Fans Crowd To See Hard-to-see Mavericks

Fans crowd to see hard-to-see Mavericks Mavericks was indeed happening, a half-mile offshore, but you'd need a jet-ski or telescope to actually see it. I think it's over there. Or there, said Tommy Cassorla, 18, a Cabrillo College student who crouched on a jetty near Pillar Point squinting at the horizon. Half Moon Bay was jammed with more than 30,000 giddy surfers and fans, none of whom seemed to care there was nothing to see but blue skies, a beer garden and each other. Many paid $10 a piece to stand in a parking lot and watch it on a giant TV. Specifically, Poveda wanted to meet Floyd Smith, a pioneer crafter of wooden surf boards. Smith was holding court near the giant outdoor TV Sunday, demonstrating the nearly lost art of sanding balsa planks into gracefully curved surfboards. The busiest spot in town was the surf shop owned by Jeff Clark, a Mavericks founder and one of the contest organizers. Hundreds filtered through the rows of wet suits and sunglasses, buying up $25 T-shirts and chatting excitedly about what they imagined to be occurring offshore.