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Mavericks gives Thanksgiving Jumpstart to XXL Season
Dec. 04, 2008
By Justin
EPIC MAVERICK'S SWELL SUPERCHARGES BILLABONG XXL
GLOBAL BIG WAVE AWARDS;
TWO DAYS OF PERFECTION IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA PRODUCE MONSTER ENTRIES
NEWPORT BEACH, CA -- December 3, 2008 -- The Thanksgiving weekend at
Maverick's produced an epic feast for many of the world's top big wave riders
during two of the most perfect days ever seen at the legendary Northern
California surf break. The all-time action at Mavs provided a
monumental kick-start to the Northern Hemisphere winter season and adds to the
record number of entries in the ninth annual Billabong XXL Global Big Wave
Awards presented by Monster Energy. While the swell did offer a number of
waves big enough for tow-in surfing, it proved to be more of a classic
exhibition of paddle-in surfing at the upper limit of what is possible in that
highly respected discipline of the sport.
Photographs of the amazing action have nearly
overloaded the BillabongXXL.com website with dozens and dozens of remarkable images of
man-against-the-sea achievement.
The product of an intense mid-pacific storm on
Thanksgiving Day, the extremely long-period swell hit the Maverick's reef at an
ideal angle, magnifying the face heights of the bigger sets to the 30- to
45-foot range. While delighting a group of elite local and international
big wave surfers, rogue sets broke unexpectedly along reefs and breakwaters throughout
the region, capsizing a 26-foot power boat less than a mile from Maverick's,
which sits just outside Princeton Harbor in Half Moon Bay, a half-hour south of
San Francisco. Two fishermen died in the accident.
The surf sessions were not without their own degree of
peril. California big wave star Greg Long caught one of the biggest waves
to roll in on Saturday, November 29, but straightened out as he was overrun by
a mass of whitewater. Long was thrust so deep underwater he suffered a broken eardrum,
eventually surfacing with a total loss of equilibrium. Thanks to a strong
leash and a quick rescue by Maverick's pioneer Jeff Clark on a personal water
craft, Long was brought to safety before being swept through the notorious
rocks which threaten surfers carried inside the main break.
A group of globetrotting big wave chasers jetted into
Half Moon Bay ahead of the swell based on forecasts by Surfline.com. South
African Grant "Twiggy" Baker proved that his victory at the
Maverick's Surf Contest two years ago was no fluke, consistently taking off the
deepest and making it again and again. Mark Healey and Dave Wassel flew
in from Hawaii and made the most of the two days of intense surfing. Rusty
Long and Nathan Fletcher stood out as two of the most passionate big wave
hunters from Southern California and made a big mark on the massive
right-handers.
But the local crew was not to be outdone by the
visiting contingent. Grant Washburn, Skindog Collins, Nic Lamb, Shawn
Rhodes and Lance Harriman all took off on bombs worthy of Monster Paddle
entries. Among the largest bombs of the swell was the vast green wall
caught by San Francisco's Alex Martins along with Nathan Fletcher.
Photographers Robert Brown, Frank Quirarte, Jack
English, Seth Migdail and Fred Pompermeyer have swiftly submitted official
entries now posted on the event website. The new Maverick's images join earlier
submissions from South Africa, Australia, Tasmania, Chile, Spain, Puerto Rico
and other far-flung corners of the big wave surfing world, representing the
biggest waves challenged this year.
The Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards runs on an
annual cycle through the last day of winter in March, with the gala awards
ceremony is held in Southern California each April. The event features
over $130,000 in cash and prizes including $15,000 for the winner of the
Monster Paddle division. Other categories include the Billabong XXL Ride
of the Year, the XXL Biggest Wave powered by Honda, the Monster Tube, the
Surfline Best Performance and Billabong Girl's Performance.
The Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards are presented
by Monster Energy. Surfline is the official surf forecast, Verizon
Wireless is the official communications provider and Honda Aquatrax the official
watercraft. The event is sponsored by Surfing Magazine and Hawaiian
Airlines.
For full details on the Billabong XXL Awards,
including format, rules and all the latest photos, visit the event website at www.BillabongXXL.com.
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