(12-10) 20:38 PST PRINCETON BY THE SEA — Through a blanket of fog, it was a vision of death. Darryl Virostko, the big-wave surfer known as Flea, was taking what witnesses described as the worst-looking wipeout they ever saw. It was a gloomy day at Maverick’s last week, and a handful of riders were meeting the challenge of their lives.

The most-seasoned Maverick’s surfers have seen some epic disasters in their time. Jay Moriarity, who met his death years later while free-diving, took a well-publicized wipeout in 1994, just four days before the drowning of Hawaiian superstar Mark Foo. A Santa Cruz surfer named Neil Matthies took a fall on a giant peak in 1998 and was held under so long that a second wave passed over him before he came to the surface – about 45 seconds later, more than 100 yards inside the spot of impact.

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December 6, 2007
Legendary day at Maverick’s

‘Perhaps the biggest wave ever witnessed at Maverick’s’

JULIE JAG
SENTINEL STAFF WRITER
HALF MOON BAY — Grant Washburn knows his limits. When it comes to waves, a six-story wall of water is enough to convince the San Francisco big wave surfer to sit it out. That explains why the man known as the “gentle giant” was on a cliff filming documentary footage when perhaps the biggest wave ever witnessed at Maverick’s rolled through the break near Half Moon Bay on Tuesday.

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