"We're going to open the contest window in December," said Clark. That is something that was talked about after last year, when early-season waves flattened and the contest was canceled. Organizers then briefly sought an extension into April, but balked when swell reports were unfavorable and the plan conflicted with local uses of the nearby harbor. December has always been the natural choice for a better shot at prime surf season.
Organizers cautioned that such plans are not fixed yet.
 Mavericks waves return full force each December, as this surfer - broken board in hand - learned last surf season. This year, Mavericks Surf Contest organizers say they may open the window for the big wave contest earlier to take advantage of December waves. |
Top international surfers were dialed into the first waves at Mavericks this year, and organizers are looking to open the waiting period early for the country's marquee big wave surf contest.
"The first swell that we saw was on that Thursday, Oct. 18," said Jeff Clark, a Mavericks pioneer and current surf contest director. "And it happens every year, on that first swell - everybody just goes crazy."
A pack of Brazilians who had been staying in Hawaii flew over and hit the reefs off Pillar Point - and a new crop of Hawaiian surfers came along for the ride, said Clark. Evan Slater, the editor of Surfer Magazine and a frequent contestant, was there. The Long brothers, Rusty and Greg, now international big-wave travelers were there, and a whole host of regional standouts, like Peter Mel from Santa Cruz, hit the early season swells as well.
"I think at one point there were 41 people out," said Clark.
And the weekend following that first big swell brought another wave.
"It was like the A team were out on Saturday," Clark said. "You had all the best guys in the world coming to get tuned up for the winter." Standouts on the day included familiar contest surfers like Mel, Slater and Grant Washburn.
But other approaches were on display as well. Grant McNamara, a well-known Hawaiian surfer who was on the contest roster last year, ventured out on a stand-up paddleboard and caught a few, Clark said.
The traditional Hawaiian beach boy method of stroking into waves standing, using an elongated canoe paddle, has been growing in popularity on the California coast. But Mavericks is a notably serious venue for the practice - even if you stick to the smaller waves coming through.
"It's not like performance surfing on one of those," said Clark. "It's like a big sleigh ride."
And when the wind picked up after the session on Saturday, Oct. 20, alternative craft were in the water again.
"The biggest standout I saw was actually Jeff Kafka from Pacifica," said Clark. "He was on his kite in the afternoon, just killing it out there."
Kite surfing is a fast-growing method of wave sailing. It picks up, in many ways, where windsurfing leaves off. Participants use small, maneuverable boards with their feet in straps and fly large kites above them for propulsion. The result is serious speed and the ability to get into and out of waves - as if on a Jet Ski with wings.
All this action is part and parcel of the growing global appeal of Mavericks. Clark, a Coastside native who started surfing the place alone in the 1970s and couldn't find many local takers for the cold and hazardous conditions, said crowds at the break seem to be increasing each year - in certain ways.
"We still don't see too much of the local guys out there pushing it," said Clark. "But what we do see is, when it gets heavy, the best guys in the world show up and start pushing it - and that's on a whole different level; that's on the contest level."
Much of this world-class performance takes place far from shore and shows up publicly only as fodder for surf films that chronicle the biggest swells, rides and wipeouts of the year - or as advertising copy or hero shots in glossy surf magazines.
But the Mavericks Surf Contest casts an annual spotlight on the break, especially when the event actually runs. Surf was solid early in the season last year, with plenty of big days in December. But the window for the Mavericks contest opened in January and the ocean closed up shop. The contest was canceled when the right blend of wind, tide and swell didn't take shape by the end of March.
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