45321
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: 'Biggest mavs ever!'
URL: https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/massive-calif-swell-delivers-day-days-19999962.php
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some crazy dudes riding wild waves... 'Biggest mavs ever!': Epic Calif. swell delivers historic surfing conditions By Lester Black, Cannabis editorDec 24, 2024 Alo Slebir surfs a large wave at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Dec. 23, 2024. Frank Quirarte The massive swell that pummeled California’s coast Monday brought destruction and death, but it also created one of the best surf days in the history of Mavericks, the most famous big-wave surf spot in Northern California. Frank Quirarte, a member of Mavericks Rescue with 30 years of experience at the legendary surf spot, told SFGATE it was one of the best days he has ever seen at Mavericks and estimated the waves reached over 60 feet at times. “Today was the day of days,” said Quirarte. “It was raw, gnarly, just crazy Mavericks. It’s everything you would expect Mavericks to feel: Not sunny, not inviting.”  Alo Slebir bombs down a large wave at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Dec. 23, 2024. Frank Quirarte  Ryan Augenstein surfs a large wave at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Dec. 23, 2024. Frank Quirarte Monday’s swell attracted professional surfers from around the world along with local big-wave talent such as Luca Padua and Alo Slebir, who caught a barreling wave so massive, it left longtime Mavericks surfer Peter Mel commenting on Instagram that it was “the biggest mavs ever!” Mavericks is world famous for the massive waves that pound the offshore reef near Half Moon Bay in the winter. The surf spot was pioneered by Jeff Clark, a local who first surfed the break in 1975 and helped establish the location as one of the premier big-wave surf spots in the world. He told SFGATE on Tuesday morning that Monday was one of the three biggest surf days he has ever seen in 50 years of watching and riding Mavericks. “There’s only been maybe a handful of days… equal to the size and power and just voracity of what yesterday was,” Clark said. Ryan Augenstein surfs a large wave at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Dec. 23, 2024.  Ryan Augenstein surfs a large wave at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Dec. 23, 2024. Frank Quirarte Quirarte said Monday’s waves were so powerful that you can “feel it in your chest, it just reverberates up your body” and created some of the “biggest barrels ever,” a term for when a wave falls over itself and creates a wall of water that a surfer can ride. Monday’s swell was created last Friday morning, when an abnormally intense storm raged thousands of miles away from Half Moon Bay in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean. Those hurricane-force winds created ocean disturbances that radiated swells across the Pacific, eventually making their way to the California coast and picking up energy along the way. This long journey creates swells that have extremely long periods, which is the measurement of time between each swell, and deliver the types of waves that surfers salivate for. “The period got up to 25 seconds. It’s just out of a dream, it’s something you don’t see,” said videographer Jack Sandler, who spent Monday capturing surfers riding these giant waves.  Lucas Fink surfs a large wave at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Dec. 23, 2024. Frank Quirarte Monday’s swell was so powerful that surfers could only get into the waves by being pulled in by a Jet Ski, according to Quirarte. An average surfer will struggle to ride a wave face that is a head high, but the big-wave surfers are comfortable surfing waves more than 10 times taller than them. These waves offer incredible rides but also are inherently dangerous. Falling off one of these monsters can pummel a surfer with incredible force and hold them underwater for excruciating amounts of time. At least two people have died surfing Mavericks. There were no major injuries Monday but still some “huge wipeouts,” with surfers getting dragged underwater 200 yards, the length of two football fields, before they resurfaced, according to Quirarte. Big-wave surfers train all year to hold their breath and maintain composure when they’re getting pummeled and dragged by big waves.  Matt Etxebarne Aguirregomezkorta foil surfs at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Dec. 23, 2024. Frank Quirarte Quirarte compared being out there with the massive waves to hanging out with giant dinosaurs. “It’s like ‘Jurassic Park,’” Quirarte said. “You’re out there with these monsters all day long. And the whole goal is to tickle the monster, chase the dragon and survive the day.” |
45326
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: 'Biggest mavs ever!'
| Cowabunga!!! |
45328
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: 'Biggest mavs ever!'
| lol...that's the word i was looking for... |
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[45341]
45341
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: 'Biggest mavs ever!'
