Baker big-wave surf victor

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. – The Mavericks surf competition off the Northern California coast delivered massive waves, and in the end South Africa’s Grant “Twiggy” Baker took home the crown.

Forecasters had predicted that the mix of swell size and weather would make for faces exceeding 40 feet, and Mother Nature didn’t disappoint with some appearing to exceed 50 feet.

Baker, 40, also won the competition in 2006 and is considered one of the world’s foremost big-wave riders.

Each year if conditions are right the contest is held at the perilous surf spot, which is near the San Francisco Bay Area city of Half Moon Bay. Two seasoned watermen have died there, including legendary big-wave rider Mark Foo from Hawaii in 1994.