Last Saturday the 24 best surfers in the world braved cold waters, the looming threat of sharks, jagged rocks and powerful currents at the Mavericks surf competition, the biggest paddle-in big wave surf competition in the world. The competition boasts the largest cash prize total of any surfing competition in the world at $150,000 dollars. This year’s contest champion, Chris Bertish of South Africa, walked away with $50,000 dollars in prize money after beating out fellow finalists Shane Desmond, Anthony Tashnick, Dave Wassel, Carlos Burle and Kenny Collins.
Seasoned surfers and judges alike proclaimed that paddle-in history was made on Saturday, with waves reaching heights of 40-45 feet on the face.
“The entire book of big wave surfing was rewritten today,” said 2008 Mavericks champion Greg Long. Finalist David Wassel, recipient of the Jay Moriarity Award, said, “It was undoubtedly the largest surf any paddle-in contest has ever seen.”
Mark Sponsler, founder of stormsurf.com and the official forecaster of the event, spoke with The Daily to explain what makes the waves at Mavericks so massive.
“[Mavericks is] exposed to all the energy from storms coming from Japan,” Sponsler said. “There is a shallow reef off the ocean and the waves hit this shallow reef and double in size. The water is 20 feet deep where the waves are and can be 60 feet deep off the peak.”
Sponsler forecasted correctly that the waves would be a “solid 20 to 25 feet; 40-45 feet on the face.”
Although there were worries about southward winds creating a rougher wave to ride, the winds died off overnight and northeastward winds of two knots created what Sponsler described as “perfect surfing conditions for Mavericks.”
One of two local pro surfers to make the lineup for Mavericks, Tim West, spoke with The Daily the day before the contest about his preparations.
“I am basically running around like a chicken with its head cut off: watching the ocean all day and keeping an eye on the winds,” West said. “Eating healthy is really important. I’ve been really focusing on that.”
West reported that recently he’s managed to get in “a lot of big wave sessions, about 15.” According to West, “Mavericks easily has the biggest, heaviest paddle waves in the world. It’s really hard to paddle in on heavier waves. It’s not going to be 70 feet, but there should be some good 40 feet waves. When it comes down to it, tomorrow’s just about a passion for surfing.”
West and fellow pro-surfers were not the only ones to experience the power of waves 40 to 45 feet on the face, as a rogue wave early in the day knocked out a stand set up for spectators which led to the closing of the main beach for spectators. Police officers and medics at the beach reported that several people suffered broken bones from the incident.