Mavericks Surf Ventures passes the buck to San Mateo County,
County Counsel Michael Murphy passes the buck to
Harbor District Manager Peter Grenell who passes the buck
to Vandenberg Air Force Base who promptly pass the buck
to Army Corps of Engineers and then
the buck circles back to Mavericks Surf Ventures.

An endless loop of passing the buck explains allot about the organizational structure of the Mavericks Surf Contest and the apparent disregard for public safety.

Will Supervisor Rich Gordon sort-this-out before he leaves office?

For details read Sorting out Mavericks accident: Responsibility unclear, By Katie Worth, San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Sorting-out-Mavericks-accident-Responsibility-unclear-84862587.html

San Mateo County Undersheriff Carlos Bolanos had the following to say about the "private" meeting Supervisor Rich Gordon is having at the Moss Beach Sheriffs substation Monday, February 22, 2010 at 10:30am:

‘When members of the public and/or the media are there typically people won’t be as candid as we need them to be to ensure the debrief is as clear as possible."

"If there is someone there from the media then the purpose is compromised because people won’t be as candid as they would be…"

Undersheriff Carlos Bolanos must have felt compromised when he and Sheriff Greg Munks were busted for loitering outside a Las Vegas brothel in 2007. Sheriff Greg Munks has experienced difficulty being candid with the media in the past. After the "Operation Dollhouse" bust Munks said in a statement to the press, “I believed I was going to a legitimate business.”

Supervisor Rich Gordon should reverse his decision to prohibit the media and the public from the Feb. 22 Mavericks Surf Contest meeting. 

www.thepelicaneye.com

Clay Lambert, editor of the Half Moon Bay Review published a refreshing request for transparency and accountability on the Reviews blog Friday: http://talkabout.hmbreview.com/topic.php?t=5734&c=11&d=

CORRECTED: The date of the event was incorrect on this story.

Did you know that one of the world’s four most productive ocean ecosystems occurs here, right off our San Mateo Coast? Come learn what upwelling is all about and why this area is so rich with marine life like white sharks, sea turtles and giant whales.

Carol Preston, Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary will discuss ocean dynamics and present images of sanctuary wildlife ranging from majestic to minuscule. Afterwards she will lead a walk along the sanctuaries’ shore to find sand crabs and discuss some of the sanctuary research being done along our coast. Wear waterproof outerwear including boots or shoes.

Lecture & Beach Sand Crabbing Walk

1:30 pm Native Sons Hall, Stage Rd, Pescadero (next to post office) 5 suggested donation per person or family

Visit our website www.gazos.org for any changes in times or location and directions, or contact Jamie Bennett at 650-879-0841

Mike Longo – piano, Steward McCain – bass, Jim Zimmerman - drums; with guest artists Lee Green - sax and Margie Baker - vocals
 
A former protege of Oscar Peterson, Michael Longo is probably best known for his long association with Dizzy Gillespie as his pianist and musical director, composing much of Dizzy’s repertoire in the late 60s through the 70s.
 
Douglas Beach House on Miramar Beach
307 Mirada Road, Half Moon Bay, CA  94019
650 726-4143, www.bachddsoc.org
Reservations:  [email protected]

Chris Bertish of South Africa won the $50,000 first-place prize at Mavericks, reports the County Times.

After riding a wave successfully, he got caught inside and took three giant waves on the head. Somehow he had scored well enough on his previous two waves to advance to the semis. There he wowed the judges with a hotdog maneuver, attempting to pull into the barrel—a feat rarely attempted, or possible, at Mavericks. [...]

Half Moon Bay’s Ion Banner set the tone with a dramatic air drop in heat one. He dropped down into the wave’s trough while his board flew backwards in the air. As 25 feet of whitewater barreled down on top of him, Banner’s trusty big-wave gun snapped in half and he surfaced coughing up blood.

Tim West of Half Moon Bay did his best skipping rock impression in heat two. The wave’s energy sucked him to the bottom where his head met the rock reef

Santa Cruz’s Peter Mel, a sentimental favorite among his peers, surfed brilliantly in his first heat, but couldn’t seem to find a good wave in his semifinal heat. His fellow Santa Cruzan, Darryl "Flea" Virostko, a three-time Mavericks champion, did manage to get a good one but couldn’t find another solid score to pair it with.

More details at the County Times site.

Click below for live streaming from Mavericks

Several spectators were injured at the Mavericks big wave surf contest just after 9am when a series of waves crashed into spectators, reports the Chronicle.

Some of the waves at Mavericks, off Pillar Point north of Half Moon Bay, appeared to be up to 40 feet high. They were clean and smooth, thanks to low wind in the area. Surfers said they were among the biggest waves in the history of the contest.

But the conditions were perilous on a beach where spectators gathered despite being warned by organizers that the view was difficult. [...]

A series of waves, though, knocked down scaffolding set up to hold the contest’s award ceremony. County sheriff’s deputies hustled people off the beach and set up barricades in some spots.

One wave knocked down Betsy Foreman, 48, of Ukiah, and broke her ankle. She had been part of the way up a hillside, but had come down and was walking away from the water at the urging of deputies. [...]

Mary Gram, 51, of San Rafael, appeared to have a broken or dislocated middle finger on her right hand. As she waited for medical attention, she said, "I guess I’m lucky. But I lost my iPhone."

The contest started at 8 a.m. The winner of $50,000 out of a $150,000 prize purse was expected to be crowned by 3 p.m.

From the County Times:

Paramedics took a man in his 60s away with an ankle injury. He was bloodied, having been trampled by the crowd after he was knocked over by a surge of water.

The waves also knocked over Mavericks volunteer Renee Sorenson, of Redwood City.

"I got knocked over by one of those dumb waves," she said. "It also took my camera away. I tried to brace myself but it tripped me and another wave washed over me."

Sorenson’s daughter, Amanda, said the sight of the wave surging up the beach was "the scariest thing I’ve ever seen."

"We’re here ever year and we get rogue waves but nothing like this," said Renee Sorenson. She was treated by paramedics and sent to a hospital with a likely broken wrist.

Cal Fire reports thirteen spectators were injured, according to the Review

The Planning Commission Hearing scheduled for March 10th, 2010 is being postponed for a second time; no new date has been set.

The EIR consultants will not release the Final EIR until they get more money. The EIR consultants have used up all their initial funding. The Board of Supervisors will have to approve a second supplement to the contract—and the Big Wave Project developers will have to pay.

Its unclear when this will be on the Supervisors agenda.