting the sheer scale of the wave he faced.
2 Mark Healy: Puerto Escondido, Mexico, 2015
Puerto Escondido’s Zicatela Beach, often dubbed the “Mexican Pipeline,” has long been famed for powerful, barreling waves. Its southwest orientation makes it a prime recipient of groundswell generated by winter storms in the South Pacific.
In May 2015, an exceptionally large swell forecasted for mainland Mexico prompted big‑wave rider Mark Healy to position himself for a historic ride.
Healy paddled out on a 3‑meter (10‑foot) board, navigating from a protected harbor down the coast to the breaking zone. The swell produced waves far larger and farther out than usual, flooding streets and swamping local businesses.
Choosing his moment carefully, Healy generated enough speed without a tow‑in, stood up, and rode a wave exceeding 15 meters (50 feet). He rode until the wave closed, being washed ashore still alive thanks to his inflatable vest—arguably the biggest wave ever paddled into without tow assistance.
1 Sebastian Steudtner: Nazaré, Portugal, 2020
Nazaré’s unique bathymetry—a deep offshore canyon that refracts incoming swells—creates the world’s most extreme wave‑amplifying environment. The canyon can double or even triple the swell’s energy, producing towering peaks in front of the iconic lighthouse.
On October 29, 2020, a massive winter swell struck Nazaré. Austrian surfer Sebastian Steudtner, a former windsurfer turned big‑wave rider, was towed by his PWC driver into one of these colossal peaks, screaming down the face before reaching safety on the shoulder.
Later scientific calibration measured the wave at 26 meters (86 feet), earning Steudtner a Guinness World Record for the largest wave ever surfed—a record that took 18 months of expert verification to confirm.