The world of big wave surfing is far different than it was when the Maverick’s Invitational last ran in 2010. The Code Red swell in Tahiti, two epic Cloudbreak sessions, and mind-bending paddle-in efforts at Peahi have raised the bar far beyond what anyone could have really imagined just a few short years ago. Live webcasts, blogs, and forecast sites have hyped, covered, and placed each of these events at the forefront of our collective surfing consciousness. Each successive megaswell has had the undeniable ability to grab our attention and challenge our beliefs of what is possible with a man and a surfboard. We were not spoon-fed these events, we wanted to watch them.
After numerous behind the scenes struggles between Jeff Clark, Mavericks Surf Ventures and a core group of riders hoping to control the event, the 2013 Mavericks Invitational was announced to the world as a Can’t Miss event. A “viewers’ village” was erected, a beer garden roped off and a jumbotron installed to make the event as fan-friendly as possible. The contest organizers thought of everything except for making the right call on when to run the event. The traditional 24-hour window was abandoned giving riders, media, and fans four days to book their hotel rooms, grab their sunscreen, and descend upon Half Moon Bay in an orderly, pre-ordained manner.