Cancel those Friday evening plans, folks, because the Mavericks Big Wave Invitational has been called ON for this Friday and you’re not going to want to miss watching Chris and Twiggy gunning for glory at one of the world’s most celebrated big wave events.
Twiggy has been putting in the hours at Mavericks ahead of the event, so he is feeling confident.
Organisers first gave the tentative yellow alert once Friday’s swell was spotted on the forecasts. They were worried that the predicted winds might make it treacherous for the competitors, but once updated forecasts showed a promising outlook, they gave the green light.
Currently leading the Big Wave World Tour rankings, Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker told Zag that he is feeling confident going into the event. He’ll be looking to keep himself ahead of the chasing pack as they fight it out for the world title.
Chris Bertish has been keeping himself supremely fit while breaking long distance paddling world records on his SUP. His most recent record attempt saw him paddle 130.1 km in 12 hours from Kommetjie to Langebaan to set the new benchmark.
Chris Bertish claimed the title in 2010 in the biggest surf yet seen for the Mavericks event.
Mavericks Invitational Contest Director Jeff Clark stated, “This is going to be a powerful and memorable swell, and we are looking at waves upwards of 40 feet.”
The event kicks off 8:00am in California (7:00pm SA time) and can be watched live on http://mavericksinvitational.com/
The 24 Competitors: 2013-14 Mavericks Invitational
Ryan Augenstein (Santa Cruz, CA)
Nic Lamb (Santa Cruz, CA)
Grant Baker (South Africa)
Greg Long (San Clemente, CA)
Chris Bertish (South Africa)
Rusty Long (San Clemente, CA)
Carlos Burle (Brazil)
Alex Martins (Brazil)
Kohl Christensen (Hawaii)
Peter Mel (Santa Cruz, CA)
Ken Collins (Santa Cruz, CA)
Ryan Seelbach (San Francisco, CA)
Shawn Dollar (Santa Cruz, CA)
Jamie Sterling (Hawaii)
Shane Dorian (Hawaii)
Anthony Tashnick (Santa Cruz, CA)
Colin Dwyer (Pacifica, CA)
Grant Washburn (San Francisco, CA)
Nathan Fletcher (San Clemente, CA)
Dave Wassell (Hawaii)
Tyler Fox (Aptos, CA)
Ben Wilkinson (Australia)
Mark Healey (Hawaii)
Zach Wormhoudt (Santa Cruz, CA)
The ALTERNATES: 2013-14 Mavericks Invitational
1. Shane Desmond (Santa Cruz, CA)
4. Kelly Slater (Cocoa Beach, FL)
2. Danilo Couto (Brazil)
5. Tyler Smith (Santa Cruz, CA)
3. Derek Dunfee (San Diego, CA)
6. Frank Solomon (South Africa)
