A big swell was on the horizon at Maverick’s, so I flew to San Francisco on 48-hour notice to work on a big-wave production project. The project, the WickrX Super Sessions, features the world’s best female surfers. Hawaii’s Keala Kennelly, Paige Alms, and Andrea Moller all came out to try Maverick’s for the first time, alongside local legends from Santa Cruz Sarah Gerhardt, Savannah Shaughnessy, and Bianca Valenti. On Monday, they scored a warm-up session where 75% of the people in the water were women. Pretty historic.
Just a couple of days later on December 20th, the buoys shot up and the best swell in four years hit the break. We headed out in a Zodiac with an experienced team–the same on that produced Chasing Mavericks. Needless to say, it was inspiring to document and be a part of.
Maverick’s was heavy (probably the biggest we’ve seen it since 2010) producing 40-to-45 foot wave faces. The winds were calm through the morning, but the energy was high, especially with the world’s top professional big-wave chargers from around the world. The level of talent in the water made it look manageable—everyone was there, from Shane Dorian, Greg Long, Grant “Twiggy” Baker, and Koa Rothman, as well as many others—but swinger sets and rogue waves are a major player in the lineup out there.
There was a lot of carnage: broken leashes and broken boards were a common occurrence. The science behind Maverick’s is pretty unreal, and it’s such a dark, deep water wave that it’s simultaneously scary and mesmerizing, as many cold water spots are. Imagine five-story buildings crashing in front of you, leaving a trail of whitewash twice as high.
With regard to the “man-overboard” shot of Mark Healey that went viral: it was late afternoon and the tide was low. A few bomb set-waves cleared the lineup and there was a huge wave out the back. As mentioned before, Maverick’s is known for its swinger sets, but I suppose the captain of that boat was caught off-guard. They got caught inside, just barely making it over the lip of the wave. As it rocked back and forth Mark Healey and Tyler Fox launched into the air and off the boat as others held the railings and braced for whatever would happen next. Our Zodiac boat was deeper in the channel at the right moment and I snapped the shot.
I Instagram-ed a preview of Healey getting bucked off from my camera view finder just minutes after it happened. Before I even docked back at the harbor that day, it has been reposted and shared across nearly every outlet in the surf community. Mainstream media and international press were shocked by the image. Even Healey’s girlfriend shared it, writing: “Mixed feelings about this photo!”
It’s somewhat ironic, though; the photo of Mark Healey launched overboard has been the most successful of my journalism career thus far. For these big wave hellmen that swim with sharks and get tubed in the most dangerous waves on the planet, the moment captured by this photo is just another day-in-the-life. I had no idea it would explode like it did, but social media is extremely powerful.
Water safety is everyone’s priority, and a key component of big-wave surfing. Hopefully my work as a journalist contributes to the progression of our sport—as the photo demonstrates, the dangers of Mother Nature are real. That’s what makes it so exciting to watch.
There were many incredible rides ridden on Big Wednesday and equally, if not more, horrific wipeouts. There’s no one surfer that makes it out of Maverick’s unscathed. She’s just too powerful and all-mighty.
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