Jeff Clark Biography

. Jeff Clark Biographical Information

"The first time that I heard the name Mavericks was in 1968, when I surfed inside the rocks there with Walt Von Hoffe and a couple of friends, "explains Mavericks surfing pioneer and legend Jeff Clark. "At that time Walt owned the Von's Cinema in Half Moon Bay, a popular hangout for the kids in the neighborhood. This was a time when you could drive to the end of Pillar Point and park right at the beach, then walk up the hill to see past Sail Rock where the big waves would break.

"On the giant days we would bail on school and find our way to the point to watch Mavericks. The year that I first surfed the main peak that we now know as Mavericks was in 1975. In the early years I would bring whoever was willing to paddle out with me to sit in the channel, people like Jeff Kayes, Jim Dale, Jerry Hogan, Keith Delari, Heather Brown Dent, Mark Harrington, and John Dale. Interestingly, one of the biggest problems I had back then was a lack of the right equipment. The mentality was that there was no such thing as a 20 foot wave in California, so there was no reason to have a board for it.

"One day in 1990 Tom Powers, Dave Schmidt and I paddled out to surf Mavericks. What we experienced that day was bigger than anything that any of us had ever seen. When Dave and Tom returned to Santa Cruz with stories of the most perfect big wave on the planet, everything changed. The thought of a 20 foot wave in California didn't really sit well with the rest of the surfing world, but over the next few years the photos and the videos convinced the doubters that Mavericks was for real.

"The next time that Mavericks broke there was quite a contingent from Santa Cruz. In addition to Dave and Tom, I was joined by Dave's brother Richard, Vince Collier, Bud Miller, Vince Broglio, Nacho Lopez, Shawn Barron, Marcel Soros, Anthony Ruffo and Rick Hesson (Frosty). The Ocean Beach group, headed up by Dr. Mark Renneker along with John Raymond and Grant Washburn, was there too, as was the crew from Pacifica whose big-wave guys followed in the footsteps of Dick Keating, including Jim Kibblewhite, Shawn Rhodes, Matt Ambrose, Brent Heckerman, and Rod Walsha. There were also a few part-timers from Half Moon Bay like Jim Tjogas, Daren Bingham, Alan Nelson, Tony Canadas, Mike Kimsey and Ion Banner.

"Steve Tadin, a close friend of mine, took the first published photo of Mavericks. It showed up in an article that Surfer did on me in 1990. The next year things really changed when photographers like Bob Barbour, Don Montgomery, Lawrence Beck, and Doug Acton came onto the scene. In the span of two years we saw Mavericks go from anonymity to the pages of Surfer, Surfers Journal and Surfing.

"Soon hereafter a videographer named Gary Mederios released the first movie about Mavericks called Waves of Adventure in the Red Triangle. Other filmmakers followed including Grant Washburn, Steve Spaulding, Eric Nelson and Curt Meyers. All of this publicity inspired still more surfers to step up to the plate and take their swing at Mavericks, including Frosty's protege Jay Moriarty, Darryl Virostko (Flea), Peter Mel, Zack and Jake Wormhoudt, and many more Santa Cruz Kids. Then came Peter Davi, Don Curry and Armond, who began making the trek up from Carmel. And in a defining moment, Ken Bradshaw made the first journey from Hawaii to surf Mavericks: he kept getting orders from Doc Renneker for his big Waimea guns and had to find out what was causing so many of them to break!

"This was an exciting time with all of these people coming to take on the challenge of this giant wave. On the other hand, Mavericks used to be my solitaire of surfing, a place of peace where I went to clear out of those cluttering thoughts from being on land. So it took a while to get used to the hustle and bustle and the nervous energy that the crowds brought to the water.

"The next year, in December 1994, Mark Foo accompanied Ken Bradshaw to Mavericks along with Brock Little. They were joined by Mike Parsons and Evan Slater, who came up from So Cal, and in total there were about 20 guys in the lineup. What was the most amazing convergence of the world's best big-wave riders would end in the most tragic way: the drowning of Mark Foo, It was the saddest day that I have ever experienced surfing. Soon thereafter, we founded the Mavericks Water Patrol.

"During the summer of 1998 we started to make plans for the first Mavericks big-wave surf contest. We got our chance on February 17, 1999. The contest went off in 15 foot surf after a morning of fog. There was a thought that the waves weren't as big as hoped for, but several were so intense that nobody wanted any part of them! The final result was Flea in 1st, Richard Schmidt in 2nd, Ross Clarke-Jones in 3rd, and Peter Mel in 4th.

"What came next was unbelievable. On October 28, 1999 the forecast was for a giant swell to hit the coast, and the outside buoy hit a remarkable 53 feet @ 17 seconds. Grant Washburn and I went out to the lineup and couldn't believe now big the waves were. Along with Peter Mel, Ken Collins (Skindog) and Flea, we towed into the biggest waves that I have ever seen ridden, and were lucky to come away unscathed. "On March 1, 2000 I made the call for the second Mavericks contest. On March 3 we woke up to clear and calm skies with waves well into the 20 foot range. The Hawaiian Water Patrol was in the water and the judges were in position. This day was to become one of the greatest contest days in surfing history. The swell was so intense that many competitors later admitted they had never seen so many 20 foot waves in one day. The final results were Flea in 1st for the second year in a row, Kelly Slater in 2nd, Tony Ray in 3rd, and Pete Mel in 4th. Notably, Zach Wormhoudt placed 5th and Pacifica local Matt Ambros took 6th.

"After a respite of a couple of years, the Mavericks contest returns this winter. We can't tell you how stoked we all are for a great event and the continuation of an awesome contest tradition that we hope will last for many, many years to come."


