Surfing Maverick Waves
Main street with wonderful shops! 
Art & Pumpkin Festival Poster
Unique garden and gift shop
Half Moon Bay, California
° California Wines ° Marin ° Museums° San Francisco (Sailing and Kayaking) ° The Giants
° Napa and Sonoma ° The Peninsula: Half Moon Bay
° Mendocino County ° Shasta County ° Yosemite National Park
Throughout the autumn season, hillsides along Highway 1 through Half Moon Bay are covered in orange pumpkins and each autumn thousands of visitors make the journey to the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival.
Mavericks Surf Contest
My good friend Paul McHugh, author of Deadlines has been mentioned on this site because of readings from his book at various places around the U.S. Paul has also been part of the annual Mavericks Surf Contest in Half Moon Bay for many years. (Somewhere we have a photo of him airbound in a kayak.) The big waves come in winter, and late every year, an official waiting period for the Mavericks Surf Contest begins. When conditions are right, 24 surfers (who have been pre-selected) get a telephone call telling them when the Mavericks Surf Contest will begin. They have 24 hours to get there.
Not only are the waves brutal, the water is extremely cold; warm water does not touch California's beaches. On a good day, the temperature may hit 60 degrees Fahrenheit. During winter, it's in the mid-50s.
The first Mavericks Surf Contest was held in 1999 and although the name has been changed a couple of times, it's still about the waves that hit Half Moon Bay's coast; winter storms and underwater geography combine to create some the world's biggest and most dangerous waves. The Mavericks Surf Contest gives the world's best surfers a chance to pit their skills against the big ones that can rise over 50 feet high. This contest has an interesting twist. No one knows when it will be held until just 24 hours before it starts because the storms determine the date. Thousands of people line the shoreline with binoculars; cameramen have HUGE lenses because the waves break about half-mile offshore over an ocean reef off Pillar Point near Half Moon Bay.
If you're here during the year, check out the location before the actual contest starts. From Hwy 1, take the South Capistrano Road exit near the Half Moon Bay Airport. Follow the road past the harbor entrance. Turn left on Prospect Way and west onto Harvard, which merges with West Point. Follow the road up the hill to the Pillar Point Marsh lot and hike about one mile uphill, along the sandy footpath to the viewing area on the bluffs.
Mavericks Contestants
In 1999, the first competition was held at Mavericks, under the direction of Quiksilver. Won by Santa Cruz's Darryl "Flea" Virostko, it represented the transformation of Mavericks from little-known surf break to international phenomenon. The event is by invitation and has included legendary Hawaiian big-wave surfer, Mark Foo, who died after taking off on an 18-foot-wave. Past winners have included:- Grant "Twiggy" Baker from Durban, South Africa (2006), , Mavericks 2006 winner
- Darryl "Flea" Virostko, Santa Cruz, won 3 Mavericks
- Chris Bertish, South Africa (2009-2010 Champ)
- Anthony Tashnick (won Mavericks in 2005)
- Dave Wassell, Hawaii (2009-2010 Champ)
- Ion Banner, Half Moon Bay
- Dave Wassel, Hawaii
- Evan Slater, San Clemente, Surfing Mag
- Nathan Fletcher, San Clemente
- Matt Ambrose, Pacifica
- Anthony Tashnick, Santa Cruz (won Mavericks 2005)
- Brock Little, Hawaii
- Kenny "Skindog" Collins, Santa Cruz
- Alex Matienzo
- Jim Thompson
- Dick Notmeyer
- Carlos Burle, Brazil (2009-2010 Contest Champ)
- Kenny "Skindog" Collins, Santa Cruz (2009-2010 Contest Champ)
A range of lodging includes exceptional hotels lining the Pacific Ocean: Cypress Inn on Miramar Beach, Oceano Hotel and Spa, The Beach House in El Granada.
Half Moon Bay lies along California's coastline south of San Francisco, between the Santa Cruz Mountains to the East and the Pacific Ocean to the West. The area has not changed dramatically over the years.
Dating back to the 1840s, Half Moon Bay is the oldest of settlements in San Mateo County. Traces of its past are visible in the many historic buildings along it's "downtown," which is a 3-4 block strip. Cabrillo Highway (Highway 1) on the Coast, and Highway 92 over the mountains follow original Indian trails of the native Ohlone Indians who lived here for thousands of years.
The Half Moon Bay Coastside was the first part of the Peninsula discovered by foreign explorers.
During 1776, the year the United States was formed, Captain Gaspar de Portola founded San Francisco's Mission Dolores, and within a short time, the Half Moon Bay Coast became the grazing land for mission cattle, horses, and oxen. More than 200 years later, much of the land is still used for grazing livestock.
Historic towns along this part of California coast include Montara and Moss Beach, El Granada, Princeton and Miramar, Princeton-by-the-Sea, San Gregoria and La Honda and Pescadero.
While you're in the South Bay, consider visiting the bizarre Winchester Mystery House in Silicon Valley. This bizarre home was built by Sara Winchester, heiress to the family that made Winchester Rifles. In 1884, Sarah Winchester began work on the 160-room Victorian house. For 38 years, until the day she died, Sarah kept carpenters working 24 hours a day, building non-stop. Her belief was that if she stopped building she would die. The result is a house has an endlessly confusing floor plan, with doors and staircases leading nowhere. A collection of fire arms, including Winchester rifles, is in the Fire Arms Museum. This tour has pickups at centrally located San Francisco hotels.
Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude