Mavericks (location) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Maverick's or Mavericks is a surfing

Surfing

Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...

location in Northern California

Northern California

Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...

, U.S.A.. It is located approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) from shore in Pillar Point Harbor

Pillar Point Harbor

Pillar Point Harbor is a boat harbor created by a riprap jetty in San Mateo County, California immediately north of Half Moon Bay. The site was originally inhabited by the Ohlone people in prehistoric times, and a number of recorded shipwrecks occurred in the immediate area. The harbor facilities...

just north of Half Moon Bay

Half Moon Bay, California

Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County, California, USA. Its population was 11,324 as of the 2010 census. Immediately at the north of Half Moon Bay is the Pillar Point Harbor and the unincorporated community of Princeton-by-the-Sea....

at the village of Princeton-By-The-Sea

Princeton-by-the-Sea, California

Princeton-by-the-Sea is an unincorporated community on the coast of San Mateo County, California. The ZIP Code is 94019 and the community is inside area code 650.-Profile:...

. After a strong winter storm in the northern Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

, waves can routinely crest at over 25 feet (8m) and top out at over 80 feet (24.4m). The break is caused by an unusually-shaped underwater rock formation.

Mavericks is a winter destination for some of the world's best big wave surfers

Big wave surfing

Big wave surfing is a discipline within surfing in which experienced surfers paddle into or are towed onto waves which are at least 20 feet high, on surf boards known as "guns" or "rhino chasers". Sizes of the board needed to successfully surf these waves vary by the size of the wave as well as...

. Very few riders become big wave surfers; and of those, only a select few are willing to risk the hazardous conditions at Maverick's. An invitation-only contest is held there every winter, depending on wave conditions.

Origin of the name

In early March 1961, three surfers, Alex Matienzo, Jim Thompson, and Dick Knottmeyer, decided to try the distant waves off Pillar Point. With them was a white-haired German Shepherd

Berger Blanc Suisse

The White Shepherd Dog emerged from white coat lines of the German Shepherd Dog. The White Shepherd breed was officially recognized by the United Kennel Club on April 14, 1999. It was awarded provisional recognition as a breed by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale on November 26, 2002 as the...

named Maverick, owned by a roommate of Matienzo. Maverick was used to swimming out with his owner, or with Matienzo, while they were out surfing.

The trio left Maverick on shore but he swam out and caught up with them. Finding the conditions too unsafe for the dog, Matienzo paddled back and tied Maverick to the car bumper before rejoining the others. The riders had limited success that day, surfing overhead peaks about 1/4 mile from shore, just along the rocks that are visible from shore. They deemed conditions for surfing the bigger outside waves too dangerous.

They decided to name the point after Maverick, who seemed to have gotten the most out of the experience. It became known as "Maverick's Point", and later simply "Maverick's".

In the Special Features section of Riding Giants
Riding Giants
Riding Giants is a 2004 documentary film directed and narrated by Stacy Peralta, a famous skater/surfer who helped define modern skateboarding. The movie traces the origins of surfing and specifically focuses on the art of big wave riding...

, Jeff Clark mentioned that his little league coach would take the kids to surf the small waves of this same inside break, and stated that the coach used to refer to the break as Mavericks.

Jeff Clark, having grown up in Half Moon Bay, watched Maverick's from an early age from the campus of Half Moon Bay High School and on the rugged coastal shores of Pillar Point. At that time the location was deemed too dangerous to surf. He spent time watching the break, and conceived the possibility of riding Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

-sized waves in Northern California. One day in 1975, at the age of 17 and with the waves topping out at 20 to 24 feet (7.3 m), Clark paddled out alone to face Maverick's. He was successful, catching a number of left-breaking waves, thereby becoming the first person (documented) to tackle Maverick's head-on.

Other than a few close friends who had paddled out and seen Maverick's themselves, no big wave surfers believed in its existence. The popular opinion of the time was that there simply were no large, Hawaii-sized waves in California. Yet Clark's classmates from Half Moon Bay High School often speak of cutting class on big surf days to sit on the bluff and watch Clark ride the giant waves alone.

Two of the next people to surf at Maverick's, on January 22, 1990 and in the company of Clark, were Dave Schmidt (brother of big wave legend Richard Schmidt) and Tom Powers, both from Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California

Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...

. John Raymond, from Pacifica

Pacifica, California

Pacifica is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay.-Overview:The City of Pacifica is spread along a six mile stretch of the north central California coastal beach and hills, nestled in several small valleys spanning between...

, and Mark Renneker, from San Francisco

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

, surfed Maverick's a few days later.

It is important to realize that documentation proving the chronology and identity of surfers is incomplete. There were likely other surfers whose names do not appear here.

Popular discovery

In 1990, a photo of Maverick's taken by Steve Tadin, a friend of Clark, was published in Surfer
Surfer (magazine)
Surfer magazine is a monthly surfing culture magazine published in San Clemente, California.The magazine was founded by John Severson in 1959 as a program to accompany his yearly surf films...

magazine. This triggered a flood of interest in Maverick's as surfers realized that world-class big waves could be found in California. Over the next couple years, more photos of Maverick's began showing up in surfing magazines and before long, filmmaker Gary Mederios released a movie about Maverick's, Waves of Adventure in the Red Triangle. As news of Maverick's spread, many big-wave surfers came and surfed the new break.

Death of Mark Foo

The next major event occurred on December 23, 1994. During a week of huge swells Mark Foo

Mark Foo

Mark Sheldon Foo was a professional surfer.-Life and career:Born in Singapore to Chinese photojournalists for the U.S. Information Agency, he relocated to Hawaii at age 10. Foo spent his early childhood surfing the South Shore of O'ahu...

, Ken Bradshaw

Ken Bradshaw

Ken Bradshaw is an American professional surfer and winner of the 1982 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship....

, Brock Little, Mike Parsons, and Evan Slater came on an overnight flight from Oahu

Oahu

Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...

, Hawaii

Hawaii

's north shore to surf Maverick's. Such was a major event in the history of Maverick's - for reputable Hawaiian big-wave riders to travel to the U.S. mainland to sample the waves of this little-known big wave riding beach. Unfortunately, the occasion is remembered for its tragic outcome. The popular and famed Hawaiian big-wave rider Mark Foo died while surfing Maverick's with the other Hawaiian visitors and local riders.

Foo's fatal ride occurred in late morning of the first day (December 23, 1994) of riding when (as revealed later on video film), on a late takeoff

Takeoff

Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle goes from the ground to flying in the air.For horizontal takeoff aircraft this usually involves starting with a transition from moving along the ground on a runway. For balloons, helicopters and some specialized fixed-wing aircraft , no...

into an 18 feet (5.5 m) wave, Foo caught the edge of his surfboard on the surface and fell forward into a wipeout near the bottom of the wave. Foo may have been knocked unconscious by his surfboard in the thrashing whitewater

Whitewater

Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...

of the 'wipe out,' been tangled in his 'leash,' (a cord that attaches to the board and extends to an ankle strap on the surfer's leg), the leash may have been caught in the rock under the surface of the water, or Foo may have gotten confused in the darkness underwater and failed to float or swim in the correct direction to the surface for air. After a short period of time, fellow surfers became aware that they hadn't seen Foo riding waves any more, and began urgently searching for him and his surfboard all around the Maverick's beach, nearby parking lots, and surfing water. A few hours later Foo's body was found washed toward the shore, floating just under the water surface with a piece of his surfboard still attached by the leash to his ankle. News of Foo's death traveled quickly to the far reaches of the surfing sport around the globe. Newspapers and watersports magazines covered the loss. Citizens of the Hawaiian Islands (Foo's home) and the surfing world mourned his passing. The unfortunate loss gave Maverick's deadly surf a new warranted but unwanted notoriety but also prompted the formation of the Maverick's Water Patrol by Frank Quirarte and Jeff Clark to protect big-wave surfers when they are performing in the dangerous winter surf.
In the surfing sport, Mark Foo's death has brought about a continuing discourse regarding the safe use on extreme waves of surfboard 'leashes.' Many in the surfing sport believe that Foo's surfboard leash may have caused or contributed to his death. The leash proponents defend the leash as a useful convenience and as insurance against losing the surfboard, a form of flotation device, in case of a wipe out, and the leash is a means for the fallen surfer to find one's way to the surface air by following the leash cord to the floating surfboard. Opponents argue that a leash can cause the surfrider to collide with his board in a wipe out, causing head injuries, and that the leash can also loop around arms, legs or the surfer's neck when underwater, and thus dangerously restrict movement to safety or strangle the surfer. Quick-release velcro

Velcro

Velcro is the brand name of the first commercially marketed fabric hook-and-loop fastener, invented in 1948 by the Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral...

tear-open-collared leashes have since become standard surfing equipment to address some of these dangers. The debates and concerns continue unresolved and these worthwhile discussions of water safety are, perhaps, the legacy of Foo's unfortunate demise.

Death of Sion Milosky

Sion Milosky, an accomplished big-wave surfer died on March 16, 2011 while surfing.

Milosky, 35, of Kalaheo, Kauai

Kauai

Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...

, Hawaii

Hawaii

, apparently drowned after enduring a two-wave hold down around 6:30 p.m. Twenty minutes after the incident, Nathan Fletcher found Milosky's body floating at the Pillar Point Harbor

Pillar Point Harbor

mouth.

