Fall: Nic Lamb takes a tumble after taking on one of the monster waves
Perfect timing: A group of surfers wait for the right wave as the contest got underway just after 8am
The Mavericks Invitational began as a contest in 1999, and Friday was the ninth time it was held.
But the monster waves were first ridden by dare-devil surfer Jeff Clark, who studied the ocean off the bay when he was 17, and had enough courage to try to master it.
It was 15 years before anyone else was brave enough to join Clark on the Mavericks, which he named after his dog, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
The massive waves are created by a combination of winter storms racing in across the Pacific, and a steep ramp on the sea floor, which suddenly drops to create the perfect surf launch pad.
This year the trophy went to Grant Baker. The 40-year-old from South Africa is considered one of the world's best big wave surfers, and had won the Mavericks contest before, in 2006.
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