Surfing Mavericks

By Lisa Ruhnow & Alexandra Krumrei

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. The sky and the sea are blue, the sun is shining in the moony place called Pillar Point Harbor. But appearances are deceiving. Here, only about 25 miles south of San Francisco, one of the world most famous waves is located. Big wave surfers from all over the world come to ride the Maverick wave, which has an average altitude of 25 feet (8m) and a top crest at over 80 feet (24m) during the winter time. The form of the Mavericks, which makes them special is determined by the unique sea floor and the cliffs crossing the bay.

Already The Beach Boys sang in their popular song “Surfing USA“ about the lifestyle of surfing that developed in the 1950s. Surfing became a sport for the populace. But only a few people tried to dare the impossible. At Waimea Bay, Hawaii, they formed a new extreme – the big wave surfing. Standing in front of these masses of water, as high as multistory buildings, one cannot image why someone would paddle out there voluntary. Probably, for most of the people it will stay a mystery, except they grab a board and go out there themselves. It is just an awesome feeling making your way all through the fractious waves and finally reaching the line-up. This relaxing moment while waiting for the perfect wave makes the fascination because of knowing that most likely a few seconds later you will paddle for your life just to get a great start and with a jump you will ride that wave to it's whole extent. That is what lets you be passionate about it. Experiencing this with surfing average waves, what great of a feeling it must be to surf on big waves, like the Maverick. I assume the fascination, the fun and the passionate feeling of addiction must at least double, if not triple. It is so overwhelming that not only surfer enjoy riding these giants but also many spectators are attracted. So every year in Winter they have the Mavericks Surf Contest, where only the 24 greatest surfers of the world are invited to. Only by watching these professionals you can actually feel the adrenalin rushes yourself. That is exactly what led to a bad end for many surfers. The pressure of always wanting more is very treacherous and lets people forget about the power of nature. Not only these enormous masses of water that can push you under the surface for a couple of minutes, but also the hard sea floor is very dangerous – not to mention the cliffs in the bay which make hazardous obstacles for the smashing waves. Adding the cold of the water, all this offers a perilous combination which at least two surfers were subjects to. It was on December 23, 1994, when Mark Foo, a Hawaiian big wave surfer, came together with friends to Pillar Point Harbor. The big event ended quite fast, when Mark Foo was caught by the edge of his surfboard and tangled in his leash. Another example would be Sion Milosky. Although time has changed and technics developed, the experienced surfer drowned on March 16, 2011 after a two-wave hold. A next thing you have to keep in mind besides waves and cliffs are sharks. Bethany Hamilton was attacked by a shark on October 31, 2003, at the age of 13. She was laying on her surfboard with her left arm dangling in the water, when a 14 feet tiger shark attacked her. Her left arm was severed just below the shoulder.

As you can see here and in the short film the philosophy of surfing lets people underestimate the power of nature and do dangerous ventures. It happens quite often that surfers drop into their own surfing world and forget because of adrenaline that surfing is dangerous. Nothing else would matter to them besides surfing and chasing the best waves, like Bethany Hamilton, who was surfing again three weeks after her accident. So they forget to have an eye on the real life. Considering this in a brighter context, it mirrors exactly the dual nature of California. The ambivalent nature, that gives you perfect conditions for surfing on the one hand but is always almost about to kill you on the other hand. It is the same thing like the beautiful landscape and the terrible earthquakes or the promising Hollywood glamor with all its stars and super rich people and the many lost ones that tried hard but will never make it. So the Californian surfing is just another example for California's superficial brightness. But never forget to take a deeper glance...