Photo Gallery: The Surfboards of Mavericks
The Titans of Mavericks big wave contest, which took place Friday off the coast of Half Moon Bay in Northern California, is one of the most important, gnarliest surf events in the United States. Twenty-four of the world’s best surfers gather one day each winter to ride waves that sometimes reach 60 feet.
To find out what gear they use to navigate these enormous waves, we sent Bay Area photographer Stephen Lam to take portraits of the surfers and their boards early Friday morning before the riders headed out to the lineup.
Photo: Nathan Fletcher of San Clemente, California holding a 10’2” and a 10’10” by Stretch Boards. “Stretch has been making my boards for about 12 years and I usually ride a four-fin. The reason I ride a 10’2” is for the paddling. [It does well] in the waves and conditions we’re going to face today. The 10’10” is made a little thinner so I can get away with it in smaller surf but it’s technically made for bigger Mavericks.”
