When should I watch Mavericks surf?
Mavericks Beach in Half Moon Bay, California The landforms under the water at Mavericks create a unique big break when large winter swells roll in. The surf competition is held when (and if) sufficient conditions occur between November and March.
Where are the biggest waves in California?
Half Moon Bay
Mavericks in Half Moon Bay definitely has the largest break in California. Waves at this specific location can be as high as 60 feet when conditions are perfect and 20-30 foot waves are common in winter. Unique underwater formations create this crazy wave which breaks both left and right.
Why are Mavericks big waves?
Mavericks is exposed to swells from the southwest too. Swells are generated by winds from big storms, sometimes many thousands of miles away. The waves produced are dependent upon three main factors: the strength of the storm, its duration and the size of its wind fetch.
Why are the waves so big at Mavericks?
The big waves are created by a combination of weather and undersea topography. Why are the waves at Mavericks so big? The break is caused by an unusually shaped underwater rock formation. Mavericks is a winter destination for some of the world’s best big wave surfers.
What is the average wave size of Mavericks?
Mavericks is a surfing location in northern California outside Pillar Point Harbor, just north of the town of Half Moon Bay at the village of Princeton-by-the-Sea.After a strong winter storm in the northern Pacific Ocean, waves can routinely crest at over 25 ft (8 m) and top out at over 60 ft (18 m).
How hard is big wave surfing?
Riding along the face of the wave starts with a good bottom-turn, one of the most important maneuvers in surfing. The access to the clean, unbroken region of a wave has a degree of difficulty of between 3 and 6 on a scale of 1 to 10.
What does it mean to be surfing big waves?
Big-wave surfing is just what it sounds like: surfing very, very big waves. Most surfers ride waves between 3 and 6 meters (9-20 feet) high. Big waves can be four times that high, more than 25 meters (82 feet) tall. These waves usually only form in the open ocean, so big-wave surfers cannot be found on lakes or rivers.