February 14, 2009 - The Mavericks big wave surfing contest took place yesterday. South African Chris Bertish won the event and $50,000. He is quoted as saying, “I took the worst beating of my life out there.” That's a common refrain from Mavericks surfers. The bigger story to come out of the competition is that a couple of 5-6' waves broke over a man-made jetty and knocked down dozens of spectators. Three people suffered broken bones but fortunately no one was swept out to sea. Locals and Mavericks veterans know that the jetty is an iffy place to hang out when Mavericks is big. Yesterday had wave faces of 40' and more. "It was stupid," said Grant Washburn, a big-wave veteran and an original Mavericks surfer. "It was totally predictable and anyone who knows the spot knows not to put anything on the jetty. Here's more from NBC Sports. See video of the first wave to wash over the jetty here.

Updated Feb 5

February 4, 2010 - 38-year-old Stephen Schafer died after receiving multiple bites from sharks while kiteboarding south of Stuart Beach, Florida yesterday. He was 500 yards from shore and hanging onto his board when lifeguard Dan Lund noticed that he wasn't getting up. The lifeguard paddled out to Schafer on a rescue board and found blood in the water and 2-3 sharks circling. Schafer was badly bitten and still conscious. Lund wrapped Schafer in his kite and paddled him back to shore. He later died at a local hospital.  Shark attacks are rare and attacks by a group of sharks are extremely rare. The species of the sharks that attacked him has not yet been determined. Large schools of 100 sharks and more were spotted in the area this morning. 

More on this story:

Dan Lund talks about the incident - YouTube.

Friends post memories and thoughts of Stephen Schafer.

CNN.com

Sun-Sentinel Ft Lauderdale

ABC 25 West Palm Beach

WPTV

 

February 4, 2009 - If you pay the slightest attention to big wave surfing then you've heard of Mavericks, the monster wave that rises up near Half Moon Bay in Northern California. Now a company wants to make a fashion brand out of it. Here's a video from the Wall Street Journal:

December 29, 2009 - The Eastern Surfing Association and Texas Gulf Surfing Association have announced the 2010 East Coast Scholastic Surfing Championships. $5,000 open division prizes highlight this first ever scholastic and pro-am dual-organization event. The competition is being held in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., from March 26-28, 2010 and will feature surfers from the entire East Coast and Texas. Open to members and non-members of both organizations from Texas to the Great Lakes, the contest hopes to build upon the foundation of past Scholastic events with champions including the Hobgoods, four-time world champ Lisa Anderson and nine-time world champ Kelly Slater. “In addition to giving away an unprecedented amount of money for college scholarships to winning teams and individuals, we’ve upped the ante by providing pro-am events totaling $5,000 in prize money for the East Coast’s and Texas’ best surfers,” stated Debbie Hodges, executive director of the Eastern Surfing Association (ESA). “Holding an event of this caliber, and offering the amount of prize money we are, wouldn’t be possible without the participation of TGSA and I’m proud we could come together for the best interests of the surfers in our shared geographical regions.”

Here is the personal entry form. Here is the form for teams.