Northern Californian wins Mavericks big-wave surf contest

The 10th Mavericks big-wave surf contest – now called the Titans of Mavericks – is scheduled to be held Friday near Half Moon Bay.

The surfing event is a one-day, invitation-only competition held at Mavericks surf break, about 20 miles south of San Francisco, a spot which can produce wave faces of up to 30ft or more.

Waves were breaking at 15 to 18 feet this morning but were building into the towering surf required for the competition.

The competition is held when the surf is expected to be huge, between November 1 and March 31.

Public access to the contest, or the lack thereof, has been an issue for years.

A native of Northern California, Lamb grew up surfing Mavericks, and is among the youngest surfers to take on the monster wave, the Sacramento Bee reports.

“I thought I had it, then I felt the whole ocean land on me”, said Collins. “Water was going inside my head and down my throat”.

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Watch it live via webcast on the event’s website, RebBull.tv or at several restaurants and businesses from Santa Cruz to San Francisco.

Greg Long, left, and Jamie Sterling surfed a giant wave during the January 2008 Mavericks surf contest in Half Moon Bay, Calif. Announcers from the Red Bull broadcast say he blew out his eardrum in a wipe out in round one and almost drowned.

Collins was pulled under water twice before getting rescued. Crashing waves kept him submerged underwater for more than two minutes after his fall, and he only surfaced after inflating his emergency life vest.

This season’s invitees are all male, but that could change.

Healey finally made it to the surface but lost his specially designed big-wave board that crashed into the rocks near the beach and broke in half.

The California Coastal Commission past year told organizers to have a plan to include women if they want a permit to hold the event next season.