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Tyler Smith had one wave to turn it all around. One wave to convince the judges the Maverick's Surf Contest title should stay in Santa Cruz, the only place it had ever been.
Grant "Twiggy" Baker mastered Maverick's in February 2006. The South African was the first surfer from outside of Santa Cruz to win the "Super Bowl" of surfing. He scored a perfect 10 with this action. (Dan Coyro/Sentinel) |
By JULIE JAG
Sentinel Staff Writer
PILLAR POINT ? Tyler Smith had one wave to turn it all around. One wave to convince the judges the Maverick's Surf Contest title should stay in Santa Cruz, the only place it had ever been.
Defending champion Anthony Tashnick was gone. Three-time winner Darryl "Flea" Virostko, gone. And big wave master Peter Mel? Gone. None had made it past the first round Tuesday.
It was up to Smith to carry the torch.
So with 10 seconds remaining in the final Tuesday, Smith stretched his last wave as far as he could make it go.
"I knew they had changed the criteria and they were also factoring in length of ride," Smith said of the contest judges. "So on that ride, I tried to ride it as long as I could."
It just didn't go far enough. And instead of being a family affair, the contest became an international one as South African Grant Baker snatched his first big-wave title.
For the win, Baker, 32, received a $4,000 diamond-encrusted watch and a $30,000 check, which converts to about 180,000 rand, and will go a long way in his country.
But Smith made Baker earn every rand. Needing one more good score to win as time ran out in the final, Smith plunged down the face of the biggest wave he could find ? about a 16-footer ? cut to the outside, then rode it nearly all the way to the shore. Just a few waves earlier, Baker found himself buried under an 18-foot monster after the face collapsed. So when the final buzzer sounded, the title seemed up for grabs.
Smith's goofy-footed style and long rides couldn't match the tenacity Baker exhibited all day, though. The Durban native placed first in every one of his heats and twice scored perfect 10s.
"I knew he could do it if he could get the waves," said Grant Washburn of San Francisco, who finished fifth overall. Brock Little of Hawaii took third, Matt Ambrose of Pacifica took fourth and Evan Slater of San Diego took sixth.
Washburn has become well-acquainted with Baker's abilities. For the past month, as the duo waited for the 24-hour contest call, Baker has been couch surfing at Washburn's house every night and big-wave surfing at his favorite spot, Maverick's, every day.
Washburn said Baker actually was supposed to head back to work in South Africa last Saturday. But with rumors circulating that the contest would be held Tuesday, the South African bought himself a little extra time by telling his employer and sponsor, Billabong, he missed his plane. The company responded by saying Baker would still have a job when he returned ? with one stipulation:
"They said as long as I won, I would be OK," Baker said.
Using his low-crouching, fast-riding style, Baker claimed Heat 3 after scoring a perfect 10 when he took a deep drop on a 20-foot wave and stuck with it as an avalanche of liquid chased him through the lane. Much of the same lifted him through the second semifinal, where Santa Cruz's Zach Wormhoudt was eliminated. Other local surfers Josh Loya and Russell Smith saw the contest end after the first semifinal. Baker had another perfect 10 in the final to help lift him past Smith.
Smith improved on his third-place finish from last year, earning $10,000. For his younger brother, Russell Smith, and Westsiders Josh Loya and Wormhoudt, the contest ended in the semifinals. Other locals Shane Desmond, Mike Gerhardt, Mel, Ryan Augenstein, Ken "Skindog" Collins and Virostko didn't make it out of the first round. Virostko, who won the first three contests, left frustrated after paddling into just two waves and wiping out on both. Tashnick, last year's winner, did the opposite. In a heat that included the top three finishers from 2005, he dropped in on five waves, but according to judges, he didn't ride them well enough to advance.
This year, at the surfers' request, the judges watched the contest from Pillar Point instead of from a boat near the break. The change was supposed to give the judges a better view of the entire wave. But at least one surfer, Mel, didn't like the way the new system worked.
After his heat, he filed a protest because he didn't think his rides had been evaluated fairly .
Tashnick, although he didn't qualify for the finals, spent the afternoon grabbing waves that other contestants missed while they competed. He said that with 15- to 20-foot waves, sunshine and only a slight breeze, the conditions Tuesday were some of the best conditions he's ever surfed at the break.
Organizers, shared his enthusiasm.
"This is the best one ever," said Maverick's founder and contest organizer Jeff Clark. "If we scripted it, this is exactly how we wold script it."
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