I developed a fascination about Half Moon Bay several years ago when I watched the movie Riding Giants which is a great documentary by Stacy Peralta about big wave riders.
While most folks think of Hawaii and other exotic places for giant 60 foot waves, about 20 years ago, the surf world discovered Mavericks at Half Moon Bay and it is now recognized as the number one big wave spot in the continental US. (click on pictures to enlarge)
The first person to recognize Mavericks a a surfable spot was legendary surfer, Jeff Clark who grew up in Half Moon Bay. To that point the break and the rocks were only considered a navigational hazard. When Clark was in high school in the mid-70's, he could see the Mavericks break from his school and finally decided to give it a go.
For 15 years, Clark surfed by himself and could not get anyone else interested in seeing what he had in his own back yard. Then all of a sudden, surf magazines converged on his town and it was the next big thing and now Clark hosts the annual Mavericks Surf Invitational each winter.
Mavericks is not an easy place to get to. There is a half mile hike to a point and then another half mile swim to the main breaks. On the day we went to Half Moon Bay, we headed down the trail to the point and had not gone far before we ran into Jeff Clark himself.
Clark was incredibly friendly and surprised that folks from Tennessee were big fans of his and had watched Riding Giants the night before. After we talked, he posed for pictures and headed on back to his car.
The one thing I never understood from the movie was why he couldn't get anyone to come surf at Mavericks for 15 years. His only explanation was that in 1975 you could have had a lot there for free with a subscription the the San Francisco Chronicle. Even though it was close to the big city, no one would venture down there. Now a trailer on a pad goes for $500,000.
So, if you are ever in the bay area, after you do the San Francisco thing, head south down the beautiful coast highway and check out Mavericks and Half Moon Bay.
In Pred Nation...
Jim Diamond has the story of Pred's Associate Coach Brent Peterson helping out at the Little Predator's Hockey School.
Jas Faulkner looks at the Predator's ownership's commitment to strengthening the team and keep it local.
Forechecker has his ten toughest back to back games from his super schedule. Without the Olympics, this season's schedule is less compact. Dirk was also up early this morning with his Breakfast Links.
Michael Langlois reflects on our discussion on POTG Radio from Monday and how the Leafs could build learning from the Predator's model.
Mark Willoughby's "My View" is from the beach this week with some deep thoughts about life.
Part three of four in the Predators gains and losses series is up at Predlines.
PredsBlog is up to goal five on Hornqvist's season review.
From @mkeadmirals: Admirals sign forward Mike Bartlett to an AHL deal. Bartlett had an assist in four games with the Ads during the playoffs last season.
Around the NHL...
Arbitration award for the Bruins Blake Wheeler was $2.2 million. Antti Niemi's award is expected to be announced on Saturday. Sean Leahy discusses what Chicago might do as a result. The Thrashers avoided arbitration with Andrew Ladd.
Matt Reitz looks at the thirty NHL coaches jobs and how coaches move from one to another. He likes the new trend where there is fresh meat on the scene.
From the Point has a post by One Smart Pug that should help keep the rivalry going between Pittsburgh and Washington fans.
Ryan at the RLD keeps his re-drafted series going with 1998. I can't believe the Preds did not take David Legwand again with the number two pick.
After mentioning that the Kings had a strong defense yesterday, we hear that Matt Greene will miss a big chunk of the season with shoulder surgery.
Blade of Funny lists all the topics that they don't want to write about. It's actually a pretty good summary of recent hockey happenings.
Odds and Ends...
Filming on the movie Transformers 3 is set to start at Kennedy Space Center on September 17 and Brevard County is abuzz with folks wanting to work on the movie.
The Wall Street Trail in Bryce Canyon is open for the first time since an April rock slide closed it for about the hundredth time. It has only been open once in my five visits to the park.
Satellites the size of a beanie baby box are doing the work full size ones used to do for a fraction of the cost.
Why can't I get Google Sky Map for the BB?
A Princess cruise ship hit their second whale this year in Alaska. It's kind of like deer hits that we have around here.
More Later...
Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass
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