Mavericks Big Wave Surfing Contest finished today. Nice gallery of the days events.
February 8, 2006 9:03 PM Subscribe
Mavericks Big Wave Surfing Competition has ended. Grant Baker from South Africa took the 30K first place prize. Nice photo gallery.
Watching people surf 30'+ waves at Mavericks is one of my most unforgettable experiences. The waves are staggeringly big. I've heard it described as 'like jumping off a house and then having it chase you down the street'. It's hard to believe that anyone could survive a wipeout from one of the big ones. I've been sucker-punched by a five-foot wave and it took me a year to fully recover.
posted by unSane at 9:08 PM on February 8, 2006
posted by unSane at 9:08 PM on February 8, 2006
What I said in the other thread:
I just got back from working the contest today.
It was just about perfect.
Consistent 28 - 32 foot faces with the occasional 35, glassy waves swept by offshore winds, 68 degrees, sunny.
I was up on the air base, right by the judges stand, and the thing that got to me was just the consistency of today.
Wave after wave, with a BIG 20 - 22 second period.
And the sound ... every so often a big one would detonate, and BOOM, you could hear from a mile away (literally).
Just great.
posted by Relay at 9:18 PM on February 8, 2006
I just got back from working the contest today.
It was just about perfect.
Consistent 28 - 32 foot faces with the occasional 35, glassy waves swept by offshore winds, 68 degrees, sunny.
I was up on the air base, right by the judges stand, and the thing that got to me was just the consistency of today.
Wave after wave, with a BIG 20 - 22 second period.
And the sound ... every so often a big one would detonate, and BOOM, you could hear from a mile away (literally).
Just great.
posted by Relay at 9:18 PM on February 8, 2006
Goddamn, those are some bitchin' photos!
posted by codeofconduct at 10:08 PM on February 8, 2006
posted by codeofconduct at 10:08 PM on February 8, 2006
heard lots of complaints about how this contest was managed.
posted by Dom at 10:12 PM on February 8, 2006
posted by Dom at 10:12 PM on February 8, 2006
well generally local resentment about the area being turned into a circus
"f*cking three-ring circus at Mav's . . . Nor Cal's version of the Huntington Beach Open"
"i was at the first 2 mavs contests before they changed it into norcal's version of the us open at hb pier. parking was mellow in the close dirt lot, and there was plenty of room on the cliff. no fucking big screens, no skis whatsoever, and maybe 2-3 boats in the channel. . . "
"perfect tide and phenom conditions if you can find a place to park and make it across the f*ing highway. . . what sucks too is that every year jeff and his dumbass crew of oompa-loompas wait forever to run the damn thing and they end up running in less than macking surf with the final heats usually in barely capping 15' crap. they blew it again this year too by not holding it on one of early season swells."
stupid f*cks they are. if your going to turn a spot into a circus at least do it right. they tout it as the biggest baddest contest ever and they they pick a meager swell super late in the season"
. . . just grafted from another message board that i wont link because i dont mean to start problems =) . . . just procrastinating, should be reading about school not surf politics on the internet
posted by Dom at 10:34 PM on February 8, 2006
"f*cking three-ring circus at Mav's . . . Nor Cal's version of the Huntington Beach Open"
"i was at the first 2 mavs contests before they changed it into norcal's version of the us open at hb pier. parking was mellow in the close dirt lot, and there was plenty of room on the cliff. no fucking big screens, no skis whatsoever, and maybe 2-3 boats in the channel. . . "
"perfect tide and phenom conditions if you can find a place to park and make it across the f*ing highway. . . what sucks too is that every year jeff and his dumbass crew of oompa-loompas wait forever to run the damn thing and they end up running in less than macking surf with the final heats usually in barely capping 15' crap. they blew it again this year too by not holding it on one of early season swells."
stupid f*cks they are. if your going to turn a spot into a circus at least do it right. they tout it as the biggest baddest contest ever and they they pick a meager swell super late in the season"
. . . just grafted from another message board that i wont link because i dont mean to start problems =) . . . just procrastinating, should be reading about school not surf politics on the internet
posted by Dom at 10:34 PM on February 8, 2006
You should try to ignore the kooks on Aggroville, for starters.
posted by Relay at 10:35 PM on February 8, 2006
posted by Relay at 10:35 PM on February 8, 2006
sweet. and yesterday they were saying the swell was going to be small. yowza!
posted by specialk420 at 11:56 PM on February 8, 2006
posted by specialk420 at 11:56 PM on February 8, 2006
Given how protective surfers are of their favorite spot, you think the locals would be grateful that they ran the contest on a late season swell.
Can't please 'em all.
posted by anthill at 5:02 AM on February 9, 2006
Can't please 'em all.
posted by anthill at 5:02 AM on February 9, 2006
Awesome photos. I can't even speculate as to what's involved in riding those things, but I love the image of a house chasing you down the street.
posted by OmieWise at 6:48 AM on February 9, 2006
posted by OmieWise at 6:48 AM on February 9, 2006
It seems that a lot of the complaints (especially the crowds) fall into the category of the contest being a victim of its own success.
The waves and the break and the competitors are more or less the same (although it seems to me that the level of competition is getting higher every year), it's just that more people are showing up to watch.
Essentially there's only so many people you can cram into a given area.
And it's more than just a single house OmieWise. The width of the break is quite wide as well. It's like jumping off the roof of a three story house, and then having the whole block chase you for about a quarter mile.
Luckily, no one was hurt out in the water, and the longest hold down was two waves.
Also, in case anyone is interested, the buoy reports indicate there's another big swell coming this Monday (I think).
Ku mai! Ku mai! Ka nalu nui mai Kahiki Mai
posted by Relay at 7:41 AM on February 9, 2006
The waves and the break and the competitors are more or less the same (although it seems to me that the level of competition is getting higher every year), it's just that more people are showing up to watch.
Essentially there's only so many people you can cram into a given area.
And it's more than just a single house OmieWise. The width of the break is quite wide as well. It's like jumping off the roof of a three story house, and then having the whole block chase you for about a quarter mile.
Luckily, no one was hurt out in the water, and the longest hold down was two waves.
Also, in case anyone is interested, the buoy reports indicate there's another big swell coming this Monday (I think).
Ku mai! Ku mai! Ka nalu nui mai Kahiki Mai
posted by Relay at 7:41 AM on February 9, 2006
I heard that one of the Wourmhoudts (I know I'm spelling that one wrong), but I don't know which one.
I remember walking back to the judges area just after a wave was filtering out of the Bone Yard, and there was a jet ski making a blitz into get someone, but his timing was off and the second wave was imminent, so he did a 180 and took off.
I heard someone say/ask, "Is that Wourmhoudt that's caught?"
Another person responded, "Yeah, I think so. That's his second wave too."
I also read about it on the Aggroville boards (I know, I know, Aggroville).
posted by Relay at 10:08 AM on February 9, 2006
I remember walking back to the judges area just after a wave was filtering out of the Bone Yard, and there was a jet ski making a blitz into get someone, but his timing was off and the second wave was imminent, so he did a 180 and took off.
I heard someone say/ask, "Is that Wourmhoudt that's caught?"
Another person responded, "Yeah, I think so. That's his second wave too."
I also read about it on the Aggroville boards (I know, I know, Aggroville).
posted by Relay at 10:08 AM on February 9, 2006
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posted by anthill at 9:07 PM on February 8, 2006