Biggest Wave Ever Surfed

German big wave surfer Sebastian Steudtner surfed possibly the biggest wave ever on February 24, 2024, during the XXL swell at premier big-wave destination Nazaré, Portugal, this season.

Steudtner surfed a monster wave that was measured at 28.57m (93.73ft), leveraging state-of-the-art drone technology developed by Porsche Engineering and Team Steudtner.

The current world record, also held by Steudtner, is 26.21m (86.4ft), which was achieved at Nazaré in 2020.

“I am very grateful to Porsche for the cooperative partnership over the past three years,” says Sebastian Steudtner.

“True to ‘Driven by Dreams’ and with Porsche as a partner, I have been able to fulfill my dream of contributing to the further development of my sport.”

During the XXL swell, the drone prototype from the joint technology project between Team Steudtner and Porsche Engineering was used.

This project involves the development of a measuring drone that is intended to determine the height of waves quickly and precisely.

Until now, video footage and still images have been analyzed for these types of measurements.

The prototype from Porsche Engineering and Team Steudtner is equipped with cameras, control units and storage devices. In addition, sensors from vehicle development are used, which support modern driver assistance systems.

The device can measure all areas of the wave and the surfer within a radius of about 100 meters.

“We are very pleased to have created an innovative solution that can advance the sport of surfing. It was a challenge to develop a drone that can measure not only the height of the waves but is also capable of tracking the surfer within the radius throughout the entire wave ride,” says Marcus Schmelz, Project Manager at Porsche Engineering.

The official confirmation of new world records is the responsibility of official sports governing bodies.

“We are open to sharing our technical insights from the drone development with official experts. Our goal is to further increase transparency in big wave surfing and to provide accurate measurement data more quickly,” Schmelz continues.

Steudtner has based himself in Nazaré for the last few years as part of his “Mission Wave Alpha” project, which has seen him work with his partners Porsche, Porsche Engineering, Schaeffler, O2 Germany, Deutsche Vermögensberatung and X-BIONIC to take the sport to the next level on all fronts, from surfing the biggest waves to water safety, board materials & design.

Deniz Keskin, Director of Brand Management and Partnerships at Porsche AG, adds:

“Having mastered a potential highest world record wave on his new board, Caçador RS is a true pinnacle to three years of intensive cooperation with Sebastian. We are proud of our contribution and are delighted that our conviction to be an enabler rather than a pure sponsor has proven to be a great success.”

Helping to surf the biggest waves possible, Steudtner developed surfboard technology in partnership with Porsche Engineering and Schaeffler 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 “Caçador RS,” Steudtner can now reach speeds of up to 100 km/h, compared to the previous 80 km/h.

The higher speed is necessary to ride larger waves – because the taller a wave is, the faster the surfer must be so that it doesn’t overrun him.

It was this advantage in speed that now enabled Steudtner to ride the potential next record wave.

“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 the development of safety and technology and believing in my dream. 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,” emphasizes Sebastian Steudtner.

Following the end of this season, Sebastian and his partners are now looking beyond Nazaré to explore new horizons focused on progressing big-wave surfing and ocean exploration.