Mavericks Joins 2012 Big Wave World Tour
The official waiting period for the Mavericks Invitational big wave surf contest in California will open on Nov. 1, 2012 and run through March 31, 2013, an earlier start date than normal due to a predicted El Niño winter.
“It looks like we are headed for an early winter, and we want to take advantage of the big swells in November,” said Mavericks pioneer Jeff Clark, who sits on the contest’s board of directors. “The surfers are ready, the community is ready, and we are stoked to make this amazing event happen this year.”
Last week, the San Mateo County Harbor District granted organizers a permit to run the one-day contest, where 24 invite-only surfers are notified during the waiting period when forecasters expect waves to consistently reach 40-feet high.
The contest has taken place at Mavericks, a historically legendary break at Pillar Point in Half Moon Bay, Calif., since 1999.