Shawn Davis Photography - Blog

While the moon set turned out to be less than expected, there was a group of surfers that more than made up for it. They were getting in an early morning session and were surfing right where the sunrise light was shining over the hilltop - their own spotlight.

There were ten guys out at Fort Point today enjoying some clean overhead surf. The wall was lined with spectators. Check out the photos…

There was a huge storm today that brought lots of rain, but also winds over 30mph and big surf. I took a trip down to Half Moon Bay to check out the scene. Nobody was surfing at Ocean Beach. Nobody was surfing in Pacifica. And nobody was surfing in Half Moon Bay. It wasn’t until the way home that I found someone out on the water - a lone standup paddle surfer was out at the point in Pacifica.

Back at Ocean Beach, three kitesurfers had made their way out into the shore break. I was hoping to catch some surfers at Fort Point, but the park police had closed the road and not allowed anyone in the water. The waves were breaking big between the fort and south tower of the bridge.

The wind was light at Crissy Field today and only a couple of windsurfers were out so I headed up to Fort Point to see if anyone was surfing. There was a pretty good sized swell with the best rides coming on waves breaking outside the Gate like the one shown below.

One of the images I shot of Tyler Smith during the Mavericks Surfing Contest is going to be featured as Surfline’s Photos of the Month. Stay tuned for more.

As I drove down Great Highway on the way to Half Moon Bay, I could see that the swell was looking good (and big). There was hardly any breeze. And the sun was out.

I parked at the airport and rode the shuttle bus out to Pigeon Point. Before heading to the beach, I hiked up the cliff to get an overview. At 8:30, people were already packed along the cliff. The break was along way off and the only way to get a good view was through a strong pair of binoculars. Down on the beach, the organizers had set up a big monitor showing and announcing all the action from the first heats.

There were 38 people on my boat tour aboard a 45 ft. fishing boat. We cruised out of the harbor, around the reef, and then out to the lineup. The harbor patrol had set up two buoys marking a line that all motorized spectator boats must stay behind. Waverunners and kayaks were allowed to get in closer.

The view from the boat was amazing and really made you feel like you were in the lineup with the surfers.

The Mavericks surf contest has been called for tomorrow and I’m lucky enough to have a spot on one of the boat tours.  Check back for some up-close shots of the action tomorrow.

It’s not often that I get a chance to go to the beach in the middle of the day on a weekday, but today was just one of those days. I was hoping to get in some windsurfing, but the wind was not even close to cooperating (8mph). Instead, I headed over to Ocean Beach @ Sloat to see if there was any surf. There was, and a bunch of surfers were out. The light was a bit tricky, but I got a few shots.