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Like the ocean during the three months before, the Maverick's closing ceremony was a quiet affair. A mellow jazz band played at the Harbor House Conference Center on Princeton Harbor in Half Moon Bay. Candles glowed from table tops, where tasteful shell decorations were arranged near napkins and silverware.
By Gwen Mickelson Sentinel staff writer Like the ocean during the three months before, the Maverick's closing ceremony was a quiet affair. A mellow jazz band played at the Harbor House Conference Center on Princeton Harbor in Half Moon Bay. Candles glowed from table tops, where tasteful shell decorations were arranged near napkins and silverware.
A dozen or so of the more local Maverick's surfers — the guys from San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Pacifica, plus their families or significant others — showed up for cocktails and dinner to put some closure to the season and pay tribute to the dragon that didn't come out of its lair this year.
"These guys deserve to be honored, as does Mother Nature," said party organizer Katherine Clark, wife of Maverick's legend Jeff Clark.
The event was hosted by contest producer Mavericks Surf Ventures. Other attendees included executives from this year's main sponsor, Ask.com, as well as other sponsors, some die-hard contest volunteers, media and various energetic groms.
"Maverick's is family," Katherine said. "When we all come together, it's like a wedding. It's fabulous"
Jeff Clark agreed, saying it was good to get everyone together, contest or not.
"If the waves come up next week, this family will be out there," Clark said.
The event was meant to thank the elite big-wave surfers who put their lives on hold during the January to March contest window in order to be a 24-hour car or plane ride away from the storied break.
"These guys have lives," said Keir Beadling of Mavericks Surf Ventures. "You can see their kids running around. That's what this is about. It's not about marketing"
The organizers, who run a sports marketing firm but are not surfers, may have been a little stunned that the ocean didn't produce after three years of consistent contests, according to surfers. Especially after last year's jewel of an event, a near-perfect Maverick's performance on a warm and sunny day in February.
"It was a mistake that they weren't prepared for it," competitor and veteran Maverick's surfer Grant Washburn of San Francisco said. Last year, he said, "they didn't know how lucky they were. It's this battle for them to realize Mother Nature is always a finicky girl"
The surfers also received appearance fees of an undisclosed amount at the party, another gesture by Mavericks Surf Ventures to show gratitude to the competitors.
For some, however, the party didn't tie up loose strings because the season never ends.
"It's never closure for me," said Anthony Tashnick of Santa Cruz, 2005 Maverick's champ. "I have sort of an endless winter"
Like many big-wave professionals, Tashnick will now begin a period of travel and wave chasing that will take him first to Mexico, then to South Africa, then to other tall-water spots on the globe.
Despite the curious lack of nearly any massive swells along the California coast this past winter, even though the year's mild El Niño should have brought favorable conditions, Tashnick remains hopeful for the future.
"I have some intuition. I think I'm going to see a bigger swell than I've ever seen," the fearless wave rider said. "I just hope for it"
So do hard-core volunteers Susan Turbay of La Honda and Amanda Sorenson of Redwood City, who've given their time for years at Maverick's contests for the thrill of being a part of it. Despite that it's a long, hard day with no pay for their efforts, the volunteers love the event and were sad there was no contest this year. They think athletes who toss their bodies over 40-foot slabbing ledges deserve reverence for what they do.
"It's my way of paying respect for these guys," Turbay said. "They risk their lives out there"
But not holding a contest was the right way to go, said Sorenson.
"I'm disappointed it didn't happen this year, but I wouldn't want it under anything but the best circumstances,'" she said.
And so we wait to see what the next season brings. Two years in a row of lackluster swell would not be out of the question. But one thing is certain: The pros, producers, fans, volunteers, residents of Half Moon Bay and the media will all be poised and waiting, as will an increasingly growing number of the curious public.
Beadling hopes Ask.com will come back and sponsor the event again. The organizers may tweak the waiting period to maximize chances for catching a major swell. In the meantime, Mavericks Surf Ventures plans to roll out a line of apparel and produce a live music tour again. For some, such products and events go beyond the core of what they think Maverick's is about. But Beadling says it's just meant to show respect and admiration for those who risk their lives among the mountainous waves.
"We're trying to figure out ways to celebrate Maverick's and honor the guys who surf there," he said.
Regardless of what product lines and concerts, Beadling says his company will be back next year, waiting for that epic swell.
"I think next year could be really, really big," he said. "One of our challenges in the off season is preparing for that"
Once dinner was over, a bunch of the crowd wandered over to Old Princeton Landing, a honky-tonk bar if ever there was one, to catch the surfadelic band The Mermen.
I drove home sometime past midnight on the coast road to Santa Cruz, away from Maverick's for another year, not sure when — or if — I would ever see it again. Who knows what will happen in a year, where I'll be, where anyone will be? My thoughts extended to infinite possibilities. There was a three-quarter pearl of a moon glowing in the smoky sky, the road was empty of other travelers and Pigeon Point Lighthouse flung its lonely beam in circles endlessly into the dark night.
Contact Gwen Mickelson at
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