WATCH: 10 Best Waves Surfed During El Niño Super Swell at Mavericks
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Surfers love their superlatives.
Best, biggest, longest, gnarliest, you missed it, shoulda been here yesterday, etc.
The list goes on. But, exaggeration aside, for a window of time on December 28th, the waves at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, California were some of the craziest and biggest and wildest in recent memory. Check out the 10 best rides below.
The compilation comes from surf filmmaker Tucker Wooding, who called that day, “some of the heaviest waves I've seen.” It features UK charger Andrew Cotton, San Diego native and Mavs frequenter Jojo Roper, Half Moon Bay resident Luca Padua showing everyone his local knowledge, Maui waterman Kai Lenny busting airs on the face, New Yorker Will Skudin’s brutal beatdown, "The Condor" Peter Mel flexing his decades of Mavs experience, and more.
As for the swell? Was it as historic, as gigantic, as big, heavy, gnarly as everyone’s saying?
Well, the numbers don’t lie…24 feet at 20 seconds is no joke.
For some human insights, here’s longtime Mavericks surfer and aficionado, Grant Washburn, as borrowed from our Frank Quirarte photo gallery of the session:
“This was one of those swells that you see maybe every five years, or maybe you’ll have two of these swells in one year and you won’t see another like it for another decade. It's going to be so interesting to see what this new data shows,” explained Washburn.
He continued:
“This new buoy technology will really open up our understanding of how and why the biggest waves break at Mavericks. This was a really, really west-angled swell, and with that deep, long period, we saw the takeoff zone move further north. On days like this it’s almost like you’re surfing into Mavericks, it's really hard to tell where you are in the ocean.”
Surfers do love superlatives; but they also have selective memories.
Biggest day ever? Until the next one...
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