Update 5:38 p.m.: Family of Sion Milosky and members of the Mavericks surfing community, including Half Moon Bay surfer Jeff Clark and Santa Cruz surfer Ken Collins, gathered this afternoon in Princeton to remember the big wave surfer one year after his death at the Mavericks surf break.
The memorial was moved from its original location at Mavericks Beach due to the strong rain and winds.
Members of the community are currently gathering at the bar in Princeton to further remember Milosky and share memories about his life.
Come back for photos of the paddle out and the story.
Local surfers will be holding a memorial at Mavericks this afternoon to commemorate Sion Milosky, a well-known big wave surfer who while surfing at the Half Moon Bay break one year ago on March 16, 2011.
The memorial will take place at 4 p.m. on Mavericks Beach, according to Jessica Banks, spokesperson for Mavericks veteran surfer Jeff Clark and the Mavericks Invitational 2011-2012 surf contest in Half Moon Bay.
Milosky, a big wave surfer who grew up in Kauai, Hawaii and was a resident of Oahu, at Mavericks in the early evening after being held down by two big waves during a set. According to reports, fellow surfer Nathan Fletcher searched for Milosky at the break on a jet ski, but Milosky's body was found instead floating at the mouth of Pillar Point Harbor about a mile away from the surf break 20 minutes after he had wiped out on the wave.
Despite being transported to the Seton Medical Center Coastside clinic in Moss Beach for emergency treatment, the surfer was pronounced dead at 7:46 p.m. the same evening at the clinic.
The day after his death, Milosky was by his family, friends and fellow surfers at Mavericks Beach.
Milosky was the second first person to die surfing Mavericks. Mark Foo, another surfer from Hawaii, died after a wipeout on the break in 1994.
This story was originally posted on Half Moon Bay Patch.
