And Now for Something Completely Different

This year I got a girl friend, Dana, to agree to go with me to Mavericks. Mavericks is a surfing contest that happens once a year sometime between December 1 and March 31. In December, twenty-four surfers are invited to participate. One person (not one of the surfers) monitors the waves and decides the date, which is announced only 24 hours before.

It starts at 8am and lasts until 3 pm. This happens in a particular area of coast in Half Moon Bay, CA. In this area, the waves can get up to 50 feet. Not only are the wave huge but they crash into rocks. It’s a dangerous place to surf, which is much of the attraction I think.

Here are we on the beach at Mavericks. Notice all the people on the edge and face of the cliff. They are the only people who can actually see the surfers, who are about ½ mile off shore. From where we were on the beach, we could get a 2 or 3 second glimpse of a few of the surfers as they finished their run.

The weather this year was the best its been in many many years. It was sunny and about 70 degrees. The waves were 20 to 30 feet high. I really enjoyed being at the beach in the wonderful sun shine. Even though I didn’t really see any surfing, I did see the waves and felt their power. It gave me a real appreciation of what the surfer are up against. To see the surfing, I’ll have to wait until May when this competition is aired on TV.