Mavericks Contest On for Saturday

Surf's up, Bay Area. Way up. High enough for 24 elite surfers from around the world to call the Mavericks surf competition for Saturday.  They will hit the waves mid-morning.

"Mother Nature is smiling once again on #MAVS," organizers of the competition tweeted Tuesday afternoon. "The 24 have voted, we are a GO for Saturday!"

The surfers themselves announced the decision just after 1 p.m. Thursday.

Waves of up to 18 feet high with 30- to 40- foot faces will be rolling in over the next couple days.

Viewing space near the contest is limited, and those who want to  watch the contest are urged to attend the AT&Park viewing event where a live Webcast will be shown for $20 in advance or $25 at the door. A livestream of the contest will also be broadcast powered by Ustream.

For those who want to attend the event in person, officially-sanctioned boat tours are available that are piloted by local captains with  knowledge of the area around the Mavericks surf break.

For the first time in its history, the window for this year's contest near Half Moon Bay opened Nov. 1 in hopes they could catch the early storms of the season. The contest window closes the end of March.

The winner of this year's contest will take home a record $150,000 purse.

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