South African Chris Bertish wins bloody Mavericks Surf Contest 0
After more than three months of waiting, contestants and fans alike were rewarded for their patience with an historic day for big-wave surfing, as Chris Bertish etched his name in Mavericks lore and was crowned champion of the
2009/2010 Mavericks Surf Contest® Presented by Sony Ericsson and Barracuda Networks.With waves described by the competitors as some of the biggest they have ever paddled into, and in front of a crowd of approximately 50,000 fans, Bertish outlasted Shane Desmond, Anthony Tashnick, Dave Wassel, Carlos Burle, and Kenny “Skindog” Collins to claim the Jim Beam Jersey and a $50,000 check from prize purse sponsors Moose Guen and Jane Sutherland of MVision and Barracuda Networks.
The total prize purse of $150,000 was the largest in big-wave surfing history, with $50,000 going to Bertish, $25,000 to Desmond in second, $15,000 to Tashnick in third, $10,000 to Wassel in fourth, $8,000 to Burle in fifth, and $6,000 to Collins in sixth.
2008 Champion Greg Long summed up the day perfectly while passing along the Jim Beam Champion’s jersey to Bertish. “The entire book of big wave surfing was rewritten today.” Bertish, a native of Cape Town, South Africa was overcome with emotion, adding, “It was an honor just to be here today and paddle out with these other guys. I flew 36 hours to be here, and this has been a dream come true.”
The competitors were greeted by huge waves as soon as the Contest began, with heats one through four being won by Dave Wassel, Peter Mel, Alex Martins, and Ryan Seelbach respectively. “These were definitely the biggest waves I have ever paddled into,” said second-place winner, Shane Desmond. After two memorable semi-f-inals which were won by Anthony Tashnick and Carlos Burle, the hard-charging Bertish pulled through in the final round.
