Day of the Decade? A Comparative Look at Three XXL Maverick s Swells
Here s where December 8th, 2020 lands, from the numbers
December 8th, 2020. Photo: Jeremiah Klein
Kevin Wallis
Link copied to clipboard
There have been a lot of superlatives thrown at the session that went down at Maverick’s two weeks ago: Best Ever, Day of Days, All Time, etc. While it wasn’t the biggest swell at Mav’s by any means, it was amongst the largest paddle swells we’ve seen in the past decade with absolutely pristine conditions. This most recent swell was big enough to get the Maverick’s Outer Bowl working which starts to break when wave faces reach roughly 45-50 feet and guys like Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker, Pete Mel, and Kai Lenny sat out the back to chip in on those glassy monsters before screaming through the normal takeoff spot.
Local s Perspective On Day of Days at Maverick’s
Catching up with longtime NorCal Mav s vets about Tuesday, December 8th
HMB local Luca Padua, December 8th. Photo: Kenan Chan
Link copied to clipboard
By August Howell
As we extensively reported (see links above), Maverick’s saw its best day in recent memory last Tuesday. Consistent 40-foot faces greeted some of the world’s best surfers from sunup to sundown. And while the swell on December 8th peaked to a burly 17 feet @ 19 seconds, the wind stayed mellow all day, allowing for some truly jaw-dropping surfing to take place.
As Maverick’s pioneer Jeff Clark put it: “It’s the biggest, most consistent, powerful swell we’ve had since 2010.”
Who Is Beck Adler?
Photo: Billy Watts
Link copied to clipboard
Talk about a grand entrance…
During Tuesday’s historic swell at Maverick’s, relatively unknown Venice Beach teenager Beck Adler scrapped into a towering ledge amidst the morning super session with big-wave heavyweights like Kai Lenny, Peter Mel, and Twiggy. Although he didn’t make the wave, the photo from his dizzying drop was enough to get Adler a spot in our Swell Story originally credited as “unidentified.” But it got us wondering,
who the f ck is this kid?
So, we called him up on Thursday. It turns out, Adler’s been eyeing a wave like this at Mav’s for quite some time and, yes, he’s still sore from the resulting wipeout. Check out our chat below.
From The Cliff: Six Epic Rides From XXL Maverick s
Peter Mel, Twiggy Baker, Kai Lenny (twice!), Luca Padua and Jojo Roper
Marcus Sanders
Link copied to clipboard
Last Tuesday, while frantically covering XXL Maverick’s from a variety of angles, we asked a bunch of experts if Twiggy’s morning bomb was the biggest wave ever paddled at Mav’s. Folks had varying opinions and still do! but the very astute longtime Mav’s charger and former Mav’s judge Steve Dwyer pointed out something very important: “I’d need to see ‘em side by side. I hate making claims like that because of all the variables. All the different aspects of angles – so many to consider. It’s certainly a worthy conversation. I’d like to see land angles. Water shots steal face height.”
Is This the Biggest Paddle Wave Ever at Maverick’s?
A closer look at Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker’s early morning mountain
Photo: Fred Pompermayer
Link copied to clipboard
After a day like Tuesday at Maverick’s – when there were so many momentous waves ridden, so many magic moments throughout a full-day of XXL surfing – it’s easy to fall into a sort of fugue state. Call it,
big-wave blackout, if you’d like.
But a handful of rides will stand the test of time beyond Tuesday’s marathon super session; one of them being Grant “Twiggy” Baker’s early morning paddle bomb, which he scratched into while tow teams were also out.