40-Foot Waves Bring Elite Surfers to Mavericks

Mavericks Surf Competition, 2010.

As high surf continues along the coast of Northern California, dangerous conditions remain for anyone visiting the beaches for fishing or sightseeing. But if your in the market for some once-in-a-lifetime waves, the high surf has been nothing short of fantastic.

Mavericks is the world-renown surfing spot located in Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco off of Highway 1. This week’s conditions brought 40-foot waves to the legendary big-waving surfing location and elite surfers traveled from all over to experience the swells of a lifetime.

On Tuesday, the surf spot saw waves rarely seen around the world.

“This is a very special day at Mavericks. This is probably the biggest clean day we’ve seen at Mavericks in a decade,” said Kevin Wallis, the director of forecasting at Surfline, to SFGate. “California is under high pressure so we have light winds and it’s really warm. Perfect conditions, pretty much as good as Mavericks gets.”

The past five days have been ideal at Mavericks, bringing in some of the top wave surfers on the planet like Kai Lenny, Jamie Mitchell and Ian Walsh. The waves are breaking at 3 to 4 stories high about a half mile off the coastline, and Tuesday saw around 30 surfers and dozens of boats in the water. It was a day to remember.

After strong winter storms in the Pacific Ocean, Mavericks can see waves anywhere between 25 and 60 feet. It is a very dangerous spot for surfers, known to have taken the lives of famous surfers Mark Foo and Sion Milosky. The Mavericks Surf Contest, known to attract the best big-wave surfers on the planet, was cancelled indefinitely in 2019 due to a bevy of logistical challenges and tough surf conditions over the past 2 years.

Active NorCal

Telling the Stories of Northern California

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