. Jeff Clark Biographical Information "The first time that I heard the name Mavericks was in 1968, when I surfed inside the rocks there with Walt Von Hoffe and a couple of friends, "explains Mavericks surfing pioneer and legend Jeff Clark. "At that time Walt owned the Von's Cinema in Half Moon Bay, a popular hangout for the kids in the neighborhood. This was a time when you could drive to the end of Pillar Point and park right at the beach, then walk up the hill to see past Sail Rock where the big waves would break. "On the giant days we would bail on school and find our way to the point to watch Mavericks. The year that I first surfed the main peak that we now know as Mavericks was in 1975. In the early years I would bring whoever was willing to paddle out with me to sit in the channel, people like Jeff Kayes, Jim Dale, Jerry Hogan, Keith Delari, Heather Brown Dent, Mark Harrington, and John Dale. Interestingly, one of the biggest problems I had back then was a lack of the right equipment. The mentality was that there was no such thing as a 20 foot wave in California, so there was no reason to have a board for it. "One day in 1990 Tom Powers, Dave Schmidt and I paddled out to surf Mavericks. What we experienced that day was bigger than anything that any of us had ever seen. When Dave and Tom returned to Santa Cruz with stories of the most perfect big wave on the planet, everything changed. The thought of a 20 foot wave in California didn't really sit well with the rest of the surfing world, but over the next few years the photos and the videos convinced the doubters that Mavericks was for real. "The next time that Mavericks broke there was quite a contingent from Santa Cruz. In addition to Dave and Tom, I was joined by Dave's brother Richard, Vince Collier, Bud Miller, Vince Broglio, Nacho Lopez, Shawn Barron, Marcel Soros, Anthony Ruffo and Rick Hesson (Frosty). The Ocean Beach group, headed up by Dr. Mark Renneker along with John Raymond and Grant Washburn, was there too, as was the crew from Pacifica whose big-wave guys followed in the footsteps of Dick Keating, including Jim Kibblewhite, Shawn Rhodes, Matt Ambrose, Brent Heckerman, and Rod Walsha. There were also a few part-timers from Half Moon Bay like Jim Tjogas, Daren Bingham, Alan Nelson, Tony Canadas, Mike Kimsey and Ion Banner. "Steve Tadin, a close friend of mine, took the first published photo of Mavericks. It showed up in an article that Surfer did on me in 1990. The next year things really changed when photographers like Bob Barbour, Don Montgomery, Lawrence Beck, and Doug Acton came onto the scene. In the span of two years we saw Mavericks go from anonymity to the pages of Surfer, Surfers Journal and Surfing. "Soon hereafter a videographer named Gary Mederios released the first movie about Mavericks called Waves of Adventure in the Red Triangle. Other filmmakers followed including Grant Washburn, Steve Spaulding, Eric Nelson and Curt Meyers. All of this publicity inspired still more surfers to step up to the plate and take their swing at Mavericks, including Frosty's protege Jay Moriarty, Darryl Virostko (Flea), Peter Mel, Zack and Jake Wormhoudt, and many more Santa Cruz Kids. Then came Peter Davi, Don Curry and Armond, who began making the trek up from Carmel. And in a defining moment, Ken Bradshaw made the first journey from Hawaii to surf Mavericks: he kept getting orders from Doc Renneker for his big Waimea guns and had to find out what was causing so many of them to break! "This was an exciting time with all of these people coming to take on the challenge of this giant wave. On the other hand, Mavericks used to be my solitaire of surfing, a place of peace where I went to clear out of those cluttering thoughts from being on land. So it took a while to get used to the hustle and bustle and the nervous energy that the crowds brought to the water. "The next year, in December 1994, Mark Foo accompanied Ken Bradshaw to Mavericks along with Brock Little. They were joined by Mike Parsons and Evan Slater, who came up from So Cal, and in total there were about 20 guys in the lineup. What was the most amazing convergence of the world's best big-wave riders would end in the most tragic way: the drowning of Mark Foo, It was the saddest day that I have ever experienced surfing. Soon thereafter, we founded the Mavericks Water Patrol. "During the summer of 1998 we started to make plans for the first Mavericks big-wave surf contest. We got our chance on February 17, 1999. The contest went off in 15 foot surf after a morning of fog. There was a thought that the waves weren't as big as hoped for, but several were so intense that nobody wanted any part of them! The final result was Flea in 1st, Richard Schmidt in 2nd, Ross Clarke-Jones in 3rd, and Peter Mel in 4th. "What came next was unbelievable. On October 28, 1999 the forecast was for a giant swell to hit the coast, and the outside buoy hit a remarkable 53 feet @ 17 seconds. Grant Washburn and I went out to the lineup and couldn't believe now big the waves were. Along with Peter Mel, Ken Collins (Skindog) and Flea, we towed into the biggest waves that I have ever seen ridden, and were lucky to come away unscathed. "On March 1, 2000 I made the call for the second Mavericks contest. On March 3 we woke up to clear and calm skies with waves well into the 20 foot range. The Hawaiian Water Patrol was in the water and the judges were in position. This day was to become one of the greatest contest days in surfing history. The swell was so intense that many competitors later admitted they had never seen so many 20 foot waves in one day. The final results were Flea in 1st for the second year in a row, Kelly Slater in 2nd, Tony Ray in 3rd, and Pete Mel in 4th. Notably, Zach Wormhoudt placed 5th and Pacifica local Matt Ambros took 6th. "After a respite of a couple of years, the Mavericks contest returns this winter. We can't tell you how stoked we all are for a great event and the continuation of an awesome contest tradition that we hope will last for many, many years to come."


			Maverick's exposed: early photos of the West Coast's heaviest wave


		Jeff directing the 1999 Men Who Ride Mountains competition

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