Anthony Tashnick won the "Gnarliest Drop" award for his effort to drop into the epic waves. Anthony wiped out trying to drop into this monster wave estimated to be near 50 feet.
The Mavericks Surfing Competition was epic! 24 of the top big wave surfers from around the world got the green light for the February 13th showdown with the big waves forecasted to arrive at Pillar Point in Half Moon Bay, California. Arrive they did! The 20 foot plus swells slammed into the shallow "boneyard" where the deep water is forced up through a funnel shaped bottom feature resulting in monster waves that exceeded 40 feet! From my perch on the cliff above the beach, I could see the big swells rolling in and the surfers paddling out to catch them. At 8 am the event was spectacular with all the contestants catching every wave they could. The judges graded every ride to narrow the field of surfers for the final heats at noon. At about 9:30 am the height of the waves started to exceed 30 feet, making for some really wild surfing and wild wipe outs. The cliffs were packed with more than 20,000 spectators cheering for their favorite rider. Every time one of the surfers started riding one of the monsters, the crowd went crazy. It's now 9:45 and waves are now getting really scary- 40 to 50 feet high! Coupled with an incoming tide, the big waves are now pushing water up to the cliff face. Spectators are focused on the surfers trying to catch one of these epic waves. Caught off guard, people at vendor booths, along the beach, and on the sea wall were swept away by a massive surge of water. Rescue personnel tended to those injured while the surfers battled the ominous waves. By 11 am mother nature settled down and officials allowed the crowd back into the viewing area along the sea wall.
The final heat for noon had narrowed the list from the original 24 to 12 competitors. Anthony Tashnick, Kenny Collins, Dave Wassell, Carlos Burle, Shane Desmond, and Chris Bertish were the final six competitors chosen to compete for a total prize purse of $150,000. The final heat saw some really great rides and equally spectacular wipe outs. Despite a couple of the surfers getting some minor injuries from their wipe outs, they continued riding for the chance at the first place prize of $50,000.

The Mavericks Surfing Competition final results:
1st: Chris Bertish
2nd: Shane Desmond
3rd: Anthony Tashnick
4th: Dave Wassell
5th: Carlos Burle
6th: Kenny Collins