The Mavericks Surf Contest begins Wednesday.  According to the company press release, twenty-four of the world’s best big wave surfers will compete, including three-time contest winner Darryl "Flea" Virostko, Tow-In Surfing World Champion Garrett McNamara, and Peter Mel, long-time Mavericks legend. There is an article about the event in today’s Santa Cruz Sentinel, which was written before it was certain it would take place.

Mavericks takes place at a world-renowned big-wave spot located one-half mile off the coast of Half Moon Bay. Last year, 15,000 spectators and two million television viewers experienced the event.

There will be free parking at Pillar Point Harbor and across from the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company on Capistrano Road. Free shuttles will run throughout contest day beginning at 7:00 am to bring visitors from the parking lots to the top of West Point. From there spectators can walk out to the beach at Mavericks.

Riding Giants is a homage to big wave surfing, profiling the lives and times of the surfers who have dedicated themselves to finding and successfully challenging the most dangerous waves on the earth.

The film takes a historical perspective revealing how each generation has pushed the envelope further and further.  We meet "The Bull", Greg Noll, who pioneered big wave surfing in Hawaii’s big surf in the late 1950’s.  There’s also Half Moon Bay’s own Jeff Clark, who discovered the massive waves of Maverick’s and rode them alone for over a decade. And finally, the arrival of the tow-in revolution led by Hawaii’s Laird Hamiliton, considered by many as the best of big-wave surfers.  Wonderful shots of Laird’s triumphant victory over Tahiti’s "Millennium Wave" in August 2000 serves as the film’s final climax. Where else can you vicariously experience the rush of looking down a 40 foot face of churning water? 

Come ride the big waves vicariously or talk to the local surfers who do it for real.  According to Film Forward the movie is a blast for both avid surfers and those who have never got their toes wet.  "Don’t be intimidated by your lack of surfing knowledge, a deficiency of wave smarts actually makes the film more enjoyable. Schooled boarders Riding Giants will find the film a joyously self-indulgent pat on the back. And without the unabashed indulgence, it just wouldn’t be as cool."

Friday March 4th 2005 at 7:30 pm Community Methodist Sanctuary,  Half Moon Bay 777 Miramontes, Half Moon Bay. Corner of Johnston & Miramontes. $6.00 donation per person. 105 minutes.

The week, in addition to an apparently exciting arrest, there was a drug possession, an auto burglary. and three drunks—one in public and two in cars.

Deputies were on routine patrol when they came across a car parked in a parking lot of a business that has been closed for sometime. Deputies contacted the occupants and discovered them to be in possession of a controlled substance. Deputies arrested the driver and a passenger. They were booked into the county jail.

Deputies effected a traffic stop on a vehicle with three occupants. They ran a wants and warrants check through county communications. Two of the three came back clear. The third subject, age 30,  of East Palo Alto had a warrant for $ 75,000.00. While attempting to take him into custody, he broke free and ran away, jumping into Pescadero Creek. A Deputy jumped into the creek after him, although the water was deep, he was able to catch him and take him into custody. Once he was taken into custody he was found to be wearing two bullet proof vests, and had an empty gun holster. No firearm was located in the creek.

Deputies were dispatched to the above location on the report of an auto burglary. Unknown subjects entered a vehicle and took various items.

Deputies were dispatched to the above address on the report of an unwanted subject. The reporting party informed Deputies that the subject, age 44, of Montara was asleep on his sofa. She had been brought to his home by a neighbor who found her asleep in his driveway. When asked where she lived she pointed to the reporting party’s residence. The reporting party let her in and called the Sheriff’s Office. Subject was unable to care for herself, and she was arrested and booked into the

county jail to be released when sober.

Deputies effected a traffic stop on a vehicle and found the driver, age 43, of Moss Beach to be driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage. He was arrested and transported to the county jail.

On the above date and time Deputies responded to Stage road in Pescadero on the report of a vehicle accident with the driver walking away from the vehicle. Deputies saw a truck that had driven through a fence and was parked with its lights on. The front of the truck had a fence post sticking out of it. Deputies searched the area and found the subject, age 31, of San Gregorio about 1.5 miles from the scene. He was found to be driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage. He was placed under arrest and transported to the county jail.

