Mavericks is a surfing location in northern California outside Pillar Point Harbor, just north of the town of Half Moon Bay at the village of Princeton-by-the-Sea.

In early March 1967, Alex Matienzo, Jim Thompson, and Dick Notmeyer surfed the distant waves of Pillar Point.

[2] Sea-floor maps released by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2007[3] revealed the mechanisms behind Mavericks' waves.

This U-shaped or V-shaped wave then collapses into a small area at the top center of the ramp with tremendous force.

John Raymond, from Pacifica, Johathan Galili, from Tel Aviv, Israel, and Mark Renneker, from San Francisco, surfed Mavericks a few days later.

More photos of Mavericks appeared in surfing magazines, and before long, filmmaker Gary Medeiros released a movie, Waves of Adventure in the Red Triangle.

On December 23, 1994, during a week of huge swells, notable Hawaiian big-wave riders Mark Foo, Ken Bradshaw, Brock Little, Mike Parsons, and Evan Slater visited Mavericks.

A few hours later, a fellow surfer traveling back to shore on a boat noticed a body in the water, which was identified as Foo.

Twenty minutes after the incident, Nathan Fletcher found Milosky's body floating at the Pillar Point Harbor mouth.

He used some of his $25,000 prize[8] to travel to Half Moon Bay to catch one of the last big swells of the season at Mavericks.

[9] In 2018, after a long fight, women were first included in the formal Titans of Mavericks surf competition, also receiving equal prize money.

[11] On 23 December 2024, Alessandro "Alo" Slebir rode an estimated 108 foot (32.9 m) tall wave at Mavericks, which would exceed the current world record by over 20 feet.

The surfing documentary film Discovering Mavericks, executive produced by Jeff Clark and directed by Joshua Pomer, features surfers like Jeff Clark, Peter Mel, Flea, Shane Dorian, Nick Lamb, Zack Wormhoudt, Brock Little and Mike Parsons, and also honors Mark Foo and Jay Moriarty.

Maya Rains plays Roque Hesson, while Patrick and Asher Tesler (twins) portray Lake, son of Frosty and Brenda.

Butler was held underwater for several waves and dragged through rocks until rescued by a safety worker on a jet ski.

"[16][17] A memoir, Making Mavericks by Frosty Hesson with Ian Spiegelman, was released by Zola Books in October 2012.

The book recounts Hesson's time as one of the first to conquer the massive break at Mavericks and his mentoring of Moriarity.