TheLounge
12-12-2007, 02:20 PM
Since coming to the Daily Journal, I’ve always wanted to cover the Mavericks Surf Contest. But considering I live so far away and I’ve added a family since then, it’s always been an inconvenience. Plus, we always had someone on staff who jumped at the chance to cover the event.
This year, however, I decided that it was my year. I talked it over with Mrs. Lounge and she gave me the go-ahead (which, if you don’t know all ready, is the most important person from whom to get permission).
I signed up for my media credentials and was also invited to the VIP Opening Ceremony Friday at the Harbor House Convention Center. I was a little late in getting to the opening ceremonies but I did luck out. I got a spot in the tiny parking lot at the entrance to the beach. As I was driving up the road, I noticed a number of cars parked along the side —*all with parking tickets on them. I figured I’d give the parking lot a shot before figuring out how far I was going to hike. Just as I pulled into the lot, a Corvette was pulling out of one of the slots.
Perfect!
After a 10-minute walk to the beach, I saw Mavericks pioneer Jeff Clark wrapping up an interview. It was that point that it became clear all the previous insider reports I had heard about the Mavericks contestants were hogwash. I heard through the media grapevine that some of the surfers could be prickly trying to do interviews.
I experienced the complete opposite. I walked up to Clark, introduced myself and proceeded to have a pleasant, 10-minute conversation with him. No animosity, no attitude.
The same could be said of interviews I had with other surfers. At the VIP party, I had a nice chat with Grant Washburn, a San Francisco resident, surf videographer, editor and all-around good guy. At one point during a fairly lengthy interview, he interrupted to ask, “You want to get a beer?”
I also had a nice exchange with Peter Mel, a Santa Cruz surfer who is generally regarded as the best surfer at Mavericks. We talked for a few minutes —*not long because he had to go participate in a ceremony. During our brief talk, he mentioned that he had another big-wave contest to surf in this season —*the Quicksilver Big Wave Invitational in Honor of Eddie Aikau.
“The Eddie,” I replied.
“No,” Mel said. “The Quicksilver Big Wave Invitational in Honor of Eddie Aikau,” he repeated with a laugh.
“That’s the Eddie, right?” I replied.
Finally, with a hearty laugh, Mel said, “C’mon, man. I’m sponsored by Quicksilver.”“Got it.” I replied.
I can’t say for certain that all the guys were as genial as those three. In fact, if they were, I could almost understand. It felt almost as if I was intruding on a house party where everybody knew everybody else. But nobody looked at me sideways or gave me a hard time. In fact, all encounters I had with everybody at the party were nothing short of enjoyable.
***
During research for Mavericks, one thing I’ve noticed is the way the general media portrays the surfers. In an ABC News story that I saw online, the reporter referred to the surfers as “crazy” and guys who had a death wish.
Those comments couldn’t be further from the truth. “Crazy” would be you or I going out and trying to surf Mavericks. We have no training and no idea what it’s like out there.
You could also put “death wish” in the above sentence as well. These surfers are not crazy — they take all necessary precautions and train specifically for big-wave surfing. Some of that includes learning to hold your breath for upwards of four minutes. As for wanting to die —*these guys have too much to live for. They won’t purposely take un-necessary chances while out there. The last thing these guys want to do is die.
When talking to Clark, I mentioned that I read about some friction between traditional paddle in surfers and tow surfers —*those who use Jet Skis (or personal watercraft) to tow riders in the largest waves imaginable. Clark said that the whole thing was fueled by a writer.
“We lay down the law out there,” Clark said.
There are some rules: First off, you can’t tow if you’ve never paddled out at Mavericks. Second, if paddle surfers are out there, tow-in surfers have to wait.
***
In World Cup soccer, it’s called “The Group of Death” —*that group of teams that features four of the strongest teams in the tournament in which only two can advance.
In the Mavericks Surf Contest, the Group of Death is Heat 4, which features the following surfers: Anthony Tashnick, the 2005 champ; Darryl “Flea” Virostko, a three-time Mavericks champion; Grant “Twiggy” Baker, the defending champion; Peter Mel, generally considered the best Mavericks surfer and a guy who has ran into bad luck in this contest. Also in this group are Tyler Smith, the 2006 runner up and Zach Wormhoudt, a three-time Mavericks finalist. Whoever doesn’t advance out of this group has nothing to be ashamed of.
