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The world-renowned annual Mavericks Surf Contest near Half Moon Bay will be held Saturday, contest officials announced Thursday afternoon.

The 24 surfers from around the world selected to participate in this year’s competition voted whether to hold the contest day, and the majority voted in favor, contest co-director Katherine Clark said.

“We’re all very excited,” said Clark, who created the competition with ex-husband Jeff Clark, the former contest director, more than a decade ago.

The contest will begin at 8 a.m. in the waters about a half-mile from Pillar Point Harbor.

Partly cloudy skies in the morning with highs in the upper 50s are expected Saturday, and waves averaging 15 to 20 feet — with the greater waves reaching 25 feet — are anticipated, according to National Weather Service forecaster Bob Benjamin.

“It should be pretty nice out,” Benjamin said.

Viewing space near the contest is limited, and those who want to watch the contest are urged to attend the AT&T Park viewing event where a live webcast will be shown for $20 in advance or $25 at the door.

A live-stream of the contest will also be broadcast powered by Ustream on the Internet at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-2009-2010-mavericks-surf-contest-presented-by-sony-ericsson.

For those who want to attend the event in person, officially sanctioned boat tours are available that are piloted by local captains with knowledge of the area around the Mavericks surf break.

Contest officials strongly discourage anyone from taking non-sanctioned boat tours to keep boat traffic to a minimum both for safety and environmental purposes, Clark said.

This year the scontest window opened on Nov. 1, two months earlier than it opened last year when the window ran from Jan. 1 to March 31. The contest was never held last year because the ideal conditions didn’t materialize.

For more information, visit www.maverickssurf.com.

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6 Comments

  1. $25 to watch it on a screen? Seems kind of a lot for something that everyone really wants to see live. Why can’t they just run it on tv? I am sure they would get sponsors.

  3. I too think $25 or $20 is a bit much! I would love to actually go out there, anyone done that before? Or can offer some advice as to whether it’s worth it?

    Thanks!

  4. 1000 feet of cliff would make a cool viewing stand. $20 a piece to be shuttled from the airport to view area at the top of the cliff away from the edge. $ could go to pay for it and the rest to charity or the city.

  5. I live in Moss Beach and have watched it several times live. I prefer to watch it from the bluffs above the beach a little bit north of the Pillar Point Air Force Station, less crowds. No matter where you try to watch it from, it’s difficult to actually see the surfers. I use binoculars. Forget about seeing anything from the beach. You have to be up high on the cliffs. It can be very dangerous, and I know of at least one instance when a person got seriously injured from a boulder falling down the cliffs onto the beach. Parking is expensive. Lots of traffic. If you are coming to watch, come really early. I wouldn’t bring small children due to the cliffs. Bring water, food, sunscreen, sunglasses, binoculars, cell phone, chair, blanket, kleenex; wear layers. I walked out to Mavericks this afternoon and it was very muddy so be prepared for that. It was windy at the point but not bad at all on the beach. Is it worth it? Not sure I would come out for it if I lived “over the hill” but if you are into surfing it’s pretty cool to say you watched it. Since I’m a local it’s a fun, social thing since I know so many of the people who come to watch. We just walk there or ride our bikes.

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