The Mavericks Surf Contest 2006 photos are now online. I shot the 2006 running of the Mavericks Surf Contest, held February 7, 2006 at Half Moon Bay, California. The event went off very well, with great organization, beautiful weather and near perfect waves. The Mavericks Surf Contest is about big wave paddle-in surfing, in which contestants are required to paddle in to huge, thick waves under their own power (jetskies are on hand only for safety purposes, no tow-in surfing is allowed during the contest). 24 of the world’s most skilled big wave experts were invited to compete, and surfed four heats, two semifinals and one final from 8am until 2pm. South African Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker, who had a nearly flawless day winning his heat, his semifinal and the finals, was crowned champion and took home $30,000 and a gold watch. Tyler Smith of Santa Cruz took second and Brock Little of Hawaii third. Thousands watched the event from the shore, many scrambling up the cliffs of Pillar Point, while hundreds boated and jetskied out to the break to watch from the water. Mavericks Surf Ventures presented the contest live over the internet on streaming video, and NBC was on hand to capture the contest for broadcast on May 13 at 2pm EST. We selected 71 photos of the contest to place among our stock photos, here are just a few, click any one to see it larger:
2006 Mavericks surf contest champion Grant Twiggy Baker of South Africa. Final round, Mavericks surf contest, February 7, 2006.
Image ID: 15299
Location: Mavericks, Half Moon Bay, California, USA
Brock Little, final round, Mavericks surf contest (third place), February 7, 2006.
Image ID: 15300
Location: Mavericks, Half Moon Bay, California, USA
The wave. Mavericks surf contest, February 7, 2006.
Image ID: 15308
Location: Mavericks, Half Moon Bay, California, USA
Tyler Smith, final round, Mavericks surf contest (second place), February 7, 2006.
Image ID: 15301
Location: Mavericks, Half Moon Bay, California, USA
