Mavericks Contest winner Peter Mel. Image: mavericksinvitational.com
On what can only be described as a gorgeous Northern California Sunday, as the San Francisco 49ers continued their quest towards their sixth Super Bowl, 24 elite big wave watermen gathered in Half Moon Bay, CA to compete in the 2013 Maverick’s Invitational presented by GoPro. The waves were few and far between, not quite massive, but the sun was out, and the wind was mostly absent making for a beautiful day of surfing.
The Maverick’s Invitational hasn’t run since 2010 and in recent years has suffered from organizational issues that have left fans wondering if and when the contest would run again. Lucky for us, GoPro, the organizers, the city of Half Moon Bay and the Big Wave World Tour came together to put on an excellent contest this year. With today’s technology they were able to call the event several days in advance, and as well as pick a wonderful day to run the show. The sun was out, hardly a cloud in the sky, almost no wind, and the vibe was insanely upbeat.
Due to a rogue wave washing spectators off the beach in 2010 event organizers along with local authorities decided to close the beach and the bluffs overlooking Maverick’s to the viewing public. This didn’t stop fans of big wave surfing from flocking from all across the country (and in some cases all across the world) to see the show. To placate the disappointed viewers, this year event organizers came together with GoPro, Sierra Nevada and several other vendors to put on a festival at the Oceano Hotel and Spa at Pillar Point Harbor. There was a giant screen playing all the action, a VIP area, food vendors, a beer garden, bands, and hundreds of folks mingling about.
From the start, it was clear that the surf would be inconsistent and the competitors would be scrapping for anything the ocean threw their way. In the first heat we saw paddle battles, including Peter Mel and Dave Wassel collide at take off, we saw Healey go left–seemingly eat it–and then stand up as though nothing happened. The day continued full of steep, late take offs, Healey and Mel (among others) packing close outs, and Santa Cruz surfers reigning supreme.
The finals were stacked, with half of the six veteran Maverick’s surfers hailing from Santa Cruz: Shawn Dollar, Zach Wormhoudt, and Peter Mel. The other three surfers, Mark Healey (Big wave hell-man, all around waterman, and Maverick’s leader on the left), Alex Martins (The former Brazilian, now San Franciscan known for his hard charging in Northern California’s big cold waves) and of course the man, the myth, the legend, Greg Long (Back at his first big wave session after a three wave hold down at Cortes Banks). For the second time in a row, before the horn blew to start the heat, in a classy move, all six competitors agreed to split the prize money regardless of who won the event.
But after the 50-minute final was up, only one man came out on top, and that was Peter Mel, a man whose career has been defined by over a decade of dedication to Maverick’s and until yesterday was yet to win a title at his beloved break. This result is no surprise as Mel has put on many sterling performances here over the years, and competition runs in his blood. In fact his father was competing in a kneeboarding competition in Huntington Beach and his son competing in a surf competition in Santa Cruz the same day Peter won at Maverick’s.
At the end of the day, The Condor held a Jeff Clark shaped gun/trophy high above his head, hugged his fellow competitors and showed viewers around the world how the camaraderie of big wave surfing is so much more different fromstandard World Tour events.
