Mavericks this year, and no traffic

San Francisco Chronicle/SF Gate/Bruce Jenkins, 3/27/15.  "Bad break: No Mavericks this year."

Real Mavericks, try again for 1 day only next year.

Mavericks, 3 months this year

Even with a three-month window, beginning Jan. 1, there wasn’t a contest-worthy swell in sight. Mavericks broke several times, but not with the type of conditions (at least 40-foot faces, preferably closer to 50) to challenge the event’s elite field. The last day of the waiting period is Tuesday, but the forecast makes cancellation a foregone conclusion.

This is hardly a shocking development. Since the contest was first held in February 1999, eight winters have passed without an event. Some have called for a more extensive waiting period — say, opening in December or even November — but contest organizers have left the early season to surfers getting reacquainted with the break.  We’ll see if such bravado carries into next winter. In the meantime, it has been a disappointing few months for Cartel Management, the event’s new owner."   Read more.

Related - Half Moon Bay Coastside Tours. "Mavericks is one of the world’s top 10 big-surf spots, and it’s located right here on our coastside! Each year, the best surfers from around the world are invited to compete at the Maverick’s Invitational held between December and March, with the exact date depending on surf conditions. The 2014 contest on January 24 featured 40-foot waves! Winter weather is mild on the coast, and it’s an awesome time to see these magnificent waves with one of our intrepid tour guides. Mavericks was featured in the 2012 movie “Chasing Mavericks,” starring Gerard Butler and Elizabeth Shue."  Official trailer to movie, 2012, You Tube, 2:40 minutes, followed by a tribute to Jay Moriarity, Santa Cruz, 4:29 minutes.  

Note graphic from The beat travel; photograph from the above related HMB Coastside Tours website.  

Posted by Kathy Meeh