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Maverick's is off the coast of Pillar Point (pictured).

Maverick's or Mavericks is a surfing location in Northern California, USA. It is located approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) from shore outside Pillar Point Harbor, just north of the town of Half Moon Bay at the village of Princeton-By-The-Sea. After a strong winter storm in the northern Pacific Ocean, waves can routinely crest at over 25 feet (7.6 m) and top out at over 80 feet (24 m). The break is caused by an unusually shaped underwater rock formation.

Maverick's is a winter destination for some of the world's best big wave surfers. Very few riders become big wave surfers; and of those, only a select few are willing to risk the hazardous, sometimes deadly, conditions at Maverick's. An invitation-only contest is held there most winters, when the waves come.

Origin of the name [edit]

2010 competition

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 named Maverick, owned by Matienzo's roommate. 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 unsafe for the dog, Matienzo tied him up 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 the bigger outside waves too dangerous.

They decided to name the surfing location after Maverick, who seemed to have gotten the most out of the experience. It became known simply as "Maverick's".^[1]

Description [edit]

A long ramp slopes up toward the surface at Maverick's

Sea floor [edit]

Sea-floor maps released by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2007^[2] revealed why Maverick's' waves form. A long, sloping ramp leads to the surface. The ramp slows the propagation of the wave over it. The wave over the deep troughs on each side of the ramp continues at full speed forming two angles in the wavefront centered over the boundaries between the ramp and the 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.^[3]

Left Hander [edit]

good not, as the wave tends to be unreliable. day not too far ahead of the pocket, effectively closing out. It can be a much faster ride than the right, shooting riders down a quicker pipe barrel. Surfline says the left is "a short-lived explosion of hell and spitfire."^[4]

History [edit]

Jeff Clark had grown up in Half Moon Bay, watching Maverick's from Half Moon Bay High School and Pillar Point. At that time the location was thought too dangerous to surf. He conceived the possibility of riding Hawaii-sized waves in Northern California. In 1975 at age 17 and with the waves topping out at 20–24 feet (6.1–7.3 m), Clark paddled out alone to face the break. He caught multiple left-breaking waves, thereby becoming the first documented person to tackle Maverick's head-on.

Other than a few of Clark's friends who had paddled out and seen Maverick's themselves, no big wave surfers believed in its existence. Popular opinion held that there simply were no large waves in California.^[5]

Dave Schmidt (brother of big wave legend Richard Schmidt) and Tom Powers, both from Santa Cruz were two of the next people to surf at Maverick's, surfing with Clark on January 22, 1990. John Raymond, from Pacifica, Johathan Galili, from Tel Aviv and Mark Renneker, from San Francisco, surfed Maverick's a few days later.

Popular discovery [edit]

NorCal surfer Peter Mel at Maverick's

In 1990, a photo of Maverick's taken by Clark's friend Steve Tadin was published in Surfer magazine. This triggered interest in Maverick's. More photos of Maverick's appeared in surfing magazines and before long, filmmaker Gary Mederios released a movie, Waves of Adventure in the Red Triangle. As news of Maverick's spread, many big-wave surfers came and surfed there.

Death of Mark Foo [edit]

The next major event occurred on December 23, 1994. During a week of huge swells Mark Foo, Ken Bradshaw, Brock Little, Mike Parsons, and Evan Slater arrived. This was a major event in Maverick's history  – for notable Hawaiian big-wave riders to make the pilgrimage. The occasion is remembered for Mark Foo's death while surfing Maverick's.^[5]

Foo's fatal ride occurred in late morning of the first day (December 23, 1994) of riding when on a late takeoff into an 18-foot (5.5 m) wave, Foo caught the edge of his surfboard on the surface and fell forward into a wipe out near the bottom of the wave. After a search, hours later Foo's body was found washed toward the shore, floating just below the surface with a piece of his surfboard still leashed to his ankle. News of Foo's death traveled quickly to the far reaches of the surfing sport around the globe. The accident gave Maverick's new notoriety and prompted the formation of the Maverick's Water Patrol by Frank Quirarte and Clark.^[5]

Spectators watching Maverick's waves surfing contest

In the surfing sport, Mark Foo's death triggered a continuing discourse regarding the safe use on extreme waves of surfboard leashes. Many believed that Foo's surfboard leash may have contributed to his death.^[6] Leash proponents defend it as a useful convenience and as insurance against losing the surfboard, a form of flotation device, a means for a fallen surfer to find the surface by following the leash cord to the buoyant board. Opponents argue that a leash can cause the rider to collide with his board in a wipe out and that the leash can also loop around the surfer's arms, legs or the neck when underwater. Quick-release velcro leashes have since become standard surfing equipment to address some of these risks.^[5]

Death of Sion Milosky [edit]

Sion Milosky, an accomplished big-wave surfer, died at Maverick's on March 16, 2011. Milosky, 35, of Kalaheo, Kauai, Hawaii, apparently drowned after enduring a two-wave hold down around 6:30 PM. Twenty minutes after the incident, Nathan Fletcher found Milosky's body floating at the Pillar Point Harbor mouth.

