In Place of Contest, Mavericks Festival Recognizes Season's Standout Surfers

Big wave surfers and their fans gathered in Half Moon Bay on Saturday to celebrate Mavericks legends and standouts of the past season.

Held in lieu of the contest which , the Mavericks Festival at the grounds of the celebrated legends of the break and the outstanding performances of the '11-'12 surfing season from the world-famous spot located half a mile past .

Hawaii's dominated the inaugural awards ceremony by winning the Male Performance of the Year award, the Barrel of the Year award and the Bomb of the Year award.

The Female Performance of the Year award at Mavericks went to Savannah Shaughnessy of Santa Cruz.

Pacifica resident Frank Quirarte's photograph of Santa Cruz's Ken Collins at the break won top honors in its category.

Quirarte dedicated his award to a fellow photographer currently in the hospital from saving the life of a diver on a photo shoot. The photographer — who is also working with Quirarte and Mavericks surfers on the movie — is a "hero," Quirarte said.

Longtime luminaries and Darryl "Flea" Virostko were not forgotten either. While Flea won the Mavericks Legend award for his notable achievements on the water — most notably winning the Mavericks contest three times — the late Moriarity's real-life mentor, Rick "Frosty" Hesson, spoke to the crowd earlier in the afternoon about how a 12-year-old Moriarity approached him in Santa Cruz to learn more about how to take on big wave surfing at Mavericks.

The full list of winners:

Mavericks Festival Awards

*Wipeout of the Year - Carlos Burle, Brazil

*Barrel of the Year - Shane Dorian, Hawaii

*Bomb of the Year - Shane Dorian, Hawaii

*Photo of the Year - Photographer Frank Quirarte (Pacifica) taken of of Ken "Skindog" Collins, Santa Cruz (accepted award in person)

*Male Performance of the Year - Shane Dorian, Hawaii

* Female Performance of the Year - Savannah Shaughnessy, Santa Cruz (accepted award in person)

*Legend/Lifetime Achievement Award - Darryl "Flea" Virostko, Santa Cruz (accepted award in person)

Surfers Dick Keating, Grant Washburn and Matt Ambrose along with sports journalist Bruce Jenkins made up the panel of judges.