Is That It? California Sees (More) Days of Pumping Surf
More North Pacific swell, offshore winds cap off a weeks-long run for the Golden State
San Diego. Photo: Tanner Olthoff
Marcus Sanders
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Good chance, if you live in Hawaii or on the West Coast, you’ve just about run out of excuses for missing any kind of work or familial obligations by now. Can’t really hide a head tan on a Zoom call or broken surfboards in the garage from a loved one. As we’ve been reporting, over the course of the last number of weeks, the North Pacific has barely stopped for a coffee break. (Stand by for some stats on how this run stacks up.)
The World Surf League even estimated the waves could have reached 60 feet.
The gigantic swell was triggered by a massive north-west swell that had closed out Waimea and turned Jaws into a monster.
Some of the most daring big-wave heavies took on the swell, including Nathan Florence, Kai Lenny, Makuakai Rothman, Brad Domke, Justine Dupont, Albee Layer, Ian Walsh, Shaun Walsh and, incredibly, a 12-year-old by the name of Steve Roberson.
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Did Pete Mel Just Catch the Wave of the Decade at Maverick s?
Many in the channel say, hell yeah!
Photo: Audrey Lambidakis
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Earlier today, Peter Mel, who already snagged one of the best waves of the year at Maverick’s on December 8th and was towed into a bomb and then rescued by his son last Saturday just upped the ante. Again. See below for video and Mel’s take on the wave, and stay tuned here for our realtime updates on this series of swells.
All photos: Audrey Lambidakis
“That wave was by far my best in 29 years of surfing Maverick’s,” Pete said. “I mean, I’ve been seeing those types of waves my whole life. But I was never brave enough to do it. I always thought, ‘maybe I could get one from there.’ Then, the other day (Dec 8) kind of catalyzed that slightly.”
Day of the Decade? A Comparative Look at Three XXL Maverick s Swells
Here s where December 8th, 2020 lands, from the numbers
December 8th, 2020. Photo: Jeremiah Klein
Kevin Wallis
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There have been a lot of superlatives thrown at the session that went down at Maverick’s two weeks ago: Best Ever, Day of Days, All Time, etc. While it wasn’t the biggest swell at Mav’s by any means, it was amongst the largest paddle swells we’ve seen in the past decade with absolutely pristine conditions. This most recent swell was big enough to get the Maverick’s Outer Bowl working which starts to break when wave faces reach roughly 45-50 feet and guys like Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker, Pete Mel, and Kai Lenny sat out the back to chip in on those glassy monsters before screaming through the normal takeoff spot.