Situated a half mile out to sea from Pillar Point, which itself
sticks a half mile or more into the cold grey-green Pacific from
the mountainous coast, the lineup at Mavericks has to be one of
the most spectacular there is in terms of beauty and intensity of
experience, even before factoring in the wave itself. With a
major undersea canyon focusing north through west swells out of
deep water directly onto a series of underwater ridges and
valleys set across their path, the reef at Mavericks is one of
the most dramatic lineups underwater as well.
This is one of the great solid/liquid/gas interfaces on the
planet. I recall sitting in the channel alone after catching the
largest wave of my life on the first day of April,
1994, transfixed by the energy of a mammoth set rolling by. Doc
Renneker was the only one left outside at this point, and I
watched him try to get into one the waves of this set, completely
insignificant and without any hope of actually pushing down the
face before it completely jacked and pitched out, easily standing
50" trough to crest, wild, lumpy, and obviously unrideable. The
next few waves were even bigger. Just sitting in the channel as
the energy of the set rolled thunderously by was one of the most
amazing experiences of my life. I thought about paddling back
out, but was already exhausted, and the waves were pretty out of
control, and building.
In reality, every paddle out at Mavericks is an experience to
savor, whether I catch 15 waves or one. Usually, the most
amazing experiences of all are those close encounters with truly
monstrous waves, either paddling over them or bailing, trying to
shove my board over the top and diving through, or even just
sitting on the shoulder watching the wave jack and pitch into a
tube you could fit Pigeon Point Lighthouse in, and seeing all of
the cliffs of my home town of Moss Beach through the tube. These
are waves I don't think any human being can take off on without a
jetski, so just being near enough to experience them is an
incredible facet of the Mavericks experience.
Of course, riding the waves is what its all about. The takeoff
at Mavericks is unlike anything you've ever experienced. The
wave isn't just big, it STOPS and pitches out like the heaviest
pitching surfing waves in the world. In addition, the peak not
only jacks, but the trough drops about 10-15 feet, which is why
the channel shots always look much smaller than the size people
talk about. The trough just doesn't show in these channel photos
because it is behind and below the trough beneath the shoulder, so
the channel perspective only shows the face from the crest to the
trough out on the shoulder, losing the additional face size from
the bottom dropping out.
In some ways riding Mavericks seems more like skiing than
surfing, like jumping into a steep chute or leaping off a cornice.
The take off is like dropping off a 30 foot ledge, going weightless,
barely holding contact with the face of the wave, negotiating
terrain changes while traversing acres of water going faster than
you ever thought possible on a surfboard. I've ploughed through
chops on the face bigger than waves many people ride in a
lifetime. You drop in for a hundred or more yards before pulling
your bottom turn. And just when you've made it through the first
drop in and section, the wave hits a hole, backs off, then
pitches again from the middle of the face, often bigger than the
original drop. The first section explodes behind you just as you hit the
flat spot, snapping at your heels or even completely engulfing you.
You have to coast, tilt forward, and drop in
late again. I've had the best elevator shaft drop-ins of my life
on this section. And the sequence repeats itself again and again
as the wave hits progressively shallower peaks and holes all the way
past Mushroom Rock. If you're expecting a long beautiful wall,
forget it. Mavericks is a series of steep drops punctuated by
flat spots that tend to put you at risk for the next section.
If you take off back in the main peak past the "Corner" and into
the "Pit" or "Main Arena," the wave jacks so hard that it really
is hard for anyone but a Jeff Clark, Peter Mel or Don Curry to
make it down the face on a really big one. Losing it here puts
you into the "Cauldron," that boiling, seething mess that just
won't let you back up even on "smaller" waves because the water
seems to be driving down into a hole (some say an underwater
blowhole) without coming back up. This is the area where all of
the best guys out there have had really scary experiences,
including two wave holdowns. And this is the area where Mark Foo
lost his life on a small to medium sized Mavericks wave.
If you lose it or get caught inside, every inch of
southing you can get will ease the wipeout and help your chances
in dealing with the next waves. I have caught waves in the pit
that went past vertical, but I turned at the top and traversed
south across the lip which was literally a patch of water hanging
in space, and made it to
the corner where it was merely vertical, making the elevator drop
with an inch or two of rail hanging in, my face inches from the
face of the wave. If I'd tried to take it straight or even at a
dropping angle, I would have been completely freefalling for 15
or more feet. Those have been among the heaviest waves of my
life. And I've also lost it but bailed out tracking and diving as
far to the south as possible, making the wipeout much less
punishing, or even getting blown through the back.
Wiping out at Mavericks is one of the more amazing experiences in
surfing...
Continued on Next Page
Table Of Contents
Christy's Mavericks Page:
Other Pages on my Site: Page 1:
Mavericks: The Experience
The Ride
The Lineup
Christy's Surfing Pages Central Directory
Christy Davis' Surfing Home Page
Christy Davis' Ocean Beach (SF) Page
Mavericks Stories
Surf Links
Photography Credits
Fiona's Equestrian Page
Charlotte the Jack Russell Terrier
A Giant Set Breaks A Whole Reef Out
From The Normal Lineup.
Note That the Bouy in the Background is More
Than 20 Feet Tall.Photo by Christy Davis
(Photo Credits)
Photo by Martha Jenkins ©
(Photo Credits)
Photo by Martha Jenkins © (Photo Credits)
Photos by Martha Jenkins ©
(Photo Credits)
Don't Stop Here. Christy's Mavericks Page 2
contains more quality photos and the lowdown on the wipeout, the crowds,
and other pearls of wisdom.
Go Back To Christy's Surfing Pages Central Directory