Photo Essay: The Mavericks Surfing Contest
The competition was called on Thursday afternoon. By the end of the day, four friends and I had confirmed a spot on one of four boats scheduled to leave from San Francisco harbor. By Saturday morning, three of the four captains had backed out, as conditions were too dangerous.
After taking five headcounts of the 30 people on board, the captain of Whacky Jacky set off for the two hour journey south to Half-Moon Bay. 12 of the 30 got sick within the first 20 minutes, but seeing the surfers was well worth the journey on the NorCal Pacific.
All photos by Nick Polansky and Luke Groesbeck. All rights reserved.
1. Leaving the harbor at 6:30 AM
2. Dense fog and poor visibility left San Francisco Bay eerily barren, with Alcatraz lurking in the distance.
3. The clouds began to break as we crossed the gate into the 25-foot swell.
4. We arrived just after the first heat, when the surfers were preparing for the next round.
5. Five other large boats, including ones belonging to the the sheriff and Coast Guard, sat in the channel.
6. Search and rescue crews were constantly dragging surfers out of the white water.
7. The waves at Mavericks were pushing 40 feet.
8. Takeoff points were inconsistent, and positioning was critical.
9. Riding down the face of a mountain.
10. Some couldn’t make it down.
11. Others pitched it perfectly.
12. Surfer Ion Banner finishes a ride as the wave breaks in a wall of water behind him.
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8 Comments... join the discussion!
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Damn.
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soooo sick! # 8 had me looking for a life jacket!
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Love this!
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I was there the day before the contest, to watch the sunset, and had been a few times previous in the week leading up to the contest. Even the day before the waves were EPIC. Such a beautiful, yet wild area of California. Amazing surfing for sure, it’s no wonder the contest is there!
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some really nice shots there – most impressed
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Yeah, number 8 made my palms sweat and then I wanted to cry with joy.
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