13-Year-Old Girl Wipes Out Surfing Massive Nazaré (Video)

Start ‘em young, they say. But how young is too young when it comes to surfing, and particularly in waves of consequence. It’s a debate that’s been roiling, in recent years, within the surf world, as juvenile surfers start riding the world’s heaviest waves, sometimes just barely within the realm of double digits.

Nonetheless, it’s still impressive to see these literal children, excelling from such a young age. Take, for example, 13-year-old Ana Gabriela Pessoti Dagostini (aka Aninha Dagostini), who recently charged Nazaré, Portugal – home to the world’s biggest waves – with the assist of big wave legend, Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca, during the season-opener swell.

What were you doing at 13, huh? Certainly not this.

Aninha’s inaugural XL session went down at Praia do Norte on December 7th, 2025, a few days after the seas calmed from the biggest swell of the season (so far) at the Portuguese beast. By the looks of it, she caught a few bombs, kept her composure, kinked her back leg stylishly, and came out fairly unscathed. But there’s always gonna be one incident…

In another video, Aninha bails in the whitewater, gets held underwater, and pulls her inflation vest before getting rescued by the jet-ski. Narrating the incident, as scraggily auto-translated by my iPhone, she says:

“Look at the foam that swallowed me. I gave up in the hour of desperation. I had to take that wave on my head. I stayed underwater for a while. I stayed underwater about 10 seconds, and I had to pop my vest. Because the broth [whitewater] was quite strong. After I pulled my vest, I quickly went up. It was like a buoy. Ten seconds of drinking broth under cold water, I went up. I was not breathing for a while. This was a bit of the first wave I took in Nazaré. Thanks to everyone who was there to help me when I fell off the wave.”

So, who is Aninha? Per a profile on CBSurf, she “was born in Linhares, Espírito Santo, and from a very young age found her true passion in the sea: surfing. Daughter of former professional surfer BenitoDagostini and surfer MaíraPessoti, Aninha grew up in direct contact with the waves, inheriting not only talent, but also determination and a love for life in the ocean.”

Keep an eye out for this young charger.