Mavericks delivered one of the decade's finest days of big wave surfing. The swell was powered by El Niño.
Waves in the 30-to-40-foot range hit the famous surf break located off the coast of Half Moon Bay in Northern California, and the opportunity was not unnoticed by dozens of well-known chargers.
Kai Lenny, Aaron Gold, Peter Mel, Ryan Seelbach, Josh Kerr, Jamie Mitchell, Ken "Skindog" Collins, Patrick Shaughnessy, Matt Becker, Ben Andrews, Nick Rozsa, Tyler Larronde, and friends had the best February 4th of their lives.
They all rode many giants throughout the day, but there were some serious wipeouts, too. Nic Vaughan, for example, suffered a heavy pounding. On the other side of the equation, Damien Hobgood scored one of the best waves of the session.
"An absolute stunner of a day at Mavericks! I am so stoked to have gotten some good waves and watch my friends charge bombs. Huge thanks to the Mavericks crew for sharing your legendary break with us!" wrote Lenny.
However, this powerful, long-period NW swell will not be used to run the Titans of Mavericks because, according to the event organizers, multiple agencies and entities are focused on Super Bowl week.
The Titans of Mavericks has four colored codes for informing athletes and fans about the event status: yellow (there is currently no inbound swell), orange (a potential swell is on the forecast), red (potential is high that the event will run), and green (the event is on).
The big wave surfing event run by Jeff Clark might get a green light until March 31st, 2016. The Titans of Mavericks is a one-day competition with 24 invitees, two wildcards, and five alternates.