Mavericks
Goes
Off....
January
10,
2006
I
left
My
house
at
4:20AM,
and
drove
2
hours
north
to
Mavericks.
It
was
dark,
cold,
and
the
ocean
was
black.
I
had
talked
to
Shane
Desmond
the
night
before,
and
he
was
confident
that
there
would
be
waves
in
the
morning.
The
buoys
were
looking
solid.
By
the
time
I
got
to
Pillar
Point
Harbor,
Shane
and
Stan
already
had
the
ski
in
the
water,
and
they
were
ready
to
go.
By
the
time
I
set
up
to
shoot
photos,
Shane
caught
a
mid-sized
wave
that
was
thicker
than
it
was
tall.
He
managed
to
tow
in
to
about
3
more
waves,
making
it
look
like
it
was
just
a
fun
day
at
Pleasure
Point.
He
was
snapping
under
the
lip,
carving
backside
s-turns
in
the
face,
and
generally
beating
the
hell
out
of
it.
Three
more
jetskis
pulled
up,
but
the
tow-surf
antics
were
over.
The
first
paddle
surfers
moved
into
the
lineup,
and
initiated
a
full
day
of
paddle-surfing
at
Mavericks.
DEZZ
and
Stan,
6AM
ready
to
slay
the
beast
Jeff
Clark,
the
Mavericks
Contest
Event
Director,
made
a
good
choice
to
wait
for
a
better
swell.
There
were
definitely
some
solid
waves,
but
the
wind
nagged
onshore
for
most
of
the
day,
and
the
swell
was
a
little
unruly....
not
the
clean
conditions
that
Jeff
is
shopping
for.
"
There
is
some
activity
out
there
(in
the
Pacific),
maybe
sometime
in
the
next
week
will
be
the
day"
Jeff
commented,
remarking
on
a
few
storm
systems
developing
in
the
Pacific.
above:DEZZIE,
lighting
up
a
thickkie
at
6:45AM
BY
7,
tow-surfing
is
done
for
the
day.
By
the
evening,
the
crowd
thinned
out,
the
swell
started
to
fill
in,
and
the
wind
died.
The
tide
was
low,
and
it
proved
that
patience
was
the
key.
Grant,
Mike
Gerhardt,
myself,
and
a
hand-full
of
others
scored
some
of
the
cleanest,
biggest
waves
of
the
day.
The
lights
and
cameras
were
gone,
but
the
action
was
still
there.
I
can
tell
you
one
thing,
with
the
level
of
surfing
I
saw
today,
you
are
going
to
see
some
of
the
finest
big
wave
surfing
ever
in
the
Mavericks
Contest
this
year.
above:
Nathan
Fletcher,
first
wave
of
the
paddle
day.
above:
Pimp
daddy
Jamie
Sterling
surfs
Mavs....like
its
3rd
reef
Pipeline
I
paddled
out
around
4PM,
12
hours
after
my
day
started,
and
caught
2
beautiful
monsters
from
the
peak.
I
havent
surfed
Mavericks
since
1999,
so
I
thought
I
was
playing
it
safe
sitting
outside.
A
set
came,
and
I
happened
to
be
in
the
perfect
spot.
My
next
wave
was
a
good
one
too,
I
made
it
through
the
"train
wreck"
section
and
took
it
to
the
beach.
Above:
Does
Princess
Jamilah
Star
seal
her
second
Womens/XXL
Biggest
Wave
win?
Is
this
the
winning
wave?
Do
you
think
a
lady
will
ride
a
bigger
wave
this
year?
blog
here
above:
Unknown
charger
takes
the
steep
and
deep
line
straight
to
the
basement.
above:
unridden
realm.....
no
takers
above:
unidentified
surfer
catches
one
of
the
bigger
waves
of
the
day.