Youth dominate Mavericks

Mavericks, the reef break at Pillar Point many consider the most dangerous wave in the world, produced smooth, 30-foot-plus waves that grew and became bumpier and more perilous throughout the day. Many competitors from San Mateo County and San Francisco in their 30s and 40s put in valiant efforts, but it was Tashnick, 21-year-old Greg Long of San Clemente and young alternate Ryan Augustine of Santa Cruz who led the charge.

Professional surfer Peter Mel, who finished third last year and was defeated early Wednesday, said in January Tashnick would be the one to watch. Mel's prediction was dead on and Tashnick was showered with beer and carried on the shoulders of his fellow Santa Cruz residents to the winner's stand where he collected $25,000.

"I thought I was going to get last place, but I got lucky," Tashnick said, grinning at dozens of cameras pointed at him. "Now I can pay off my credit card bills."

Tashnick regularly "tow-surfs," having friends tow him into bigger waves with a personal water craft. The waves he rode yesterday were not the biggest he has surfed.

Runner-up Long surfs big-wave spots in Hawaii, South Africa and Australia, and learned where to position himself from older San Francisco surfer Grant Washburn. He scored perfect 10s on two rides and consistently had the smoothest turns, dragging a hand in the wave face.

He said youths are placing better in large waves.

"There's obviously going to be a changing of the guard at some point," said Long, adding that he wasn't sure that happened in this one event.

Twenty-five-year-old pro Bruce Irons won the prestigious Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau contest in massive surf earlier this winter in Hawaii and Tashnick is the youngest to win in Half Moon Bay.

Young Ryan Augustine won $1,000 from Reactor Watches for the "heaviest wave" of the event, scratching into a steep 30-footer.

At Mavericks, competitors are obligated to paddle into the green, windswept waves, but personal water crafts are used to pull surfers out of the water to safety when they fall. The waves are powerful enough to snap in half 10-feet-long fiberglass surfboards in an instant and the personal injury list at the spot grows with almost every session.

Ryan Seelbach, a geologist from San Francisco who advanced through his first heat, said after he fell on a wave the water patrol did not come to his rescue fast enough, and he held back on a few waves because he felt unsafe. In conversations with others in his heat, Seelbach said they agreed the safety patrol was not as aggressive as it could have been in rescuing competitors.

Contest director Jeff Clark said all rescues in 35-foot surf are difficult.

"It's tough out there, you're relying on a jet boat to get you and when there's all that foam, it's like driving around on grease - there's no traction," Clark said. Similar to mountain rescues, the rescuers can worsen the situation by endangering themselves.

Clark was the first to surf Mavericks in the 1970s and introduced the world to his spot in 1992.

Seelbach and many others wiped out and released the leashes on their surfboards to avoid being dragged through the giant rocks on the inside of the break.

Shawn Rhodes, a 35-year-old Pacifica resident and owner of NorCal Surf Shop, was also shaken up after a fall, Clark said.

Mike Brummet, of Santa Cruz, caught a wave in the first heat of the day and fell, pinballing through to the lagoon. When he surfaced he coughed up blood, then paddled back out to finish his heat.

Two-time winner Darryl "Flea" Virostko said it was the most impressive thing he saw all day.

Virostko scratched his entry at the last minute because he injured his knee at the Quiksilver contest in Hawaii earlier this winter. He watched the final heat aboard Roc n' Ceviche II floating in the channel with dozens of other small boats.

He frowned with bloodshot eyes at the awards ceremony, but cheered as his fellow West Side Santa Cruzan Tashnick hoisted his check. Virostko said he would be back in the water in three weeks.

Another standout at the event was Hawaiian Brock Little, who took a break from his work as a Hollywood stuntman to compete. He recently surfed into pier pilings a half dozen times for a movie he is working on, said Surfer Magazine Editor Chris Mauro.

Little burst into big-wave contests as a teen a few decades ago, and earned $1,000 for equal seventh place.

A tired but bright-eyed Jeff Clark said the contest had better waves than last year, and other officials said 25,000 lined the cliffs and beach.

On Thursday, the scene will be different. The Verizon Wireless tent on the beach will be disassembled, the red Coca-Cola buoy will not be bobbing in the lineup and the stage will be gone from the Half Moon Bay Brewing Co. parking lot. One thing will remain the same, however. Mavericks will be breaking.

"Tomorrow I'm going surfing," Clark said.

Stephen Baxter can be reached by e-mail at stephen@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 109. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.

Scorecard

1. Anthony Tashnick

2. Greg Long

3. Tyler Smith

4. Zach Wormhoudt

5. Shane Desmond

6. Matt Ambrose