I found these great photos of the coastside taken from a kite on montarabeach.com, and even more photos can be found at photographer Matt Brocchini’s site. You can click on the pictures for a slightly larger version.

Matt Brocchini

Montara State Beach

Matt Brocchini

Surfers Beach and Pillar Point Harbor

[Based on POST press release] The Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) has acquired 183 acres of scenic land between Lobitos and Tunitas creeks four miles southeast of Half Moon Bay. The land, which is adjacent to POST and MROSD property, was bought from a private owner for $2.25 million.

The property is adjacent to POST’s Lobitos Ridge property across the creek, and the Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve, managed by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD). POST says that the property is a likely addition to the Purisima Creek preserve, which already contains 7.2 miles of trail from Skyline Ridge down to the property. Another 4-mile trail addition could extend through the new acquisition, continuing out to the coast, where it would connect with the California Coastal Trail.

POST hopes that a donor will make a major contribution for the right to name the parcel.

Click "Read more" to see POST’s press release.

"California 1 For Peace" was a statewide protest along California Highway 1 from San Diego to Humboldt,  Saturday February 19th from noon to 2:00pm.  The event were in support of peace and against the U.S. policies in Iraq. Participant Jeff Gillmore emailed me:

"In HMB, we had around 20 participants at our site next to Surfer’s Beach.  For much of the event, a driving rain was falling, but that did not dampen the spirits as much as it dampened the feet!  There were several hundred supportive honks with accompanying waves and peace signs, as well as a dozen or so less-friendly responses.  I got a sense that people were heartened to see someone standing up for their beliefs in this depressing (for progressives) post-election period."

The Abundance Sale raised $4,000 to $5,000 for tsunami relief on Saturday, despite a steady down pour, according to the San Mateo County Times.

The Examiner has a short piece on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors hearing on the proposed update to the Local Coastal Plan, which tookj place last Tuesday.

The currently approved buildout would cause a 55 percent shortfall of the area’s water supply and worsen traffic on state highways 1 and 92 from "congestion" to "gridlock" by 2010 unless coastside infrastructure is expanded to keep up, according to county planner George Bergman.

The amended 1980 Midcoast Local Coastal Program allows for as many as 7,153 housing units to be built on county lands in Moss Beach, El Granada, Miramar and Princeton, 48 percent more than the existing 3,719 residences.

That’s actually a 92 percent increase.

The story quotes a builder and two real estate agents, whom it describes as "residents".

The supervisors decided to wait until the county Planning and Building Division could provide details on how much additional water, sewer treatment and road widening would be feasible for the midcoast.

The next hearing will be at the March 29 Board of Supervisors meeting. The supervisors plan to take their final vote on the Midcoast revisions April 26.

The most recent sheriff’s log is a lot quieter this week.  However, there have been two car burglaries in El Granada, a drug arrest, and a mysterious "terrorist threat".

Two unidentified females came into the Sheriff’s North Coast Substation to turn in a banner that had terrorist threats painted on it. The females removed the banner from a tree located on Francisco Avenue. A report has been taken and the incident will be investigated.

Deputies were dispatched to a residence on Valencia Avenue on the report of an auto burglary. The victim reported that sometime between 02-11-05 and 02-12-05. Unknown suspects broke the left rear door window and the rear window of the vehicle. It appears that nothing was taken.

The victim of an auto burglary came into the Sheriff’s substation to report that on the above date and time unknown subjects opened the unlocked utility box in the bed of his truck and removed various tools.

Deputies were on routine patrol on the above date and time when they came in contact with a suspicious vehicle in a parking lot of a local business. Deputies approached the vehicle and had contact with the occupant, age 22, of San Francisco. He was found to be in possession of a controlled substance. He was arrested and transported to the county jail.

Cabrillo Unified School District superintendent John Bayless withdrew his candidacy for the Somerville school superintendent position on Sunday, according to to Somerville Journal.