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By Jack Schtuff:

Just south of San Francisco, about 1/2 mile off the coast, surfers paddled into 20-30 foot waves at Mavericks. On December 4, 2007, the swell and underlying reef produced waves that topped 70 feet, but the conditions were less than perfect for the contest.

Last year Mother Nature didn’t cooperate, so the contest was not held. This year, however, with nearly perfect conditions on the horizon, Mavericks pioneer Jeff Clark, gave official notice.

Athletes, judges, volunteers and spectators got a 24-hour notice as the Mavericks Big Wave Surf Contest was announced for January, 12, 2008. Everyone rushed to the Half Moon Bay area to organize and prepare for an event that brings thousands of people to the San Mateo County coast.

The best way to watch the event was via live web cast as several hundred thousand tuned in from home. It was a beautiful day at the beach, but I thought it was great to have a little commentary from contest announcers to educate us on the background of Mavericks and the contestants that risk their lives in the cold, shark infested waters.

The majority of the morning was somewhat quiet, but after a thrilling final, when the contest was over the judges made their decisions:

6th Evan Slater
5th Grant Washburn
4th Tyler Smith
3rd Jamie Sterling
2nd Twiggy Baker
1st Greg Long

Congrats to Greg Long from San Clemente, the 2008 Mavericks Champion. Long took home a $4,000 diamond encrusted, Reactor watch and a $30k check, but genuinely showed that he, and the other 23 contestants were there to do what they love. For many of these surfers, it’s about fulfilling a childhood dream as Mavericks tends to set the standard for the biggest and coldest conditions in the world.

Mavericks Surf [website]