MAVERICKS, Half Moon Bay - Will the monster surfing
event be held on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009?
The chances are
pretty strong that Mavericks Surf Contest off Half Moon
Bay will be held this Saturday. With waves predicted to
hit the Northern California coast in the 15 to 20-foot
swell range, that's not exactly the best waves seen at
other annual Mavericks events. However, in a competition
where size counts, nothing happened in 2007 and after
three months of waiting (there's a natural window from
January through March), there simply was no Mavericks
contest.
Good news: The event may go on this weekend (was cancelled two
years ago).
Bad news: Swells are expected to arrive sooner than
Saturday, and that could spell "cancellation" for this
sports contest requiring huge waves. Huge waves are the
whole point of the event.
THE 2009 MAVERICKS SURF CONTEST LIVE WEBCAST
www.myspace.com/maverickssurf
The powerful North Pacific swell has arrived
at the west-facing beaches in Hawaii. It could mean a
full day of Mavericks bombs. However, forecasters for
Surfline.com are calling for wave face heights of only
15 to 20-plus feet.
An elite group of the world's top
surfers drop what they're doing and rush to Mavericks
for this once-in-a-lifetime surfing competition. It's
huge, it's wild and only 24 men will get to try it out
in 2009.
Time: approx. 8:30 - 3:30 (final
heat in afternoon). Viewing is difficult. Hotels sold
out, etc. 50,000 or more attend.
2009 Invitations have
gone out to: Matt Ambrose; Grant 'Twiggy' Baker;
Ion Banner; Kenny Collins; Shane Desmond; Brock Little;
Greg Long; Josh Loya; Peter Mel; Shawn Rhodes; Ryan
Seelbach; Evan Slater; Tyler Smith; Jamie Sterling;
Anthony Tashnick; Darryl Virostko; Grant Washburn; Zach
Wormhoudt; Carlos Burle; Dave Wassell; Alex Martins;
Danilo Couto; Chris Bertish; and Tim West.
2008 Winners of
Mavericks
Greg Long Grant Baker Jamie Sterling
Tyler Smith Grant Washburn Evan Slater
Results were left
to right in photos above:
1- Greg Long San
Clemente 27.4 (wore an orange jersey)
2 - Grant Twiggy Baker South Africa 26.6 - yellow
jersey
3 Jamie Sterling - Home town is Santa Cruz - red
4 Tyler Smith of Santa Cruz - blue
5 Grant Washburn - Half Moon Bay - white
6 Evan Slater - San Clemente/Vista - green
Slater is editor of
Surfer Mag. had been out of surfing with a back injury
and had just returned to surfing. His hometown is San
Clemente, but he has lived for several years in Vista
with his wife and family.
Sponsors included:
Save the Wave, Surfer Magazine, Myspace
Clifbar Green Room best tube of the day - environmental
efforts, barrel or closest to barrel Grant Twiggy Baker
$500/ $500 save the waves. Greg Long took his $30,000
winnings and combined it with the earnings of the other
6 finalists, which they split equally for a take home of
$9500/each.
Greg Long: Wow! This has been one of the biggest things
since I started surfing. Guys in water have been idols
of mine. These guys are the best watermen in the world.
I am very humbled. It was an amazing day. The first 10
minutes, we were getting antsy. It's not about the
money, but the love it. It was anybody's game out there.
Thanks for making me feel so welcome every time I come
back up here. - end
2007 Mavericks Surf Contest at
Half Moon Bay Was Not Held
Jan. 3, 2007 - The 2007
Mavericks Surf Contest, the
season's most anticipated
big-wave surf event, is in
holding pattern until the
waves are just right. On
just 24-hours notice between
January 1 and March 31,
2007, 24 legendary big-wave
surfers will make the
pilgrimage to the
treacherous Mavericks surf
break to compete for the
famed title. This year, the
invitees will compete for an
impressive $75,000 prize
purse. The purse breakdown
awards $30,000 for first
place, $12,000 for second
place, $7,500 for third
place, $3,500 for fourth,
$2,500 for fifth and $1,500
for sixth place.
When the ideal confluence
of swell and storms hit Half
Moon Bay last year
generating 50 foot waves and
ideal weather, a keyed up
crowd of 50,000 spectators
experienced the surprise win
from South Africa's Grant
"Twiggy" Baker. This year
these extraordinary watermen
will again risk their lives
in the hollow,
shark-infested waters for
the pride of conquering this
storied wave.
When a contest-worthy
swell, born from the storms
off the coast of Japan,
approaches the Mavericks
break, the 24 invited
surfers get the contest
greenlight and have a mere
24 hours to be onsite and
ready to go. This year's
contest aims to accommodate
the tremendous audience
interest while respecting
the fragile surroundings of
this natural wonder by
implementing a number of
soon-to-be-announced
initiatives. These include a
groundbreaking live webcast
on CBS SportsLine.com, a
unique webcast viewing event
at "baseball's perfect
address" and the home of the
San Francisco Giants -- AT&T
Park and a "greenlight
alert" SMS campaign for
Mavericks fans. Surfers can
track the waves and stay
informed on contest
announcements at the
official website
maverickssurf.com
2007 Mavericks Invitees:
Ion Banner
Matt Ambrose
Ross Clarke-Jones
Kenny "Skindog" Collins
Grant "Twiggy" Baker
Shane Desmond
Randy Cone
Danilo Couto
Brock Little
Greg Long
Josh Loya
Peter Mel
Evan Slater
Tyler Smith
Russell Smith
Jamie Sterling,
Shawn Rhodes
Ryan Seelbach
Anthony Tashnick
Darryl "Flea" Virostko
Garrett McNamara
Grant Washburn
Zach Wormhoudt
John Whittle
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