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cowabunga indeed! A Santa Cruz surfer rode potential world-record 108-foot-tall Mavericks wave By Lester Black, Cannabis editorDec 31, 2024 Alo Slebir surfs a large wave at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, Calif., on Dec. 23, 2024. Frank Quirarte At about 3:15 p.m. on Dec. 23, as a powerful winter swell raged on the California coast and left the Santa Cruz Wharf snapped and floating in the ocean, Alessandro “Alo” Slebir pointed his surfboard down the face of a growing wall of water. What came next may end up in the history books. Slebir, a 23-year-old Santa Cruz local, caught a towering wave at the Mavericks surf spot near Half Moon Bay that was recently estimated by Mavericks Rescue Team to be 108 feet tall, which would make it easily the world’s largest wave ever surfed. The current world record is 86 feet. It’s too early to know if Slebir truly did break the world record. Judging surf wave heights is inherently difficult and contentious, and Frank Quirarte, a member of Mavericks Rescue, said his analysis is still preliminary. It took 18 months of review before the Guinness World Records anointed the current biggest wave ever surfed, Sebastian Steudtner’s 86-foot wave at Nazaré, Portugal. Slebir told SFGATE Monday that he’s not dwelling on the wave’s exact height. “Regardless of the number, it really doesn’t matter how big the wave was to me,” Slebir said. “It was really the biggest wave of my life and that’s all I really care about at the moment.” Alo Slebir’s wave is incredible for not only its size but also for how he rode the entire wave face from the top to the bottom.  Alo Slebir’s wave is incredible for not only its size but also for how he rode the entire wave face from the top to the bottom. Frank Quirarte/Mavericks Rescue Photos and videos of Slebir expertly navigating the barreling wave are already exploding on social media. An Instagram photo of Slebir bombing down the wave’s face was enough for many respectable surfers to decide it was a world record, with pro surfer Kai Lenny commenting, “100 foot wave,” and pro surfer Mason Barnes commenting, “That is the world record.” The wave is already a contender for this year’s Big Wave Challenge, according to Bill Sharp, the contest’s organizer and an authority on big wave surfing. Sharp told SFGATE that while he thought Quirarte’s 108-foot estimation was “generous,” he added that the wave is “absolutely in the world record territory.” “Alo’s wave is remarkable. It’s one of the biggest waves that’s ever been seen and captured on photos and videos and they kind of speak for themselves,” Sharp told SFGATE on Monday. “It’s going to require more analysis, but I think 100% in the discussion for the biggest wave ridden.” Slebir’s wave is not only incredible for its size, but also for its perfect barreling shape and how Slebir rode the entire wave face. Slebir expertly carved a graceful line from the top of the wave to the bottom and then turned into a colossal barrel before safely exiting out the beastly wave’s shoulder. To do that on an 8-foot-wave requires incredible skill. To do it on a wave as large as Slebir’s is likely unheard of. Sharp called the wave an “extraordinary cartoonish barrel.” “Back in my day in school, I never would have thought to draw a wave that big. That’s beyond any cartoon I would have thought as a youngster,” Sharp said.  Alo Slebir cuts a line down a massive wave at Mavericks near Half Moon Bay that an early estimate measured at 108 feet tall. Audrey Lambidakis/Big Wave Challenge Slebir first surfed Mavericks when he was just 14 and has been a fixture at the surf break for the past few years with his surfing partner Luca Padua, who is from Half Moon Bay. Both surfers paddle into many waves at Mavericks, but Monday’s incredibly powerful surf required Jet Skis for surfers to gain enough speed to ride the towering waves. Slebir said the pair worked for seven hours without taking a break during the historic swell. Slebir gave Padua 99% of the credit for the wave because his tow partner placed him perfectly into it. Both surfers have garnered growing recognition for their exploits at Mavericks, with Slebir winning “Performer of the Year” at the surf break twice and Padua training with big wave surfing icon Laird Hamilton, though neither surfer has a major financial sponsor. Slebir said he still works construction in the summers so he can take time off to hit every swell at Mavericks he can. Last Monday’s historic waves were certainly worth his time. “I’ve never seen waves of that size in my lifetime,” Slebir said. “That’s not saying a whole lot because I’m only 23 years old. The old timers always say, ‘You’ll see another one,’ but that was our Mount Everest for Mavericks. You never know, it could happen next week or not again for another 30 years.” |
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45322
From: akira, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: 'Biggest mavs ever!'
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Dec 24, 2024 MAVERICKS BEACH XXL surf BIGGEST MAVERICKS of the YEAR!! The biggest swell of the year hit Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, California, and it didn’t disappoint. Watch as some of the best big wave surfers in the world take on towering walls of water in one of the most famous—and dangerous—surf spots on the planet. |
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[45323]
45323
From: Curly Bear, [DNS_Address]
Subject: WOW! Thanks for sharing
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