Mavs about to Fire

It was quite a big call to make on Wednesday four days out, and while it's big, it's nothing like the crazy surf that saw Chris Bertish win the event a couple of years ago. Surf looks glassy and some fun 18' bombs rolling through a little smaller than forecast.

From the press release last week:

An epic groundswell is due to hit the infamous big wave break, and Clark is stoked. “The waves are going to be insane, the weather is going to be beautiful, and the level of surfing will break new ground," he said.

This is the first time in three years that contest-worthy waves are headed to the legendary surf break. Stormsurf forecaster Mark Sponsler stated, “This is looking like the best opportunity we’ve had in quite a few years with great conditions for running the contest.”

“This swell is going to offer huge waves and possibly perfect conditions. This is a very powerful swell, and we will have dramatic conditions that will push the competitors to their limits. Sunday is going to beautiful and very scary at times. I look forward to seeing plenty of glory rides,” said competitor and surfers’ representative Shawn Dollar.

In the stellar lineup of the best big wave surfers in the world are South Africans Grant “Twiggy” Baker and Capetonian Chris Bertish, fresh from his marathon 350km standup paddle up the West Coast, suffering exhaustion, dehydration and sunburned cornea in the epic adventure  - a proof of concept toe in the water to his planned SUP Crossing across the Atlantic from West Africa to South America next year.

Catch the Webcast at mavericksinvitational.com

You have to think that he may be a little flat after such an extreme bout of endurance. Also, there haven't been what you would call big waves in Cape Town this summer, and he has not been travelling and surfing big waves as much as Twiggy has.

Brother Greg told Wavescape, "Chrispy needs a little bit of luck, the right wave to pop, and he will be fine, but he needs to avoid facing the physical demands that a wipeout will bring. His paddle last week was like doing five marathons in a row, so a harsh beating, with a two-wave hold-down, will not be good for his prospects."

But of course, you cannot put a good result past Bertish. He loves it when the going gets tough, and has proved this many times.

Twiggy looks in fine fettle after riding plenty of big waves in Hawaii and California, so he should be a force to be reckoned with alongside the likes of Carlos Burle (Brazil), Shane Dorian (Hawaii), Mark Healey (Hawaii), Greg Long (San Clemente, CA) and Kelly Slater (Florida).

Fantastic to see alternate slots for two other Cape Town chargers who have been perenially knocking on the door: Andrew Marr and Frank Solomon. Jeremy Johnson, who has just been added to the Billabong team for 2013, is another who one should be part of the mix in the not-too-distant future.

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For public safety, local authorities from San Mateo County Sheriff, California Parks,  CHP, San Mateo County Harbor District and other participating agencies will close off all roads to Pillar Point, including access to the beach and bluffs.

In order to get the full experience of the contest, officials have organized the Mavericks Invitational Festival, an outdoor event to will be held on the grounds of the Oceano Hotel & Spa at Princeton Harbor, located on the road to Mavericks and across from Jeff Clark’s legendary Mavericks Surf Shop.

The Mavericks Invitational Festival starts at 8 a.m. just as the first heat of the contest starts. The festival will run all day with a live steam of all the contest action. Festival goers will enjoy a day of music, live commentary, food, the Sierra Nevada Beer Garden, Grind Out Hunger Skate Park, Mavericks Gallery of Photography, and an opportunity to mingle with competitors. As soon as the final heat is complete, all the action on the water will move to the Festival, where the surfers will gather for the Awards Ceremony. The event wraps up at sunset.

Tickets to the festival range from $10 for general admission, and go up to $1,000 for VIP passes. Tickets can also be purchased at the door on Sunday for $20, until the event is sold out.

Event parking is located at the Half Moon Bay Airport, within walking distance of the  Festival. Proceeds from the parking benefit the Boys & Girls Club of the Coastside. Additionally, Bike Works Half Moon Bay is providing free bike valet. If you come to town for the day, parking along Highway 1 and in nearby neighborhoods will be closed. You can pay to park at the airport that day or buy your parking pass online.

THE COMPETITORS

Matt Ambrose (Pacifica, CA)
Ryan Augenstein (Santa Cruz, CA)
Grant “Twiggy” Baker (South Africa)
Chris Bertish (South Africa)
Carlos Burle (Brazil)
Ken “Skindog” Collins (Santa Cruz, CA)
Shane Desmond (Santa Cruz, CA)
Shawn Dollar (Santa Cruz, CA)
Shane Dorian (Hawaii)
Nathan Fletcher (San Clemente, CA)
Mark Healey (Hawaii)
Rusty Long (San Clemente, CA)
Greg Long (San Clemente, CA)
Alex Martins (Brazil)
Peter Mel (Santa Cruz, CA)
Ryan Seelbach (San Francisco, CA)
Kelly Slater (Florida)
Tyler Smith (Santa Cruz, CA)
Jamie Sterling (Hawaii)
Anthony Tashnick (Santa Cruz, CA)
Grant Washburn (San Francisco, CA)
Dave Wassel (Hawaii)
Ben Wilkinson (Australia)
Zach Wormhoudt (Santa Cruz, CA)

THE ALTERNATES

1. Tyler Fox (Santa Cruz)
2. Josh Loya (Santa Cruz)
3. Colin Dwyer (Pacifica)
4. Nic Lamb (Santa Cruz)
5. Danilo Couto (Brazil)
6. Derek Dunfee (San Diego)
7. Ben Andrews (San Francisco)
8. Andrew Marr (South Africa)
9. Travis Payne (Pacifica)
10. Ion Banner (Half Moon Bay)
11. Kohl Christensen (Hawaii)
12. Shawn Rhodes (Pacifica)
13. Mike Gerhardt (Santa Cruz)
14. Garret McNamara (Hawaii)
15. Russel Smith (Santa Cruz)
16. Jamie Mitchel (Australia)
17. Frank Solomon (South Africa)

Mavericks Invitational is the world’s premier, high adrenaline, big wave surfing event, and is now part of the Big Wave World Tour. The association with BWWT allows those surfers who are part of the tour to use their performance at Mavericks as part of their overall scoring for the season. The contest is a one-day, invitation-only surfing competition is held at the legendary Mavericks surf break located ½ mile offshore at Pillar Point Harbor, just 20 minutes south of San Francisco.

The 24 most daring big-wave surfers in the world attempt to tame the massive swells on the biggest and best day of the 2012 winter season. For additional details and to register for contest alerts, visit MavericksInvitational.com