Jeff Clark grew up in Half Moon Bay, watching Mavericks from Half Moon Bay High School and Pillar Point. At that time the location was thought too dangerous to surf. He conceived the possibility of riding Hawaii-sized waves in Northern California. In 1975 at age 17 and with the waves topping out at , Clark paddled out alone to face the break. He caught multiple left-breaking waves, thereby becoming the first documented person to tackle Mavericks head-on. Other than a few of Clark's friends who had paddled out and had seen Mavericks for themselves, no big wave surfers believed in its existence. Popular opinion held that there simply were no large waves in California. Dave Schmidt (brother of big wave legend Richard Schmidt) and Tom Powers, both from
Santa Cruz, were two of the next people to surf at Mavericks, surfing with Clark on January 22, 1990. John Raymond, from
Pacifica, Johathan Galili, from
Tel Aviv, Israel, and Mark Renneker, from San Francisco, surfed Mavericks a few days later.
Popularization In 1990, a photo of Mavericks taken by Clark's friend Steve Tadin was published in
Surfer magazine, generating interest in Mavericks. More photos of Mavericks appeared in surfing magazines, and before long, filmmaker Gary Medeiros released a movie,
Waves of Adventure in the Red Triangle. As news of Mavericks spread, many big-wave surfers came and surfed there.
Death of Mark Foo On December 23, 1994, during a week of huge swells, notable Hawaiian big-wave riders
Mark Foo,
Ken Bradshaw and
Mike Parsons visited Mavericks. In the late morning, Foo rode on a late
takeoff into an wave, caught the edge of his surfboard on the surface, and fell forward into a
wipe out near the bottom of the wave. A few hours later, a fellow surfer traveling back to shore on a boat noticed a body in the water, which was identified as Foo. The only visible injury was a small cut on the forehead. Many surfers believe that the fall knocked the wind out of Foo and he was tied down by his leash to a rock formation. The accident afforded Mavericks greater notoriety and prompted the formation of the
Mavericks Water Patrol by Frank Quirarte and Clark. Leash proponents defend it as a useful convenience and as insurance against losing the surfboard, a form of flotation device, a means for a fallen surfer to find the surface by following the leash cord to the buoyant board. Opponents argue that a leash can cause the rider to collide with their board in a wipe out and that the leash can also loop around the surfer's arms, legs or the neck when underwater. Quick-release
velcro leashes have since become standard surfing equipment to address some of these risks. to travel to Half Moon Bay to catch one of the last big swells of the season at Mavericks.
Women at Mavericks In 1999, Sarah Gerhardt became the first woman to surf Mavericks. In 2018, after a long fight, women were first included in the formal
Titans of Mavericks surf competition, also receiving equal prize money.
World Records In 2001,
Carlos Burle won the Billabong XXL Big Wave Award by riding a tall wave at Mavericks. On 23 December 2024, Alessandro "Alo" Slebir rode an estimated tall wave at Mavericks, which would exceed the current world record by over 20 feet. The wave height was estimated by the Mavericks Rescue Team. ==Invitational Surfing Contest==