Rogue waves wipe out spectators at Mavericks surfing competition

Times Online by: Sophie Tedmanson  February 13, 2010

They were there to watch some of the world’s top surfers take on some of the biggest waves, but hundreds of spectators did not expect to become part of the action.

Two walls of water caught dozens of spectators off guard yesterday, sweeping them off a concrete seawall where they had gathered to watch the big wave surfing competition at Maverick’s Beach near San Francisco in California.

At least 13 people received significant injuries, including broken legs and hands, when the crowd was knocked off the wall by 6ft-high rogue waves, which smashed onto the beach, wiping out a marquee and throwing spectators onto rocks. Others escaped injury by scattering to higher ground.

  
At least three people were taken to hospitals, while others were treated at the beach for injuries such as scrapes and bruises.
  


The two surprise waves knocked out barricades, a spectator platform and a large scaffold holding speakers broadcasting the contest, which was held in a small harbour town 25 miles south of San Francisco.

According to local fire chief Scott Jalbert, “a couple of hundred” people were on the seawall at the time of the accident. He estimated the waves reached up to 6ft high when they struck the beach, describing them as “small, but strong”.

“It's a force of nature that can't be predicted,” Mr Jalbert said. “We were very lucky that nobody was swept out to sea.

“Nobody was swept away into the water. They were just swept onto the beach area pretty hard. It's pretty rocky.”

Earlier hundreds of spectators had climbed a nearby hill to watch the competition, however the view was marred by fog. So dozens had swamped the beach for a closer look and to watch the action on a big screen which had been erected on the shore, despite warnings from officials that the view was difficult.

Marsha Poulin was at the water's edge minutes before the first rogue wave struck. She said she was concerned that organisers had let spectators get so close to the ocean, given the conditions.

“Just because they were letting us be here doesn't mean it was safe,” said Ms Poulin, who left for higher ground just in time.

“It just came out of nowhere and wiped us all out,” said Pamela Massette, who scraped her hand when she was hit by the waves.

The surfing contest offers a $150,000 (£96,000) first prize, making it the most lucrative big-wave contest in the world.

Competitors had voted to schedule it because forecasts called for record-breaking tall waves, despite warnings that strong winds could make those breakers dangerously unpredictable.

Surfers said the conditions were ideal for big-wave competition, with some estimating the waves had reached up to 50ft offshore.

Ion Banner, a surfer who took part in the competition, said the waves were “consistently bombing”, and said they were the biggest waves he had seen at a Mavericks contest.

"It was crazy, super-big and pretty much the real deal," Mr Banner told the San Francisco Chronicle.

South African surfer Chris Bertish won the competition.