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.