This year, however, I decided that it was my year. I talked it over with Mrs. Lounge and she gave me the go-ahead (which, if you don’t know all ready, is the most important person from whom to get permission).
I signed up for my media credentials and was also invited to the VIP Opening Ceremony Friday at the Harbor House Convention Center. I was a little late in getting to the opening ceremonies but I did luck out. I got a spot in the tiny parking lot at the entrance to the beach. As I was driving up the road, I noticed a number of cars parked along the side —*all with parking tickets on them. I figured I’d give the parking lot a shot before figuring out how far I was going to hike. Just as I pulled into the lot, a Corvette was pulling out of one of the slots.
Perfect!
After a 10-minute walk to the beach, I saw Mavericks pioneer Jeff Clark wrapping up an interview. It was that point that it became clear all the previous insider reports I had heard about the Mavericks contestants were hogwash. I heard through the media grapevine that some of the surfers could be prickly trying to do interviews.
I experienced the complete opposite. I walked up to Clark, introduced myself and proceeded to have a pleasant, 10-minute conversation with him. No animosity, no attitude.
The same could be said of interviews I had with other surfers. At the VIP party, I had a nice chat with Grant Washburn, a San Francisco resident, surf videographer, editor and all-around good guy. At one point during a fairly lengthy interview, he interrupted to ask, “You want to get a beer?”
I also had a nice exchange with Peter Mel, a Santa Cruz surfer who is generally regarded as the best surfer at Mavericks. We talked for a few minutes —*not long because he had to go participate in a ceremony. During our brief talk, he mentioned that he had another big-wave contest to surf in this season —*the Quicksilver Big Wave Invitational in Honor of Eddie Aikau.
“The Eddie,” I replied.
“No,” Mel said. “The Quicksilver Big Wave Invitational in Honor of Eddie Aikau,” he repeated with a laugh.
“That’s the Eddie, right?” I replied.
Finally, with a hearty laugh, Mel said, “C’mon, man. I’m sponsored by Quicksilver.”“Got it.” I replied.
I can’t say for certain that all the guys were as genial as those three. In fact, if they were, I could almost understand. It felt almost as if I was intruding on a house party where everybody knew everybody else. But nobody looked at me sideways or gave me a hard time. In fact, all encounters I had with everybody at the party were nothing short of enjoyable.
***
During research for Mavericks, one thing I’ve noticed is the way the general media portrays the surfers. In an ABC News story that I saw online, the reporter referred to the surfers as “crazy” and guys who had a death wish.
Those comments couldn’t be further from the truth. “Crazy” would be you or I going out and trying to surf Mavericks. We have no training and no idea what it’s like out there.
You could also put “death wish” in the above sentence as well. These surfers are not crazy — they take all necessary precautions and train specifically for big-wave surfing. Some of that includes learning to hold your breath for upwards of four minutes. As for wanting to die —*these guys have too much to live for. They won’t purposely take un-necessary chances while out there. The last thing these guys want to do is die.
When talking to Clark, I mentioned that I read about some friction between traditional paddle in surfers and tow surfers —*those who use Jet Skis (or personal watercraft) to tow riders in the largest waves imaginable. Clark said that the whole thing was fueled by a writer.
“We lay down the law out there,” Clark said.
There are some rules: First off, you can’t tow if you’ve never paddled out at Mavericks. Second, if paddle surfers are out there, tow-in surfers have to wait.
***
In World Cup soccer, it’s called “The Group of Death” —*that group of teams that features four of the strongest teams in the tournament in which only two can advance.
In the Mavericks Surf Contest, the Group of Death is Heat 4, which features the following surfers: Anthony Tashnick, the 2005 champ; Darryl “Flea” Virostko, a three-time Mavericks champion; Grant “Twiggy” Baker, the defending champion; Peter Mel, generally considered the best Mavericks surfer and a guy who has ran into bad luck in this contest. Also in this group are Tyler Smith, the 2006 runner up and Zach Wormhoudt, a three-time Mavericks finalist. Whoever doesn’t advance out of this group has nothing to be ashamed of.