Jan 12, 2008 6:11 am US/Pacific
Mavericks Surf Contest Saturday; Watch On CBS5.com
HALF MOON BAY (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
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A surfer braves the Mavericks surf break.
The surf is up as visitors started flowing into Half Moon Bay in anticipation of the world-renowned big wave Mavericks Surf Competition that begins Saturday.
The competition - which attracts 24 of the world's best daredevil big wave surfers - can be seen in a LIVE Webcast on CBS5.com. Coverage is scheduled Saturday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Live: Watch LIVE Mavericks Webcast on SaturdayThe competition schedule is as follows:
8:00 a.m. – Contest begins (four first round heats)
11:30 a.m. – Semi–finals begin (2 heats)
1:30 p.m. – Finals begin (1 heat)
3:00 p.m. – Awards Ceremony (on beach)
The contest's wave forecaster, Mark Sponsler, said large ocean swells were expected to hit the coast late Friday and bring waves with 30-foot faces or bigger. A forecast of sunny skies for Saturday also makes conditions ideal for the competition.
Surfers come from as far as Australia, South Africa and Brazil to catch the monster waves at the legendary surf spot located about 20 miles south of San Francisco along the Pennisula's coast line.
The winner will receive $30,000 while second place will get $12,000, third place will get $7,500, fourth place $3,5000, fifth place $2,500 and the sixth place competitor will receive $1,500.
The Mavericks contest has been waged five times since its inauguration in February 1999. It wasn't held last year because the seas were never quite suitable.
"We have a great turn out every year, and people really missed it last year," said organizer Jeff Clark.
Most surf contests have a specific day, but each year the window for the Mavericks contest runs for three to four months. During that time, surfers are on-call for when the "perfect" system passes through. When that happens, competitors are given just 48 hours to get to Half Moon Bay for the start of the competition.
"We can only determine if it's a good enough swell around 48 hours ahead of time," said Clark.
For the days surrounding the contest, Half Moon Bay restaurants and hotels are inundated with competitors and spectators.
"There is a huge influx of revenue for the city within those two days," said President and CEO of the Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau Charise McHugh.
An unpleasant aspect to the contest is the lack of adequate viewing areas surrounding the spot, according to McHugh. Because of where the break happens, spectators must park "pretty far away" and walk or catch a shuttle bus to the bluffs where they can watch the action.
Unfortunately, the bluff area is also home to a bird refuge so visitors must stay in designated areas.
"If (the refuge) starts to get trampled there may not be a surf contest anymore," McHugh said.
Contest organizers have joined with eco-friendly food maker Clif Bar & Co. to help make the contest environmentally friendly and ensure that it continues, according to the contest organizers.
Eco-stations were being set up on the bluffs so competitors and spectators could recycle bottles and properly dispose of other trash, and vendors and contest organizers will be using renewable energy sources.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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