Cover photo: Pedro Bala 

Mavericks came back to life on Tuesday and Wednesday with two days of waves breaking between 15 and 18 Hawaiian feet, the pilgrimage to one of the meccas of big wave surfing was once again made by the men who surf mountains.

Argentine-Nicaraguan Manny Resano, who has become one of the wave's most steadfast surfers, was there once again and in the following paragraphs he reviews the session and shares his point of view on the current state of big wave surfing.

How was the season opening session?
It was a lot of fun, it was 15 to 18 feet Hawaiian with the sea a little rough, with a bit of onshore but at least the wind wasn't crosswise, which is what was forecast and would have been worse.

And there were many hours of surfing, the session lasted from seven in the morning until one in the afternoon. It was a good opening day, a little late because we often start surfing in October, but it was good, we all had a great time.

How much adrenaline does the fact that it is the first water of winter add to the water?
The first swell makes everyone a little more anxious, since they may not have tried out their equipment, they have new boards, new suits, and many of the locals wait all year to get back in the water. So, yes, there is a little more crowd and more nervousness because people want to ride their waves.

Many of the local Mavs are not professional surfers so they may not have the opportunity to surf all year round, when the first swell comes they are eager to surf.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=90&v=rOk2TZ-PALo
 

Who did you see in the water? Who took the bombs of the day, apart from you, of course?
There were about 50, 60 people, the usual locals and from Peahi there were Aaron Gold, Trevor Carlson, Jamie Mitchell, Francisco Porcella, Peter Mel and the locals. Everyone was surfing really well. There was a group of young guys from Half Moon Bay, like Luca Padua and his friends who are killing it. Also, Alex Martins always stands out.

What was your best wave like?
It was the one in the photo, the second one I caught. I entered it right from behind, I was a little late, I stopped and I already knew I was going to do a little air drop, the wave bent and I landed it well and in the middle of the wave I grabbed the rail to try to turn and do the wave.

It was very good, with a lot of speed and the wave looks very clean on a day that was quite rough, so yes, very good sensations.

I was also trying out a new board that Jeff Clark (the discoverer of Mavericks) gave me, a new model, and it felt really good. I was concentrating on feeling the board; even though you can't see it turning, you're inserting the rails and testing how much the board and fins can hold.

What's the buzz about the Mavericks Challenge? Are you sad that you were so close to getting a wildcard spot in Titans of Mavericks and now you're not on the roster?
What happened was that it was a local event, so there were more chances for international surfers who spend a lot of time on the wave. Now, being a World Surf League event, there are only six spots for locals and you have to divide all that between Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay and San Francisco, so they were left with very few spots and I would even feel a little bad taking the spot of a local. So no, I'm not sad at all, what I love is surfing, being in the swells, of course I would like to be in the event, but the most important thing is all the swells and if I'm in position to catch one of the set and the locals tell me: "Go Manny, go Manny", I'm happy with that.

For the locals, the event is a great opportunity to jump on the big wave tour or to get a sponsorship, they have well deserved it and the possibilities are now theirs and I think that is very good.

 

In 2015, Manny rode the wave of the day in one of the best sessions in recent years at Mavs, which was nominated for ride of the year. 

Do you have faith that one of those might invite you?
I don't know, it could happen that one year I'm invited, but it's not something I'm thinking about. There are a lot of other things on my mind.

When I had a real chance of getting into the event, I did everything I could to get in. I was happy with my performance and had a great time. Now that chance is much smaller and I live it differently. I enjoy other things, I take advantage of other things; I live it differently. It was a year or two when there was a real chance, but now, although it could happen, the chance is much smaller.

What did you think of the Jaws Challenge?
I watched almost all of the Peahi event, the level of all the surfers was really impressive. Only a few can do what they are doing in the waves, the women killed it, they threw themselves into super technical, super difficult waves, they couldn't complete many of the waves but I think that in terms of surfing, this one was the highest I have ever seen.

Of course there were tournaments with better waves but considering the conditions on the first and second day, everyone killed it and the women who had the best time competing did super well.

So I called all the friends I had there, men and women, and congratulated them, because I was actually looking at it on the computer with chills, I couldn't believe it. Knowing what they were doing because I know the wave a little bit and I know how difficult it was.

Were they right to stop him on the first day?
I talked about it with six or seven competitors: The thing is that any of those surfers on the first day, when the seas rose and there was a very long period, could ride a wave, or kill themselves or make it, they all had the ability but the waves came out every hour. So, could they surf? Of course they could, but it's a 45-minute series, so how do you compete? You need more time. In the WSL format, you need constant series, if it was an Eddie Aikau, where they compete in longer series, maybe all day, then yes that event could have continued on the first day and it would have been won by the most capable surfers.

But in the format of the tournament, it has to be a day with a shorter period so that more sets can be entered and everyone has the chance to catch at least three waves, and on the first day that wouldn't have happened, many series would have had one wave or people without waves. In addition, they were in such a difficult situation that they were going to get hurt.

For me, the issue was not whether to continue or not, the call failed, it was not the swell for the event, women now take up more time and so it has to be two days, the second one was known to be windier. The mistake was in the swell they chose, of course it is very difficult to choose the swell.

When are you going to the water with Cande and Valen in Mavs?
Well, I've never actually promoted it, nor posted about it, but Valentina has already surfed at Mavs and one day, she actually caught two waves, a 15-foot Hawaiian wave, but she couldn't do them. And yes, she was at Mavs sitting with me in the bowl, in February, and she did very well.

It should be noted that she had just come from Hawaii, from riding Waimea and Sunset for 20 days straight, so it was fine. I think it's never good to get ahead of yourself and take kids who aren't prepared to ride the wave, and much less promote it and give the wrong message.

In these things you have to be very sensitive, do it because you like it and not to break records, do it because you are prepared and not looking for promotion or perhaps getting more people to go who may not be prepared. You have to be very respectful in that sense, with yourself and with the crowd.

Now the girls have reached the point where I have shown enough and now there are days of consequences, the desire to do it has to come from them. I have reached a limit that I cannot go beyond because you could get hurt, no one else can decide that kind of thing for you.

 

 

See this post on Instagram

 

Super stoked to have this photo from the Outer Reef on Surfline. We surfed there for 4 days in a row! I am looking forward to the next swell. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Serious drop Monday at a serious wave in Nicaragua by 13-year-old @valensurf. The latest round of south swell was especially good here, according to locals. "Best in years," some said. ?: @donde_x

A publication shared by Valentina Resano (@valensurf) the 17 of Jul from 2017 to 7: 26 PDT

Valen Resano has a lot of experience in heavy waves.