With high surf at Mavericks, contest may come next week

The big-wave surf season is upon us, and Mavericks has come alive. This month has brought several days of goodsized waves at the spot off Pillar Point, and an extremely large swell is due Monday.

Officials of the World Surf League are prepared to hold the event when the conditions are right, but Monday’s weather could pose a problem.

The latest forecasts call for a storm to move through the Bay Area on Sunday, bringing with it south winds, and “Mavericks is unsurfable in south winds,” said Grant Washburn, 51, who has surfed the break more often than anyone over the past 25 years. “Right now, Monday looks like a giant day — maybe 60-foot faces. It could be one of the biggest days we’ve had in 10 years. But it’s a very iffy call. It’s looking like those winds will continue into Sunday night, and it takes the ocean 6 to 8 hours to come back to reality (calmer seas) when they subside.”

If there’s any chance the event could be held, the WSL would issue a Thursday notification to each of the 24 competitors to be on alert. (An official “go” call probably would be made within 48 hours.)

“A lot of the international guys are heading over right now,” Washburn said. “Everyone’s up for it, ready to give it a go. The good news is that we’re in a really good pattern for big waves this month. The probability of 40-foot waves (the minimum required to hold the contest) is really high, probably showing up multiple times over the next two or three weeks.”

Because of unfavorable conditions, political infighting and late-opening windows, the Mavericks contest was not held the past two winters. This year’s window opened Nov. 1 and runs through March, with refreshing new elements: women allowed into the event for the first time, surfing two semifinals and a final, along with equal prize money with the men.