Just off the Half Moon Bay coast, winter storms and underwater geography combine to create some the world's biggest and most dangerous waves. The Mavericks Surf Contest gives the world's best surfers a chance to pit their skills against the big ones that can rise over 50 feet high, but this contest has an interesting twist. No one knows when it will be held until just 24 hours before it starts.
How the Mavericks Surf Contest Works
The big waves come in winter, and late every year, an official waiting period for the Mavericks Surf Contest begins. For the 2009/10 contest, it runs from November 1,2009 through March 31, 2010. When conditions are right, 24 surfers (who have been pre-selected) get a telephone call telling them when the Mavericks Surf Contest will begin. They have 24 hours to get there. That's all the time you'll have to prepare, too.
The first Mavericks Surf Contest was held in 1999. The 2009 prize money is $150,000 (the biggest prize in big-wave surfing) and if Mother Nature provides the waves, tens of thousands of spectators will gather to watch competitors including Grant “Twiggy” Baker of Durban, South Africa who scored two perfect tens win Mavericks in 2006 and who joined Greg Long, Mike Parsons and Brad Gerlach in 2008 to tow-surf waves off Cortes Bank that are considered to be the largest ever surfed.
Watching the Mavericks Surf Contest
If you want to watch the Mavericks Surf, you need to know when it's going to happen. The easiest and most reliable way to find out is to sign up for e-mail alerts at the Mavericks Surf website. Once you get to Half Moon Bay, don't expect to see too much, though. The big waves break about half a mile offshore. Bring binoculars and arrive as early as you can to find a good spot to watch from.
If you have a lot of $$ to spend for it, you can get a seat for one of the Mavericks Surf boat tours, which you can buy at their website. Tickets are non-refundable and you'll get to spend about 3 hours on the boat.
You can also join a viewing party in San Francisco at AT&T Park or watch a live webcast online or on your mobile device.
Getting to the Mavericks Surf Location
The big waves of the Mavericks Surf break over an ocean reef off Pillar Point near Half Moon Bay. During the offseason, it's easy to get a look. From Hwy 1, take the South Capistrano Rd exit near the Half Moon Bay Airport. Follow the road past the harbor entrance. Turn left on Prospect Way and west onto Harvard Avenue. After it merges with West Point Avenue, follow the road up the hill to the Pillar Point Marsh lot and hike about one mile uphill, along the sandy footpath to the viewing area on the bluffs.
During the Mavericks Surf Contest, the event organizers set up shuttles from parking lots at the airport or harbor.
