The Wait Continues At Upgraded Maverick’s
Mind-blowing possibilities exist because of contrasting swells
Bruce Jenkins, Special to SF Gate
December 15th 1999

As the waiting period entered its second week for the Men Who Ride Mountains contest, Maverick’s had seen two rideable swells: An incredibly scary 30-foot day for the tow-in movement, and 15-foot perfection with glassy, blue water and a crystal-clear sky. Together, those two days summed up the intriguing possibilities for Quiksilver’s second annual event.

About all we know for certain is that the quality and performance levels will be up from last year, when half of the contest was fogged out and there were drastic changes in the high-to-low-tide transition. “That was just a little slice of what we see out there,” says contest director Jeff Clark. “When the right day comes along this year, I think minds will be blown.”

The contest has upgraded itself in a number of ways. Last year, the ocean served as contest headquarters — and the idea didn’t work too well. Judges were too far removed from the action, and after several hours aboard the Wild Wave in heaving seas, competitors, contest organizers and media representatives got more than a little queasy.

This time the judges will be on land, out on the restricted-access point at the top of the cliff. Aside from feeling more comfortable, judges will now be able to see surfers going left — heading straight into their view, if anyone decides to attempt that dangerous undertaking — and also those getting long rides through the inside section.

Last year, the Water Patrol was manned by a mostly-Hawaiian crew featuring Mel Pu’u, Dennis Gouveia, Victor Lopez and Craig Davidson. While the Maverick’s people were honored by their presence, they have progressed to the point where it will be an all-local rescue presence this year, anchored by Frank Quirarte, head of the Maverick’s water patrol.

As some of Maverick’s early visitors have discovered, the Air Force brought down the hammer this year. No longer can an adventurous type climb around the chicken-wire fence (or slide under it) at the top of the cliff; that area is now off-limits, and will be accessible during the contest only to judges and other contest officials. Spectators will be limited to the adjoining bluffs, where views of the action are spotty, at best.

(As disappointing as that may be to some, it’s remarkable that there was such open access in recent years. The Pillar Point Air Force Station made the move this summer when it became clear that the area posed potentially deadly situations for visitors, especially little kids, on the sheer-drop cliffside.)

Due to last year’s fog, competitors were limited to a single appearance in the water, and once the four heats were completed, the final results were tallied. Nobody disputed the way it came down — Flea Virostko winning, followed by Richard Schmidt, Ross Clarke-Jones, Peter Mel and Jay Moriarity — but for anyone who had witnessed an all-day Eddie Aikau meet in Hawaii, the experience was somewhat unsatisfying.

This year, the top three surfers from each heat will advance to the semifinals — two heats of an hour each — and the top three from each semifinal will advance to a six-man, one-hour final. To say the least, the heat alignments are a treat in themselves.

Kelly Slater, who needs only to surf Maverick’s to honor his invitation to the contest (he has vowed to surf it several times, if possible), finds himself in the same heat with Virostko and Grant Washburn, one of the gutsiest paddle-in surfers in the world. Mel is not only in the same heat with Schmidt, but also Josh Loya, yet another Santa Cruz standout, and Tony Ray. Brock Little, who plans to fly over from Hawaii as he did last year, will be up against Ross Clarke-Jones and local legend Shaun Rhodes. And another all-star heat lists Moriarity, Matt Ambrose, Noah Johnson (winner of the ‘99 Aikau contest, about to surf Maverick’s for the first time), Steve Dwyer and Kenny Collins.

Collins has been the talk of Maverick’s lately after his stunning tow-in performance on Thursday, October 28 — Opening Day. A fearsome storm from the Aleutians produced waves in the 25-35′ range, Hawaiian style, and Collins staged a brilliant display with Mel, catching about 20 waves each and surfing their way into upcoming photo spreads in both Surfer and Surfing magazines. Jeff Clark caught about a half-dozen epic rides that day, and that was about it. Washburn and Virostko paddled into one wave each and called it off right then, declaring it just too big for conventional surfing.

“A few other guys made it out, intending to paddle-surf it,” said Clark. “Then they got near it, and they wanted to come in.”

Weeks later, Clark remains blown away by the session. “Here it is the first day of the season, the first wave I catch is over 20 feet and I’m towing. It was like, `Here’s the season. You’ve got five minutes to get ready.’ ”

With just three men surfing the place, in gray, hazy conditions, “It was the most low-key session ever,” said photographer Doug Acton, who took some of his best-ever shots from the water angle and also served as a jet-ski rescue operator. “It was like a dream.”

If only every tow-in day could work that well. The Maverick’s locals fear that the place might be overrun by jet-skis on big, out-of-control days, and the Mel-Collins team was shocked to find only Clark (towed by Washburn) joining them out there.

“We’ve got rules for the day it does get crowded,” said Collins. “We don’t want to see anybody towing if we’ve never seen ‘em paddling in out there. It’s sort of like paying your dues before you have the right to bring your machine out there.”

(The rules aren’t written down anywhere, nor are there any threats of localistic violence. It’s more of a vibe. Show up out of nowhere, without any Maverick’s credentials, and you’ll be vibed right out.)

Paddle-in surfing is a different deal at Maverick’s. Anyone can stroke their way into the channel and take a look. If somebody wants to venture over to the peak and take a bomb, that’s the best way to earn the locals’ respect. The biggest curiosity right now surrounds Slater, the six-time world champion who demonstrated his intention to ride Maverick’s by showing up at the opening cermonies and competitors’ party on November 6.

It was interesting to watch Slater that day, because he was essentially just another guy. Everyone recognizes him as the best all-around surfer in the world, probably ever, but around Maverick’s, he has to prove himself first. Some teenagers and little kids approached Slater for photos and autographs — as always, he was gracious and accommodating — but for the most part he looked like a celebrity in a Malibu Colony market. He was left to go about his business without a lot of lamebrains trying to soak up his time. Until Slater shows his stuff out there, people like Mel, Collins, Washburn and Ambrose carry just as much weight.

HEAT ALIGNMENT

Men Who Ride Mountains Contest
Waiting period: November 6-March 31

HEAT ONE

Richard Schmidt
Peter Mel
Ion Banner
Tony Ray
Josh Loya

HEAT TWO

Zak Wormhoudt
Ross Clarke-Jones
Mike Brumett
Shaun Rhodes
Brock Little

HEAT THREE

Jay Moriarity
Steve Dwyer
Matt Ambrose
Kenny Collins
Noah Johnson

HEAT FOUR

Jake Wormhoudt
Flea Virostko
Kelly Slater
Grant Washburn
Rick Hesson