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LONGEST WAVE EVER
Local Surfer rides Brazilian River Bore for 10.1 KM, enters Guinness Book of World Records
On Friday, June 24th, Parana-born surfer Serginho Laus went to bed with very sore thighs. The longtime Brazilian bore aficionado achieved an unbelievable record of surfing non-stop for 10.1 km (6.3 miles) down Brazil's famous river bore wave, called the Pororoca.
Until now, the longest wave ridden record belonged to Englishman David Lawson, who rode a wave for 9.1 km on the Severn River in England.
Once they got to the mouth of the Araguari River in late June, Laus and crew saw the bore reach a place they'd never seen. "The mud banks along the riverside changed, and the only place for a potential record-breaking ride was on the mouth of the river, to the ocean side," says Laus, who spent 33 minutes and 15 seconds surfing the bore.
Laus' "Surfing in the Jungle" team brought high tech GPS gear and a Guinness Book of Records representative to measure, map and make sure the record was broken.
"It's a pleasure being able to register the breaking of a record in Amazonia, in such an impressive phenomenon as the bore," said Luiz Fernando Pedroso, director of Ediouro Publicacoes, that distributes and represents Guinness Book in Brazil.
The state of Amapa has the largest number of bores in Brazil, and it was in the newest of these bores that Laus faced for the first time. In 2000, he was part of the second team to surf Araguari River reaching, at the time, 16 minutes of non-stop surfing -- until then an unimaginable limit. In 2003, the tidal wave specialist reached 25 minutes, but had a serious accident after being swept off by the wave, almost losing the movement of his legs after breaking the fifth lumbar vertebra.
This successful attempt was the direct result of these years of experience -- and a very strong will. "It was very difficult, but on the third and last try I had to make a decision to forget all the pressure and the risks," Laus concludes. "I never thought I'd be able to surf so many kilometers."
Keep an eye out for the 2006 Guinness Book of World Records and a documentary about Laus' wild ride.
Special thanks to www.adrenalimitz.com.br -- check 'em out for more bore-riding mayhem.
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Surfline
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