Maverick’s Surfing Competition

The wait is over.  This afternoon, the organizers of the Maverick’s Surf Competition announced that they’ll be holding the competition this Saturday, February 13th.  Last year, mother nature provided a no show, but this year, its looking very promising.  Waves on the western shores have been pretty large with all of the storm actuivity that we’ve recently been having.  For those of us who have been waiting for a chance to photograph this event, Saturday is one of the worst possible days in terms of crowds.  So what is Mavericks and whats the big deal?

Maverick’s is a big wave surf competition held at Mavericks located  about one-half mile from the shore of Pilar Point Harbor just north of Half Moon Bay at the village of Princeton-By-The-Sea.  Waves originate from the Gulf of Alaska and crest from 25 feet to over 50+ feet due to winter storms.  The break is caused by an underwater rock formation located off the coast.  The first big wave competition held at Mavericks was in 1999 when Darryl Virostko(“Flea”) won first place.  Earlier in th 90s, a film entitled Waves of Adventure in the Red Triangle wa sproduced by filmmaker Gary Mederios.

Mavericks today is a by invitation only competition in which 24 of the worlds best big wave surfers are invited.  The 24 invitees decided collectively on whether or not to call the competition once an appropriate swell is on the horizon.  The waiting period, or period of time during which it is determined that the competition can be held, was extended this year to start earlier since in 2009, no contest was held.  This years waiting period started on November 1, 2009 and was scheduled to end March 31, 2010.

This year, the organizers of the committee have provided four venues from which to view the competition.

Live Webcast
Flo TV
AT&T Park
Chartered boat tour

Of course, for those of you who are local, you can try to get to Pillar Point to view the contest from shore (bring binoculars or a long zoom lense).  Unfortunately, this year, I will not be able to attend the competition…