Still jetlagged from a trip to Brazil, I called Jeff Clark to check on the status of the contest. He was excited about the way conditions were setting up. The swell was northwest, the skies would be clear and with a little encouragement, the call was made for Friday ,March 3 to start the event. Half Moon Bay, California was to be the host for the some the world’s best big wave surfers to test perhaps the planet’s most powerful wave. The contest entitled “ Men who ride mountains” by its sponsor, Quicksilver was poised for its second consecutive year. This in itself would be quite a feat considering that 20 foot surf with semi safe conditions is to say the least difficult to predict. Enter the expertise of contest director, Jeff Clark. They say he started surfing Maverick’s 15 years ago by himself and it took all that experience and a little luck to make what would later prove to be a perfect call.

In a scramble I got my panel of 5 judges together and into the small boat that would be home for the next 8 hours at sea. In the excited state of anticipation food and water were an after thought that would later be regretted. We were off to witness and give our mere mortal opinions on a spectacle way beyond imaginary confines. Arriving at the peak, the warm-up session proved the difficulty of choosing only 20 surfers to compete, as Rodrigo Resende of Brazil smoothly rode the biggest waves to come through. Watching his rides allowed us to set the criteria would stick to throughout the day. To win it would be necessary to catch the biggest wave taking of f from the point the farthest behind the peak and maintain control. Three surfers out five in each of the first round of four heats were successful in varying degrees of ability. First round standouts were Tony Ray, Zack Wormhoundt, Jay Moriarty, and Darryl “Flea” Viorstko who were winners in their respective heats. Conditions seemed to get near perfection for the Semi-finals, the tide was going out and the waves just kept getting rounder and more hollow. A sunny day in Half Moon Bay at this time of the year is rare, but rarer still was the outstanding performance of “Flea” in the second semi-final. He caught 9 out of the allowed 10 waves and could have easily won the heat by choosing any 3 of his rides. In the final tally he had a 10, 9.5, and a 9 as his scoring waves, backups were more 9’s and a couple of 8.5’s. Truly one of the all-time best big wave competitive performances. Nobody had time to go to shore between heats and one could only hope that the competitors each and everyone had been able to save something for the final.

It was getting late in the day when the horn sounded to start the final heat. The wind had come up a bit and the cold was starting to take its toll on everyone still afloat whatever the craft. Late takeoffs by Tony Ray set the tone early but this was to be “Flea’s” day as he airdropped yet another bomb for 10 points out of ten.. Still charging a few waves later he finally looked to have paid the price freefalling under the lip of a 25’beast. Surprise surfer of the final, if not the entire event was Kelly Slater who proved his versatility excelling in the monster Maverick’s surf, to take claim to second place. After the awards presentations I went up to congratulate the winner, who quickly summed up the days experience when he said,” Gary I told you to come watch me surf my spot.” Of all the men who came to ride mountains on this particular day, “Flea” could rightfully claim to be King.

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