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Mavericks Surf Contest Called for Sunday
NBC Bay Area ^ | Wednesday, Jan 16, 2013 | Lori Preuitt

Posted on 01/16/2013 7:10:42 PM PST by nickcarraway

Surf's up as the Mavericks big wave surfing contest is called for this weekend

The Mavericks Invitational will be held Sunday, according to texts that have been received by contestants and other leaders of the surfing contest.

Contest founder Jeff Clark confirmed the news just before 2 p.m.

“The waves are going to be insane, the weather is going to be beautiful, and the level of surfing will break new ground,” Clark said.

Mavericks will begin at 8 a.m. to coincide with a forecast of large west-northwest swell.

The news means 24 of the world's best surfers will be making their way to Half Moon Bay.

All week, contest organizers have been studying an approaching swell and hoping it would create contest conditions.

Those conditions have to be extreme, with waves in past years as high as 50 feet, strong currents, frigid water and jagged rocks. Contestants are only promised to be given 24 hours' notice, but this year they got four days.

The contest was canceled for the past two years because the swells never got big enough.

The contest has some big competition for fans. The San Francisco 49ers play the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday with a noon kickoff.

People are also no longer going to be allowed to watch the surfers from the cliffs or the shoreline of Half Moon Bay. In the past rocks have fallen and injured people sitting on the cliff, and two years ago the waves knocked spectators to the ground and in at least one case left the spectator with a broken leg.

Those areas are off limits this weekend. Fans will be charged $10 to $1,000 to watch a live feed of the contest from a nearby festival on the grounds of the Oceano Hotel and Spa at Princeton Harbor. The festival is located on the road to Mavericks and across from the legendary Mavericks Surf Shop.


TOPICS: Sports
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1 posted on 01/16/2013 7:10:49 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Well, my first reaction was, cool I think I will go watch.....but dang, no more watching from the cliffs. Oh well....

Big wave surfers are the ballsiest of all extreme sports freaks. I cannot even imagine doing what they do.


2 posted on 01/16/2013 7:30:06 PM PST by HerrBlucher (Praise to the Lord the Almighty the King of Creation)
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To: nickcarraway

way cool surfs up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ6e0XGBQmk


3 posted on 01/16/2013 7:58:08 PM PST by rolling_stone
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To: nickcarraway
Gotta have the right music for this thread.
4 posted on 01/16/2013 7:59:27 PM PST by Disambiguator
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To: nickcarraway
Photobucket

Ice cold water, big sharks, shallow water with lots of rocks, and 50' swells.

Oh, yeah.....and no self-preservation instinct.

5 posted on 01/16/2013 8:24:09 PM PST by Mase (Save me from the people who would save me from myself!)
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To: nickcarraway
Fans will be charged $10 to $1,000 to watch a live feed of the contest from a nearby festival on the grounds of the Oceano Hotel and Spa at Princeton Harbor

they certainly have caught the wild & free spirit of surfing there...eh? (rolling eyes)

6 posted on 01/16/2013 8:28:47 PM PST by BookmanTheJanitor
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To: Mase

Mavericks. This monster reef break, located in Half Moon Bay, California, is primarily a right, though a few maniacs have been known to go left. Jeff Clark pioneered Mavs in 1975 and surfed it alone for 15 years. Today, Mavericks is one of the most respected and feared big waves on the planet. Large waves, cold water, big sharks, and crazy currents are all part of the Mavericks mystique.

Waimea Bay. The original, and still one of the best big wave surfing destinations, the bay is the birthplace of big wave surfing. Although Waimea has been overshadowed in recent years, Waimea will always remain one the ultimate big wave proving grounds. Waimea is also the host of Quiksilver’s “In Memory of Eddie Aikau,” one of the most prestigious and respected competition in the sport.

Dungeons. South Africa’s hellish big wave spot has one of the more terrifying names on the big wave circuit, and with good reason. Dungeons is a cold water reef break, with shifty peaks, strong currents, and a close proximity to one of the most shark infested areas on earth. Situated in Cape Town’s Hout Bay, the view from the lineup is so beautiful that it is almost easy to forget that everything in the water is trying to kill you.

Todos Santos. Mexico boasts two of the best big wave surfing destinations. This Mexican mammoth breaks off a tiny island off the Baja Penninsula. With slightly warmer water, and slightly less deadly waves, Todos is where many California maniacs get their first taste of very large surf. Still, the waves here should not be taken lightly, it’s not quite Mavs, but it’s still serious enough to obliterate the average surfer.

Ghost Trees. This Central Californian behemoth is a relatively new addition to the world’s big wave circuit. Adjacent to the famous Pebble Beach golf course, Ghost Trees, also known as Pescadero Point, is a heaving right-reef break that breaks dangerously close to jagged rocks. Ghost Trees has gained media attention lately both for the death of Peter Davi and for controversy over the use of PWC’s.

Puerto Escondido. Puerto can be your best friend or your worst nightmare. Infamous for breaking bones and bodies, Puerto Escondido is the only beach-break on this list, and it certainly packs some punch. Local and international hell-men have ridden some of the largest barrels ever recorded off the sandbars of this tiny Mexican town, making Puerto one of the best big wave surfing destinations around.

Teahupo’o. So far, all of the best big wave surfing destinations on this list have been lefts, but that tend ends here. Tahiti’s Teahupo’o (pronounced Cho-pu) is more a freak of nature than a wave. When waves break here it looks like the entire ocean is spilling over itself and exploding on the reef. At tow-in only size, the waves and subsequent barrels take the shape of obscene spinning vortexes of death.

Jaws. This Hawaiian outer-reef off the coast of Maui skyrocketed into fame both for the sheer size and power of its spitting blue barrels and for its role in the invention of tow-surfing. Jaws is Laird Hamilton’s personal playground and testing grounds, and it was at Jaws that Laird, Dave Kalama, and the “strapped crew” revolutionized big-wave surfing forever.

Cortes Bank. Another new addition to the world’s best big wave surfing destination, this open ocean beasts breaks 100 miles off the coast of San Diego. First surfed in 1995, many believe that Cortes is one of the few spots capable of holding the famed 100 feet wave.

Punta de los Lobos. Point of the Wolves in Chile is another one of the few left only best big wave surf destinations. This left point is unique in the fact that it starts working around 4 feet and continues to hold waves over 40 feet.


7 posted on 01/16/2013 9:08:01 PM PST by Hammerhead
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To: nickcarraway

bookmark


8 posted on 01/17/2013 12:48:44 AM PST by GOP Poet
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