Tahiti big-wave surfer Tikanui Smith prefers to ride his surfboard into monster waves rather than being towed behind a jet ski. Smith explains what it’s like to ride a monster swell in Nazaré, Portugal.
A surfer crossing a huge wave in the background (Photo: Christina Pahnke – Sampix/Getty Images)
Published on June 19, 2026 03:56 am
Tahiti big wave surfer Tikanui Smith believes he is destined to break surfing’s worst record: swimming the biggest wave ever. Currently, the record stands at 63 feet, set by American surfer Aaron Gould in 2016 at the famous Hawaiian break Jaws. Swimming in a big wave is much more challenging than being towed behind a jetski. A surfer must have impeccable strength, timing and bravery. Currently, Smith is being followed by a film crew with an HBO documentary 100 foot wave. he told Outside About a recent attempt on a 70-foot wave in Nazaré, Portugal.
A wall of water was coming. This wave was much bigger than all the other waves. I thought this was my chance to break the record. Then I realized I wasn’t going to catch it. I was in the zone of influence. It was about to collapse on me. I yelled for my safety jetski driver to come pick me up. He came so fast that he hit my board. I held the sled with one hand. I had maybe three seconds. I tried to put the board on the sled, but it was twelve feet long and too heavy.
Two seconds.
He started giving gas to the jetski. I thought, Oh God, I don’t want to die. But I’m putting him in the worst possible situation.
One second.
“Get out of here, go!” I yelled.
I turned. I had time for a breather. And then the wave broke.
Earlier I was in the jetski line-up near Nazare Rock. There were 20 or 30 jetskis in the water, which makes it dangerous for paddle surfers, and I was the only person paddling. Technology like inflatable vests and jetskis now allow so many people to come to Nazaré for the chance to catch a wave bomb. Local surfers had given up paddling due to the crowds. But they told me they were excited to see me accomplish my goal, because that’s the real feeling of big wave surfing.
So I moved to the north side of the reef, away from the jetskis. I was alone. The swelling was huge. I caught some crazy waves with my big board that day. I was wearing my heavy wetsuit, which had a hood, gloves, booties, and my inflatable vest. The waves kept rising like crazy. I was scared and angry at myself for being there. I cried in the water, because this was the moment I had been waiting for. I gave everything I had to make this possible.
In 2018, I was at the World Surf League’s Big Wave Challenge, also in Nazaré. I was caught by four consecutive waves. I thought I was going to die. But under that fourth wave, I realized that the sea would not kill me yet. That’s when I knew it was my destiny to swim in the biggest wave. But the next month, I got into a mountain bike accident that left me nearly paralyzed. The doctors told me I would barely be able to walk. And my fiancé was worried I would die chasing big waves. I retired, left my sponsors, and started a tourism business in Mo’orea, an island in French Polynesia. I even went to a hypnotherapist to understand the idea of making big waves in 2024. But when I came out of hypnosis after three hours, the therapist said, “You’re not ready to retire. Surfing is in you. You’re a phoenix, rising from the ashes.”
I started training that August to break the record. When I went to Nazaré in February I had no money. I slept in a container in the port for three weeks. All the surfers told me they’d never seen anyone do it. Garrett McNamara came up to me and said, “Bro, we’re so glad that young surfers still want to ride Nazaré.”
When that wave broke, I just drowned. It dawned on me. It was like 2018 was when I went into deep, very deep, darkness. I inflated the canister on my life vest. It had completely blown away and I was still in the dark. I was on for maybe twenty seconds, which is really a long time to wipe out. At last I came forward and got beaten. I was focusing on not losing too much energy or oxygen. I could see three jetskis trying to catch me. They couldn’t see me. And then the second wave hit me.
The impact was so strong that I felt something breaking in my heart and stomach. I was down again for a long time. I thought about my family, everything, even my dogs at that moment. When I came up there was a jetski there. He was not even with us that day but he came to pick me up. I left my board and leash in the water.
I felt something was wrong with my heart, it felt very bad. It turned out that my ribs were broken. All the jetski drivers told me that when they saw me they thought I was going to die.
The next day surfers asked me how I kept smiling. I said, this is what I live for. I like to go beyond those limits, which are close to death. This is what makes me feel alive. But I can’t lie that I was very scared. I don’t want to die. I am not the man who thinks it is good to die. But I also can’t wait to go back and try again. I am wary of risk. I want to take advantage of every opportunity to achieve this goal.
I still believe this is my destiny. After Nazaré, I visited Tahua, a visionary who was one of the most powerful people in French Polynesia. I didn’t tell him anything about myself. She held my hand and closed her eyes. She said, “You are a sea warrior. Your animal is the whale. The whale protects you.” The island I lived on when I was a child was a mighty warrior island. The blood of my family on my father’s side was Paratha, the mad sea warrior, the largest and most fearsome creature of all. She told me that all my energy is good.
I respect Sagar a lot. But I’m sure it won’t take me far. I am more afraid of dying in a car accident. I’ll be surfing big waves here in Tahiti this season and then going back to Nazare in September. I know there’s a star above my head, especially in the water. I’ll be ready to chase the biggest wave I’ve ever seen.
As told to Cassidy Randall.
