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Maverick's: Pain and pleasure |
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Written by rsholin
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"In the early '90s, a central Californian break called Maverick's made its public debut, and big-wave surfing was revised and redecorated. What had traditionally been framed by translucent aquamarine water and soft coral sand beaches was now being offered in steely blues, browns and grays against a backdrop of steep, dusky, fog-shrouded cliffs. Hawaiian big-wave riding is frightening, even terrifying, but always tropically warm, and often sensual -- a bare-skin pastime where the scent of plumeria occasionally drifts through the lineup. Maverick's is severe. Always. Even when the sun is out it sparkles coldly, and surfers protect themselves against the chill water and air with head-to-toe rubber wetsuits. Broken waves rush against a wide, jagged rock barrier. Decaying strands of kelp twine into a soft and slippery frieze along the high-tide line. Maverick's, a product of the north, has the presence of an ice-sculpted fjord, with seemingly no geologic connection whatsoever to the lava-layered reefs of the tropics and the sport's balmy Polynesian roots. Few big-wave riders -- none, probably -- would choose the Maverick's aesthetic over the Hawaiian. But everyone understands that Maverick's presents a surfing challenge like no other -- and challenge, above all big-wave attributes and attractions, drives the sport." -- From Maverick's: The History and Culture of Big Wave Surfingby Matt Warshaw.
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