Longboard Vineyards Hosts Maverick’s Collection

Mel is a respected big wave surfer, and towed into what is now considered one of the biggest waves ever ridden, in October of 1998. His talent is built on the waves in Half Moon Bay, a community where surfers are termed daredevils. Compared to other big wave breaks such as Waimea on the north shore of O’ahu, Hawaii, surfers say the cold waters of Northern California add to the intensity of surfing powerful waves. In October of 1998, Mel was towed into what is now considered one of the biggest waves ever ridden.

The biggest names in Maverick’s photography displayed their work throughout the winery, and mingled with the crowd of surfboard shapers, big wave surfers, locals and wine lovers, describing their experience behind the lens at the legendary surf break. An animated Doug Acton signed his book, Inside Maverick’s: Portrait of a Monster Wave for admirers between glasses of wine.

All locals of Half Moon Bay- San Francisco area, featured photographers include Doug Acton, Frank Quirarte, Seth Migdall and Ed Grant, whose work has been featured on the cover of SURFER Magazine among others. Unique to other forms of photography, Maverick’s photogs risk their lives for every shot. As Migdall explained, not every photographer fits the job description. When DYLA inquired whether the boat ride to the wave was rough, the “the new kid on the block,” as he refers to himself said,

“Oh yeah- when I first started going out there I was working for the Maverick’s Surf Venture Group- the guys that put on the contest- so I was over-seeing the media boat and we had some people that did not have some good sea legs.” He continues laughing, “It was the first year of the contest and most of the people were first-timers so we had a journalist from USA Today and she...I don’t think she saw one wave break- by the time we left the break water she had already thrown up. “

For those who study photography, it may not be surprising to learn most of the captivating photos were shot in digital. “It’s a different world now,” Midgall says of crossing over from film to digital in surfing photography. “There’s more flexibility and you don’t have to worry about changing film. These guys, being out in the water, it’s hard trying to change film in the camera,” (As one could imagine) “Now with the capacity of memory cards, you can be out there all day and not have to change film.” The quality of the photos displayed were breath-taking, revealing every line in the curl and drop of white water pounding violently behind the surfrider.

The “Maverick’s: Everest of the Seas” collection recently finished a one-month run at San Francisco’s world class Museum and Gallery, SFMOMA, as well as the Coastal Arts League Gallery in Half Moon Bay, however it was a rare occurrence for such a great amount of Maverick’s memorabilia to be under one roof. Doug Acton emphasized, “I don’t think there’s any place in the world that has this kind of collection of Maverick’s memorabilia.”

All of the big wave boards and over-sized checks were donated by the surfers themselves, along with contributions of winning contest rash guards from the team hosting the Maverick’s competition, appearing to be a tight-knit Maverick’s community. The woman they call “Mother of Maverick’s”- Catherine Clark was sipping wine and enjoying the camaraderie at Longboard.

The photographers met wine-maker Shakked while tasting wine in Healdsburg, California (USA) and were pleasantly surprised to see all the surfing memorabilia Longboard Vineyards had on display. Knowing they had a lot to contribute, the photographers began talking with Raymond Willmers and the rest of the Longboard staff about providing Maverick’s photos and boards, which ultimately lead to the night of big waves and wine in Northern California.

The October moon lit the night sky as all doors of the winery welcomed surfers and wine lovers alike to explore behind the scenes- surfing films projected onto the wall above the barrels of fermenting wine while the tasting room was framed floor to ceiling with big wave guns across the decades. Another great night at Longboard Vineyards.