Mavericks Surf Contest 2007 Preview
Feb 17 2007 / Maverick, CAThe Godfather of Mavericks Jeff Clark Awaits Perfect Conditions to Signal the Start of Another Epic Contest
What started out as a pipe dream for young 17 year-old Jeff Clark has turned into more than just a reality, but arguably the most popular big-wave surf contest on the mainland. The Mavericks Surf Contest.
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It'll be tough for the 2007 edition of the Mavericks Surf Contest to equal the success of its predecessor, but either way it's going to a wild and entertaining journey for riders and fans alike. With just a 24-hour notice given prior to the start of the contest, everyone waits for mother nature to provide the two pivotal conditions needed for a perfect contest: A huge swell, and very little wind.
And for the 24 invited riders (plus the 15 alternates, whose name can easily be called as evident by defending champion Twiggy Baker), the wait can be a brutal and suspenseful time. For some, they have to travel long distances within 24-hours. For others, like Baker (whose sponsor granted him the opportunity to take time off and wait in Northern California thanks to last year's victory) and locals such as Grant Washburn and Randy Cone, being minutes away from the colossal waves can be both convenient and painful. Patience is the key for these warriors of the ocean as 50-plus foot waves of sheer monstrosity in frigid cold water awaits them.
Yet to fully understand the Mavericks contest itself, a look back into its history is necessary to fully grasp the awe and amazement of what has transpired into the largest big wave contest on the mainland. And the story starts with the Godfather of Mavericks himself, Jeff Clark.
“Our little league coach Walt Von Hauffe took us out to surf inside the reef where other surfers surfed in the 60's,” explains Clark, as he gives a brief insight into the discovery of the epic break. “Walt owned Von's Cinema in Half Moon Bay (the only cinema to ever exist in the small town). We'd surf the little longboard waves at high-tide, which is pretty protected. One of the other riders who came with us, Alex Matienzo, had a roommate whose dog was named Maverick, and we used to take him out to the beach. That's where the name Mavericks came from.”
And with those surf sessions came an increased passion and zest to conquer the larger waves that Clark gazed at outside the reef. Eventually, in February of 1975, the temptation was too much to resist.
“This guy, Brian Heafy, who I tracked down recently for the film Riding Giants, became one of my good surfing buddies. We'd surf almost daily together. I was 15 or 16, and Brian and I were surfing all the local breaks,” said Clark.
“Brian and I finally decided to go out to Mavericks. I was feeling it. Brian eventually went back in. He didn't want to try it. Even though the leash snapped off my board that day, I decided to keep trying to catch these waves. Even without a leash.
“Brian had no desire to do it. And after that first moment, Brian was over it, and my friends didn't want to have anything to do with it. Every time the swell was big, my friends would hit up the Jetty (another local Half Moon Bay surf spot). I wanted to surf the juice.”
And on that February day in 1975, at the age of 17, Jeff Clark surfed the juice. Even crazier, he would continue to surf the herculean waves known as Mavericks for 15 years by himself. Despite everything Clark would do to try and convince other local surfers to come out with him, none of them would.
Eventually, in 1990, other local surfers who had heard about Clark's solo adventures at Mavericks decided to enlarge their cojones and join the mythical big wave surfer. And soon word had gotten out to the surf community that a gem of a big wave spot existed just south of San Francisco. Surfers from Hawaii to Australia flocked to the newly-discovered location (new to everyone except Clark). One day mother nature reminded the surfers that it isn't just fun and games in the ocean, as legendary Hawaiian big wave surfer Mark Foo lost his life to Mavericks in 1994.
Yet riders continued to flock. And in 1999, with the help of Quiksilver, Clark founded the first contest held at the now-infamous break. Back then it was called the “Men Who Ride Mountains” contest and featured many of the same riders who compete today, including Brock Little, Peter Mel, Matt Ambrose, Ion Branner, Grant Washburn, Josh Loya, Darryl “Flea” Virostko, Evan Slater and many more.
“Criteria for picking surfers; I talk to all the surfers out there and I poll them. All the surfers I poll tell me who's out there all the time surfing big waves,” explains Clark, who hand-selects the riders himself. “I find out which surfers don't own a day, so that they can come out the day of the contest. Take John Whittle for instance. He's won major events against some of the best in the world. And he's in shape to surf these conditions, including the ability to handle the cold water.
“Twiggy (Grant Baker) won the Red Bull one year in South Africa. Ross Clark-Jones won Eddie Aikeau, and he surfs like mad. It's guys who love surfing giant surf and can hold a candle to guys like Flea (Daryl Virostko) and Twiggy. You gotta have the stoke and the go.”
After the second “Men Who Ride Mountains” contest in 2000, Quiksilver bailed, and there was no contest for Clark to select riders for. Yet thanks to a will and perseverance to keep this new tradition alive, Clark partnered up with Evolve Sports to form their own company, Mavericks Surf Ventures, and together they helped reinvigorate the Mavericks Surf Contest.
And it's never been stronger. This year's contest, which is currently on hold awaiting prime conditions, will be available live to fans who can't make it out to the break. By going to cbssportsline.com, a free live webcast of the contest will be available the day of the event. And fans can also go to the contest's main website, maverickssurf.com, to receive an e-mail or text-message alert notifying them when the contest has a green light (anytime between now and March 31st).
You can also catch Jeff Clark at his local surf shop, Mavericks Surf Shop in Half Moon Bay, or check out hit gear by going to the shop's website: mavericksurfshop.com. Find out which dealer nearest you sells a Jeff Clark-shaped board by going to jeffclarksurfboards.com. The 2007 Mavericks Surf Contest is almost upon us. And for fans of big wave surf, it couldn't happen soon enough.
-Cyrus Saatsaz
