Sports
Santa Cruz Surfer Wins Mavericks Surf Contest
Some of the largest swells came in later in the day, with veteran surfer Peter Mel winning the Mavericks Invitational big wave surf contest.
The waves weren’t the largest ever seen at Mavericks — the biggest faces reached 25 to 30 feet — but that didn’t stop 24 surf competitors from ripping it up today, getting their fill of steep drops and wipeouts and catching some really nice groomed and glassy waves.
In the end, Peter Mel, of Santa Cruz, won first place. He decided to split the $50,000 pot with his six competitors, a Mavericks Invitational tradition.
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Mel is a well-known Northern California surfer with nearly a decade's experience surfing Mavericks who helped launch the tow-in surfing movement here, according to competition organizers. He also had a win in August in Pico Alto, Peru, on the second stop of the annual Big Wave World Tour.
Second place was taken by Zach Wormhoudt, third place by Greg Long, fourth
place by Alex Martins, fifth place by Mark Healey, and sixth by Shawn Dollar, organizers said.
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Because of inconsistent conditions in the morning heats contest organizers delayed the contest as it reached the third of four opening-round heats.
It took the whole day to finish the contest as thousands of surfing enthusiasts converged at Pillar Point Harbor to watch the event on a big screen.
An estimated 30,000 people traveled to Half Moon Bay, Pillar Point Harbor and Princeton-By-The-Sea to check out the competition at the famed Mavericks break.
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