Once a year, IF the weather conditions are just right, the best surfers in the world are on 48 hour standby to be called to a spot off the coast just to the south of San Francisco, in the middle of winter. That area is called Pillar Point, and it’s a nondescript area of cliffs with a little sand beach in Half Moon Bay, CA, which hold a great secret offshore and around the corner- MONSTER waves. There they will brave the icy cold waters, rocks, and literally the Biggest Surfable Waves in the World, to be towed out into the ocean on jetskis, past the rocks, and try to surf back in on waves up to 25 feet tall, without getting killed.
That’s Mavericks.
That time is now.
http://cbs5.com/sports/maveric…
You can try to watch a live stream of the contest online here, it’s cutting in and out on me.
http://www.ustream.tv/maverick…
Here’s a link to a photogallery of surfers and the waves, so you can get an idea of how large they are:
http://www.maverickssurf.com/b…
HIGH SURF WARNING ! SPECTATORS HAVE JUST BEEN INJURED, GET OFF THE BEACH NOW AND GET BACK FROM THE CLIFF EDGES ! per the twitter feed on the live stream site.
Remember, Mother Nature is not nice here in CA. Respect the ocean.