Milosky had been named the North Shore Underground Surfer of the Year in February 2011. He used some of his $25,000 prize^[7] to travel to Half Moon Bay to catch one of the last big swells of the season at Maverick's.

Surfing contest [edit]

The first surfing contest at Maverick's was held in 1999. Darryl Virostko ("Flea"), Richard Schmidt (surfer), Ross Clarke-Jones and Peter Mel took first, second, third and fourth places, respectively. The following year put Darryl Virostko, Kelly Slater, Tony Ray, Peter Mel, Zach Wormhoudt, and Matt Ambrose in first through sixth places. In 2004, Virostko, Ambrose, Evan Slater, Anthony Tashnick, Mel and Grant Washburn placed in spots first through sixth. Tashnick came first in 2005. In 2006, Grant Baker, from South Africa, won first place, with Tyler Smith and Brock Little in second and third. The 2007 contest was called off 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 was crowned Maverick's Champion, Baker won second and Jamie Sterling won third place, followed by Smith in fourth, Washburn in fifth and Evan Slater in sixth. The contest was canceled again in 2009.^[8] In 2010 South Africa's Chris Bertish took first place; winning the largest^{[citation needed]} surfing prize purse 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 for the best ride.

AT&T Park in San Francisco hosts live broadcasts of the event on its giant (110 foot wide) video display.^[9]

In October 2006, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary proposed barring personal watercraft from Maverick's, which led to disputes within the sport.^[10]

In the fall of 2010 a group of surfers, community leaders and contest organizers formed the Half Moon Bay Surf Group, Inc., with the aim of controlling the contest. In October, the San Mateo Harbor Commission granted them the permit and official planning of the inaugural “The Jay at Maverick’s Big Wave Invitational"^[11] began.^[12] Competitors for the first “The Jay at Maverick’s Big Wave Invitational” included 11-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater and 23 others.^[13]

Effect of bathymetry on Maverick's' waves

Media [edit]

The first videos were shot by Eric W. Nelson in February 1990, catching Clark, Schmidt and Powers. Eric was shooting for his community access television show "Powerlines Surf-Spots". This was the origin of the Powerlines Productions company that showcases big wave surfing around the world.

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

On December 11, 1998, they combined their efforts 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 early years, and the 2004 film Riding Giants, which documents the history of big wave surfing. Directed by skateboarder turned documentary producer Stacy Peralta (best known for the skating documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys), Riding Giants includes interviews and commentary materials with many of the surfers mentioned in this article.

In the film Zoolander, Owen Wilson's character's entourage includes a big wave surfer from Maverick's.

Chasing Mavericks, a 2012 biopic about Maverick's surfer Jay Moriarity, starred Gerard Butler as Frosty Hesson, Abigail Spencer as Brenda Hesson, Frosty's wife. Jonny Weston as Jay Moriarity, Elisabeth Shue as Christy Moriarity and Leven Rambin as Kim Moriarity. Maya Rains plays Roque Hesson, while Patrick and Asher Tesler (twins) portray Lake, son of Frosty and Brenda. Moriarty's spectacular wipeout in 1994 had landed the 16-year-old surfer in the pages of the New York Times and on the cover of Surfer Magazine. On December 19, 2011, film star Butler survived a near-death accident, pounded by 12–16 foot waves. Butler was held underwater for several waves and dragged through rocks until rescued by a safety worker on a jet ski.^[14] According to eyeforfilm.co.uk, "Butler was knocked off his board by a freak wave. He was trapped underwater as two more waves went over him, and witnesses say he took the force of four or five waves to the head. He was also dragged through rocks before rescuers managed to reach him and get him to the shore. Butler was conscious when pulled from the water and has spent the next sixteen hours in Stanford Medical Center."^[15][16]

A memoir, "Making Maverick's" by Frosty Hesson with Ian Spiegelman, was released by Zola Books in October 2012. The book recounts Hesson's time as one of the first to conquer the massive break at Maverick's and his mentoring of Moriarity.

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mavericks

• Maverick's Surf (The official Site of Maverick's)
• Maverick's (Surfline)
• Maverick's on BlooSee
• 25, 2009+09:37:15 Quiksilver 'The Men Who Ride Mountains' contest at Maverick's
• Maverick's Big Wave Surf Competition 2006 – Photos & Article
• Maverick's Big Wave Surf Competition 2005 – Photos & Article
• Maverick's Big Wave Surf Competition 2004 Photos by Steve Waterhouse
• Science of Big Waves, a KQED short documentary on Maverick's
• Jeff Clark: Jeff Clark, Maverick's Surf
• Gerard Butler Hospitalized after Surfing Accident: by Jennie Kermode, Eye For Film. News coverage of accident while filming "Of Men and Maverick's."

Coordinates: 37°29′31″N 122°30′02″W / 37.491958°N 122.500584°W / 37.491958; -122.500584