California Man May Have Ridden Largest Wave Ever At 108 Feet

Guinness World Records is in the process of verifying whether or not a 22-year-old man broke a world record in the sport of surfing. A wave reported to be 108 feet tall was recently ridden during a West Coast storm that created huge swells and powerful winds.

A Santa Cruz surfer may have set a new world record for the largest wave ever surfed on December 23 during a winter swell, according to details shared by sfgate.com. Sanat Cruz is located 75 miles south of San Francisco, and two days before Christmas a man named Alessandro Slebir was seen by several witnesses riding a wave that may have been more than 20 feet taller than the previous record holder, according to sfgate.com.

It took Guinness World Records a year and a half to acknowledge the previous big-wave king, who rode an 86-foot wave in Portugal years ago, so it might not be known if this most recent accomplishment by Slebir will cement him as the new record holder until 2026.

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Santa Cruz has been getting battered by coastal storms for weeks now, including one that caused more than 100 feet of a wharf to break off into the sea. Three people had to be rescued from the ocean as a result.

It took Guinness World Records a year and a half to acknowledge the previous big-wave king, who rode an 86-foot wave in Portugal years ago, so it might not be known if this most recent accomplishment by Slebir will cement him as the new record holder until 2026.

Mavericks Beach, which is located 53 miles northwest of Santa Cruz, is known to produce the largest waves in California. The potential record-breaking wave Slebir rode back on December 23 was near Half Moon Bay, just 6 miles south of Mavericks Beach.