One Week, Two Epic Surf Sessions At Opposite Ends Of The Pacific Ocean
5,423 miles separate the island of Tavarua in Fiji from Half Moon Bay on the California coast. Over the last week, both spots have enjoyed some pretty epic conditions with some all-time performances. Two totally different swells—one an offseason South Pacific pulse born in the Underworld, the other, a late-season northwest from up in the Gulf of Alaska, the surf experience is equally different. Fiji’s Cloudbreak was big, blue, tropical and about as perfect as a wave can get. Meanwhile, Maverick’s was even bigger, possibly heavier, and definitely way more cold. But the tie that binds the two big-wave sessions on opposite ends of the Pacific is just how pristine the conditions were.
Cloudbreak got the party started on March 7. With a crew of elite big-wave surfers, as well as some top-tier, high-performance talent in the water, it was a day that left everyone calling it one of the best sessions of their lives. From Nathan Florence, to Billy Kemper, Laura Enever and the fabulous Coffin brothers, it was one of those days that would have been plastered all over a surf magazine if surf magazine’s still existed. But don’t let the perfection fool you, when Cloudbreak is thundering on the outside ledge, it’s has serious as any wave in the world. At one point during the swell, big-wave documentarian Tim Bonython notes, “There’s more boats in the water than surfers,” a testament to just how serious the wave were.
A few days later, on March 11, Maverick’s came to life for a solid day of paddle surfing. Proving that the North Pacific big-wave season isn’t done yet, there was plenty of action on the bowl. There were some bombs ridden and beatings taken per any session at Mavs. Among the notables out were Trevor Carlson, Luca Padua, Grant "Twiggy" Baker, and Peter Mel. As winter comes to a close, it was a good opportunity to get a few more laps in at the Half Moon Bay break, and for the local crew, keep doing what they’ve been doing since the first swell hit last fall—charge.
