Laura Enever Surfed the Biggest Wave Ever Paddled by a Woman. Now What?

All eyes were on Waimea Bay. It was January 22nd, 2023, and the world’s most prestigious surf contest – the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational – was called on for the first time in seven years, and waves 40-foot and above were unloading on the North Shore of Oahu.

Laura Enever, longtime 'CT surfer turned big wave addict, was on call as an alternate in the event. If someone got hurt, she would go out. But she had other plans.

“The comp directors wanted me on the beach, just sitting and waiting,” said Enever. “But that didn’t sit right with me. The waves were so big and clean. So, I decided I’m just gonna go surf. The big thing was, there was no wind. And for me, being pretty petite, I gotta go for those sessions. Those days when there’s no wind, that’s when the magic happens.”

While the world was watching Waimea, Enever and a handful of other surfers descended upon the North Shore’s Outer Reefs. And during that session, she caught a wave that would etch her name into the history books – “largest wave surfed paddle-in (female)” Guinness World Records dubbed it. The size of the record-breaking wave? 43.6 feet.

So, when Samsung hit us up about connecting with Enever, one of their ambassadors partnering with the brand to showcase the latest technologies during this year’s Red Bull Magnitude competition, we took the opportunity to chat with the world record holder about her journey from 'CT stalwart, to WSL commentator, to big wave aficionado.

Hey Laura, where you at?

I’m on the Gold Coast. It’s been super good the last few days. It’s just so dreamy up here with pumping surf and warm water.

What’s your life, and career, look like today? Seems like you wear many hats.

It’s been a pretty amazing journey. Right now feels like my most exciting season of life. My career has taken all these different turns, but they’ve all been within surfing. When I left the Tour, back in 2017, to pursue big wave surfing, I didn’t really know where that was going to take me. It just kept evolving and turning into this awesome new path.

If you had to give yourself a title, these days, what would it be? Still pro surfer?

I still put “professional surfer” first. I love challenging myself in all different areas. Like, going down the free surfing route, then taking on big waves, and also the commentary thing…but really, what I’m pursuing most is the big wave stuff. I’m going to do six [CT] events this year. I love doing them, and seeing the amazing things women are doing on Tour now, but I also really wanna chase big waves. That’s my main priority.

How does it work being a WSL commentator with all the different talking heads? Are you in, like, a rotation?

I kind of fell into the commentary thing on accident just after COVID. I was at home, and I wasn’t competing, and I had this opportunity to do one event, then it snowballed into another one. Then, next thing I knew, I was signed up to do the whole year. Now, I let them know which events I want to do. They kind of keep it more regional with the events now, so Australians are here for the Australian leg. I’m doing Bells, then I’d love to do Fiji [Corona Fiji Pro; August 20th-29th] and Tahiti [Shiseido Tahiti Pro; May 22nd-31st] as well.

All I could think about was big wave surfing. That one session at Jaws changed me.

Talk a little about your transition into the big wave scene. How’d that come about?

People always ask me, like, “was it an overnight decision with you wanting to do big waves?” But I had done this documentary, Undone, and it shows my life and career. I always loved big waves when I was little, but I loved medium-sized big waves. All my wins in my career came in bigger waves. I loved the adrenaline rush. But with competing, I didn’t really have the time to go chase big waves. And there was something missing in me as a surfer. So, I decided, every time I had a gap between events, I would go hunt bigger waves. It made me do better on Tour.

At the end of the year, I got invited to the first-ever women’s big wave event at Jaws. That’s a whole different type of big wave. There’s the wave-of-consequence big barrel wave, then there’s Jaws, Mavericks, and Waimea type of big wave. I didn’t even own a big gun. So, I tossed and turned about it. But then, I thought that this was the best time to do it with all the water safety, and I accepted. On my first wave, it was an absolute bomb, and I got so smashed. Then on my second wave, I blew my knee apart.

That forced me to fall off Tour. But the whole time, all I could think about was big wave surfing. That one session at Jaws changed me. After my injury, my parents were like, “alright, surely that’s enough. You gave it a go.” But I was like, “nah. That’s not the end of that story.”

So, the next year I left the Tour.

And then, last year, you got that wave at the Outer Reefs. Give us the play-by-play.

I decided I really wanted to focus on paddle surfing in big waves, so I got all my guns ready, and went over to Hawaii. I got invited into the Eddie as an alternate. And that swell that came for the Eddie was like the biggest swell in the past five years.

When I got down there, it was way bigger than everyone thought. There were 30-foot cleanup sets washing through. Me and [Felicity] Flick Palmateer went out, and just decided to keep each other safe. This one set came through, and I knew that was my one chance. It wasn’t as top-to-bottom as the others. I was in the perfect spot, and I was like, “this is the wave.”

I was in such a good spot that I only had to take a couple paddles. I took off, and looked down the face, and I remember thinking how massive it was. I just held on, made it to the bottom, let go of my rail, and looked up…it was like a building coming down on top of me. I got the drop-in, but then it just exploded on me.

I knew straight away that it was the biggest wave I ever caught.

Even if nobody photographed that wave, it was for me. It was justification of everything that I had been dedicating myself to the past few years. It was like, “I can do this.”

What’s it like being a Guinness World Record holder?

It’s crazy. Twelve-year-old me would’ve never believed it. I caught the wave in January, and it didn’t get announced as the World Record until November. And in that timeframe, it was cool reflecting on it. It was the pinnacle of my surfing career and life. I was very proud of myself. All of the fears and doubts and “have you made the right decision?” and “you could’ve been on Tour” – all of those questions that went through my head when I gave up competing were answered. I was doing it purely for myself, not for any accolade or money; and that was the biggest success. Even if nobody photographed that wave, it was for me. It was justification of everything that I had been dedicating myself to the past few years. It was like, “I can do this.”

Women’s surfing is super exciting at the moment, especially in the heavy water realm with Red Bull Magnitude, the historic performances at the Pipe Pro, the upcoming Olympics at Teahupo’o, etc. Why do you think things have been ramping up recently? Was it an issue of opportunity?

For one, it’s opportunity. And for two, you can’t be what you can’t see. All these women charging – whether in Red Bull Magnitude or at the Pipe Pro – it’s so inspiring. Young girls now are going to be watching girls surf Pipe, and they’re going to be their heroes. In the past, we wanted to barrel ride like some guy. But now we wanna do it like these women. It’s there now. And I think the sport is just going to keep progressing.

What’re your goals in big waves? With a world record, you could easily retire. But do you still have the drive?

The “R” word isn’t part of my vocabulary. The coolest thing about big wave surfing, and surfing in general, is that there’s no age limit or standard for throwing in the towel. I just wanna keep traveling and surfing and chasing big waves. I don’t think I’ll ever lose that drive. It’s so addictive, big wave surfing. You know it’s so dangerous, but it’s so hard to say “no” when everything comes together and mother nature provides the canvas. I want to be doing it as long as my body is able to do it.