Celebration of all things Mavericks

The festival featured a number of local companies and entities, food and beverages and live music with three bands to cover the 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. event. Jeff Clark, who is credited with bringing Mavericks to the masses, had a display of the “guns” that he has shaped over the years: the name given to the over-sized surfboards that are necessary to catch the waves at the legendary break. Pearson Arrow, a Santa Cruz board shaper, also had a display, which had the boards of some of the best Mavericks surfers. It also included the boards used by Gerard Butler and Jonny Weston in the 2012 movie, “Chasing Mavericks.”

Some of the best big-wave riders in the world were in attendance and thousands of people descended on the Pillar Point Harbor parking lot — on the same weekend that Half Moon Bay kicked off its fall pumpkin season.

Traffic to and from Half Moon Bay required a lot of patience as a line of cars snaked over the hill.

While the festival was to celebrate the big-wave surf season on the West Coast in general, it was also the opening of the Mavericks Surf Contest window.

Oh, you didn’t know the Mavericks surf contest was still a thing? Well, it is. Those who have been around a while probably know of the traditional Mavericks contest: an event that awarded just 24 invitations to the biggest names in the sport and then the waiting began for just the right conditions. The first Mavericks contest was run in 1999. Over the next 23 years, it has run just nine more times.

The led up to the contest was always very contested and controversial. There always seemed to be a butting of heads with the Harbor Commission, which controlled the permit necessary to hold the event. Awarding the permit was like finding a Golden Ticket from “Willie Wonka and Chocolate Factory.” Gender-equity issues have been raised over the last few years and there was just overall tension in the days, weeks and months leading up to the contest.

Then there were issues of watching the event. Calling the “beach” in front of Mavericks is almost a misnomer because it’s not the type of beach that invites picnics and beach volleyball. While there is sand, there are also rocky outcroppings that become visible at low tide. Viewing the event was forever changed in 2010 when a huge wave washed up on the beach, wiping out a judging tower and a number of fans in attendance as well, three of whom were transported to the hospital with injuries.

All in all, while the event, in theory, was a good idea, the execution was always a pain.

Now, it seems Clark and his new business partner Chris Cuvelier have come up with a way to run a contest that doesn’t follow a traditional blueprint. Instead of running the contest on one day for just 24 surfers, the new model is one that utilizes photographs and video from surf sessions at Mavericks when it fires. The contest is open to anybody and everybody — but as a public service announcement, Mavericks is not for beginners. It’s not even for experts. The contest is for those surfers who have trained for big-wave surfing. Those who are under 18 years old will need a parental release to post the videos and pictures.

The contest runs from Oct. 1 to April 15, and videos and photos for the contest must be posted during that window. Once the season closes, a group of five judges will determine six awards, three each for male and female surfers: Top Performer, Best Wave and Ride of the Year.

The judges are a who’s who of big wave surfers, including Clark, three-time Mavericks winner Darryl “Flea” Virostko of Santa Cruz and San Francisco’s Grant Washburn. South African Chris Bertish, another longtime Mavs surfer and former winner, and Brazilian Maya Gabiera round out the list of judges.

The format of this contest was actually run during the 2021-22 season, with Half Moon Bay’s Luca Padua being named Performer of the Year. South African Grant “Twiggy” Baker took the title of biggest wave (no surprise there, the guy has a knack for slaying the biggest waves), while Hawaiian Jamie Mitchell took home Ride of the Year.

On the women’s side, San Francisco’s Bianca Valenti swept all three categories. Again, not surprising. Valenti is arguably the best female big-wave surfer on the planet.

The 2021-22 awards were handed out in May and the expectation is that will be the model going forward. It was the first Mavericks contest since 2016.

In addition to the surfers receiving accolades, those men and women who photograph and video the rides are now being recognized as well. The prize money is split 60-40 between surfer and those who record their waves. Luca Padua’s older brother, Dom, who are both Half Moon Bay High School graduates, was credited with video for all three of the men’s categories.

Saturday, however, was a chance celebrate surf and Coastside culture while also opening up the Mavericks contest once again.

All in all, it seemed everyone had a good time. Now it’s time for the Pacific Ocean to do its thing.

Nathan Mollat can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: 344-5200 ext. 117. To report scores or tips, email sports@smdailyjournal.com