Milosky was named the North Shore Underground Surfer of the Year in February, 2011. He used some of the prize of $25,000 in travel funds to fly to Half Moon Bay to catch one of the last big swells of the season at Maverick's. He is survived by his wife and two daughters and the Sion Milosky Memorial Fund was set up at the Bank of Hawaii.

Current popularity

The first big-wave surfing contest at Maverick's was held in 1999. The competition resulted in Darryl Virostko

Darryl Virostko

Darryl "Flea" Virostko is a professional "big wave" surfer from Santa Cruz, California. He graduated from Santa Cruz High School in 1991. He is a three-time Mavericks competition winner. Virostko appears as himself in the surfing films Riding Giants, Step Into Liquid, and Billabong Odyssey...

("Flea"), Richard Schmidt, Ross Clarke-Jones

Ross Clarke-Jones

Ross Clarke-Jones is an Australian big wave surfer. He originally came from Terrigal in the Central Coast, of New South Wales, Australia where he enjoyed surfing Terrigal Haven, a point break that produces rare waves lasting for up to 300 metres on a big swell.Known also as "Dark Bones" and "RCJ",...

, and Peter Mel

Peter Mel

Peter Mel, born November 24, 1969 in Santa Cruz, California, is a professional surfer. Mel began his surfing life in Capitola, California before moving on to Santa Cruz. His father John, who started the family business Freeline Surf Design the same year Pete was born, made his boards over the years...

taking first, second, third, and fourth places, respectively. The second competition was held the following year and put Darryl Virostko, Kelly Slater

Kelly Slater

Robert Kelly Slater is an American professional surfer known for his competitive prowess and style. He has been crowned ASP World Champion a record 11 times, including 5 consecutive titles from 1994–98. He is the youngest and the oldest to win the title...

, Tony Ray, Peter Mel, Zach Wormhoudt, and Matt Ambrose in first through sixth places. In 2004, with Darryl Virostko, Matt Ambrose, Evan Slater, Anthony Tashnick, Peter Mel, and Grant Washburn placing in spots first through sixth. The 2005 winner was Anthony Tashnick. In 2006, Grant Baker, from South Africa, won first place, with Tyler Smith (Santa Cruz) and Brock Little (Hawai'i) in second and third places. The 2007 contest was called off by organizers because unusually mild weather resulted in no days with suitable waves by the end of March, the usual cutoff time for holding the competition. In 2008, Greg Long

Greg Long (surfer)

Greg Long is a 27 year old Californian surfer from San Clemente, California. He is the only surfer to win the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational, the Maverick's Surf Contest, and the Red Bull Big Wave Africa event. Additionally, he is the most decorated surfer in the Billabong XXL big wave surfing...

, from San Clemente, was crowned Maverick's Champion, Grant Baker (South Africa) won second place and Jamie Sterling (Hawai'i) won third place, followed by Tyler Smith in fourth, Grant Washburn in fifth, and Evan Slater in sixth. The contest was canceled in 2009 due to small swell conditions. In 2010 South Africa's Chris Bertish took first place; winning the largest prize purse in history of surfing of US$150 000, sponsored by Moose Guen, Jane Sunderland and Barracuda Networks.

For future competition Mvision Private Equity advisors are sponsoring the prize "ten for ten" which is US$10 000 to the person has the best ride.

AT&T Park

AT&T Park

AT&T Park is a ballpark located in the South Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Located at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, at the corner of Third and King Streets, it has served as the home of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball since 2000....

in San Francisco, host live broadcasts of the event on its giant (110 foot wide) video display when Mavericks surf contests are held. Tickets for this event are generally $20–$25.

In October 2006, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is a US Federally protected marine area offshore of California's central coast around Monterey Bay....

proposed barring personal watercraft from Maverick's, which led to disputes within the sport.

In the Fall of 2010 a group of surfers, community leaders and contest organizers joined together to form the Half Moon Bay Surf Group Inc with the aim of regaining control of the contest over former event management. In October, the San Mateo Harbor Commission granted the permit to hold the contest to HMB Surf Group and official planning of the inaugural “The Jay at Maverick’s Big Wave Invitational” began. The inaugural contest has the support of leading high tech company, Barracuda Networks

Barracuda Networks

Barracuda Networks, Inc. is a privately held company providing security, networking and storage solutions based on appliances and cloud services. The company’s security products include solutions for protection against email, web surfing, web hackers and instant messaging threats such as spam,...

Inc., which signed on as the premier sponsor of “The Jay at Maverick’s Big Wave Invitational” for the next three seasons.
Competitor lineup for the first “The Jay at Maverick’s Big Wave Invitational” includes 10-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater and 23 of the world's greatest Big Wave Surfers.

