Hats off to this badass Brazilian who slayed a record setting dragon earning her a spot in the record books. Maya Gabeira caught this spectacular 73.5-foot (22.4 meters) wave at Praia do Norte, in Nazaré, Portugal back on February 11, 2020 but The World Surf League decided that all data regarding potential world record waves should be reviewed by an independent scientific team (hence the delay in announcement). The team included members from the WaveCo Science team, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the University of Southern California, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. The analysis was based on video and photo imagery, camera locations, camera lens parameters, and environmental conditions, including tides, sunlight, and wave set-up. Collinearity equations were used to transform the image coordinates into real-world coordinates based on estimates of the geometric parameters, including the height of the cliff at Nazaré. In addition, fixed reference points in the imagery, including the surfers’ heights, surfboard and jet ski dimensions, and estimated crouching heights, were utilized in the scientific calculations. Parabéns Maya!
Maya Gabeira Sets Record For Biggest Wave By Female Surfer (73.5ft)
