Abstract This paper starts by introducing extreme wave height analysis using quantile functions, which are an alternative to the classical approaches to model long term maxima or extreme values. The long-term distribution of significant wave heights from four locations are modelled with Davies, 3-parameter Weibull, generalized extreme value ( GEV ) and generalized Pareto ( GP 3) quantile functions. Even though the 3-parameter Weibull and GP 3 quantile functions are adequate wave height models in this study, the performance of the Davies quantile function for extreme wave analysis seems to be consistently good both temporally and spatially.