Boreriders.com, The Home of the Severn Bore Riders

On Friday, 24th June 2005, Paraná-born Serginho Laus achieved an unbelievable record of 10.1 km surfing non-stop on the feared converging of waters, known as the Pororoca, attaining a new world record for distance on a tidal bore, that until then belonged to Englishman David Lawson of Gloucester, with 9.1 km on the River Severn, as registered in the Guinness Book of Records.

In the mouth of the Araguari River in Amapá State, Brazil, Laus and his team observed the rise of the pororoca, pioneering for the first time a location never before explored for surfing the wave. "The decision to explore the source of one of the most frightening bores in Brazil and in the world was fundamental. The mud banks along the riverside had changed, and the only place to potentially break the record was in the mouth of the river, on the ocean side." says Serginho Laus, who spent 33 minutes and 15 seconds surfing the Pororoca.

"It was very difficult, on the third and last try I had to make a decision to forget all the pressure, the risks of the wave, the violence the phenomenon shows and keep the integration with nature, to maintain control and concentration in those moments I thought I wouldn't be able to surf that many kilometers" one of the greatest specialists in the bore phenomenon concludes, thrilled.

In a voadeira - native speed boat - Laus counted on his team: the photographer Henrique Martin, cameraman Vinicius Sguarezi, pilot Zeca and Noelio Sobrinho, president of Brazilian Association of Bore Surfing, who guided Laus to breaking the record. Also present were - Antonio Barbosa Maninho, President of the Paraná Surf Federation, Luiz Fernando Pedroso, director of Ediouro Publicações, and surfer Ana Carolina Passaro, who all took part in the expedition as witnesses to the event.

With GPS (Geographic Position System) technology, precise equipment that offers geographic positions and navigation data, the Surfing in the Jungle team, accompanied by a representative of Guinness Book in Brazil and director of Ediouro Publicações, Luiz Fernando Pedroso, took care of measuring and registering the record according to the bureaucratic rules established by the Book of Records.

It's a pleasure being able to register the breaking of a record in Amazonia on such an impressive phenomenon as the Pororoca. Now Serginho Laus is taking not only his name to the world's bestseller, but also the state of Amapá and the green and yellow of Brazil" said Luiz Fernando Pedroso, director of Ediouro Publicações, which distributes and represents Guinness Book in Brazil.

Meeting The Bore Again

The state of Amapá has the largest number of bores in Brazil, and it was in the nest of bores that Laus faced for the first time the largest fluvial phenomenon in Amazonia. In 2000, he was part of the second team to surf the Araguari River reaching, at the time, 16 minutes of non-stop surfing - until then an unimaginable distance. In 2003, the tidal wave specialist reached 25 minutes, but had a serious accident after being swept along by the destructive wave, almost losing the movement of his legs, after breaking the fifth lumbar vertebra. In 2005, after experiencing many more adventures, shipwrecks, accidents and countless minutes on the board, Laus commemorates his victory in breaking the record, in such a magical place that gave him both fear and happiness.

Minister Of Sports

From the outset it felt like the record was already on the move, as events came together perfectly. Upon arriving in Macapá, capital of Amapá, the Surfing in the Jungle team met the governor of Amapá, Waldez Gomes, with his assistants, and the minister of sports, Agnelo Queiroz, who provided very positive energy by commemorating the fact that Brazilian sports are breaking down barriers around the world.

Guinness Book

With the achievement registered by the Guinness Book, the Surfing in the Jungle team, together with the directors of Guinness Book in Brazil sent all the proposed material for verifying and homologating the record in the pages of the book for next year's publication. "We also want to put a picture of Serginho in the book, with an image of surfing in the Amazon Forest" says Luiz Fernando Pedroso, thrilled with the achievement.

The Documentary

As in every Surfing in the Jungle Pororoca expedition, a DVD documentary will be produced with the complete registration of the adventures the Surfing in the Jungle team has been through in conquering the Pororoca phenomenon, with breath-taking images and lots of information about a sport that raises environmental conscience in search of a better planet.

Copyright © 2005 Surfando na Selva - Pororoca / Media center.
All Photos Copyright Likoska / Adrenalimitz

History Of Distance Surfing

In celebration of 50 years of tidal bore surfing on the Severn, this autumn will see the release of Longwave, a DVD film recollecting the evolution of the sport of bore surfing in the UK and worldwide, including the detailed progress of the Guinness World Record for Distance Surfing from Rodney Sumpter's epic unofficial mark of 9.6km set in 1967 to Dave Lawson's former 9 years old record of 9.12km.

Visit the Longwave buzz for a brief history of the distance surfing world records before Serginho's monumental achievement.