Special shape of the sea floor under Mavericks

Sea-floor maps released by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2007 revealed why Mavericks' waves form where they do. A long, sloping ramp leads up to the surface under the wavebreak. The presence of this ramp slows the propagation of the wave over it. The wave over the deep water troughs on each side of the ramp continues at full speed forming two angles in the wavefront centered over each of the boundaries between the ramp and the two troughs. The result of this is a U-shaped or V-shaped wavefront on the ramp that contains the wave energy from the full width of the ramp. This U-shaped or V-shaped wave then collapses into a small area at the top center of the ramp with tremendous force.

Mavericks in film

The first video images were shot by Eric W. Nelson in February 1990. On that sunny day Jeff Clark paddled out with Dave Schmidt and Tom Powers. Eric was shooting for his community access television show "Powerlines Surf-Spots". This would be the genesis of the Powerlines Productions company that showcases big wave surfing around the world.

Nelson's first film was "'High Noon at Low Tide'" 1994/2005. In 1998 he produced another big wave documentary Twenty Feet Under. Meanwhile Curt Myers, another local filmmaker, had produced Shifting Peaks and Heavy Water 1994/1995.

On December 11, 1998, during a big Northwest open ocean swell reaching 20–25 feet, Curt Myers was shooting from the water and Eric was shooting from land. On this memorable swell they joined forces and produced the mini documentary twelveleven.

Clark and Maverick's are featured in the 1998 documentary Maverick's, a one hour PBS film that chronicles the break's early years, and the 2004 film Riding Giants
Riding Giants
Riding Giants is a 2004 documentary film directed and narrated by Stacy Peralta, a famous skater/surfer who helped define modern skateboarding. The movie traces the origins of surfing and specifically focuses on the art of big wave riding...

, which documents the history of big wave surfing. Directed by skateboarder

Skateboarding

Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...

turned documentary producer Stacey Peralta (best known for the skating documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys
Dogtown and Z-Boys
Dogtown and Z-Boys is a 2001 documentary film directed by Stacy Peralta. Using a mix of film the Zephyr skateboard team shot in the 1970s by Craig Stecyk and more recent interviews, the documentary tells the story of a group of teenage surfer/skateboarders and their influence on the history of...

), Riding Giants includes interviews and commentary materials with many of the surfers mentioned in this article.

In the film Zoolander
Zoolander
Zoolander is a 2001 American satirical comedy film directed by and starring Ben Stiller. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the VH1 Fashion Awards television specials in 1996 and 1997. The short films and the...

, Owen Wilson

Owen Wilson

Owen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor and writer, known for his roles in the films The Haunting, The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Meet the Parents, Wedding Crashers, You, Me and Dupree, Bottle Rocket, the Cars series, The Darjeeling Limited, Marley & Me, Midnight in Paris, Shanghai Noon,...

's character's entourage includes a big wave surfer from Maverick's.

Of Men and Mavericks, A bio pic about the life of Mavericks surfer Jay Moriarity

Jay Moriarity

Jay Moriarity was a surfer from Santa Cruz, California. He was an accomplished surfer, waterman, and adventurer. As a surfer, he made his reputation surfing Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, California. At age 16, he was made internationally famous when his wipeout at Mavericks was caught on film and...

started production in October, 2011. The film stars Gerard Butler as Frosty Hesson, Abigail Spencer as Brenda Hesson, Frosty's wife. Jonny Weston as Jay Moriarty, Elizabeth Shue as Christy Moriarty, Jays Mother; Leven Rambin as Kim Moriarty, Jay's Wife. Maya Rains plays Roque Hesson daughter for Frosty and Brenda, Patrick and Asher Tesler (twins) portray Lake, son of Frosty and Brenda.

External links

Mavericks Surf (The official Site of Mavericks)
Maverick's (Surfline)
Maverick's on BlooSee
Bloosee
BlooSee is a social network and an ocean web mapping site where sailors, divers, surfers and other sea lovers geotag and share information and knowledge about the oceans. BlooSee is built in Python and uses the Google Maps API.BlooSee is owned by BlooSee, Inc...
Quiksilver 'The Men Who Ride Mountains' contest at Maverick's
Mavericks Big Wave Surf Competition 2006 - Photos & Article
Mavericks Big Wave Surf Competition 2005 - Photos & Article
Mavericks Big Wave Surf Competition 2004 Photos by Steve Waterhouse
Video of Mavericks from Google Video.
Science of Big Waves, a KQED short documentary on Mavericks
Jeff Clark: Jeff Clark, Mavericks Surf

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.