Sneaker Wave Sweeps Away Surf Spectators at Massive Mavericks (VIDEO)
The Pacific Ocean is in the midst of a potentially historic, utterly massive, El Niño-fueled run of multiple swells to end 2023 and usher in the new year.
Surfers in Hawaii and California are stoked, probably a bit scared. Non-surfers are flocking to big-wave hotspots to catch a glimpse of the carnage and epic rides.
But Mother Nature is not to be toyed with, as seen in this clip above.
It comes from Pillar Point in Half Moon Bay on Thursday, December 18th, where the hordes of spectators were rubbernecking the waves at Mavericks. Surfline was forecasting the swell at 24.6 feet at 20 seconds, or at Mavericks, 30-to-40-foot faces.
As the viewers flocked to the shore, expensive cameras with telephoto lenses in hand, attempting to see the “big breakers” of the famed and feared Mavericks, a sneaker wave flooded the beach, taking out a group of spectators like a swift kicks to the knees.
One commentator on the clip wrote:
"People never learn😳🤷🏼♀️😵💫"
It was reminiscent of the rogue wave that flooded a North Shore lifeguard tower earlier this season. Although this time, there were humans. See below:
But Thursday wasn’t the cleanest conditions at Mavericks; there were windows, but it was plagued by heavy winds, rough seas, and squalls…not exactly the breathless, bluebird days one hopes for at the iconic California big-wave surfing gladiator pit.
The good news is: there’s more on the way.
Stay tuned for more swell coverage – both in California and Hawaii – to come.
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