| DECEMBER 22-23, 2024 |
| Santa Cruz’s Ryan ‘Chachi’ Craig seems to always be in the right place to shoot striking surf photography around the world. Mavericks, California. |
| “What an interesting few days of anticipation and chasing it was. I was going through some mental hurdles trying to figure out what the swells were going to do and how to get myself over to Hawaiʻi. I ended up not pulling the trigger as flights shot through the roof the closer the swell got. It was clear that the Eddie had a big possibility of running. Hawaiʻi would be giant, but it was unclear how that same swell would hit California and if our sleeping giant to the north, Mavericks, would wake up and be manageable.” |
| With a few cameras on the beach and a drone in the sky, Chachi doesn’t miss a beat. The Queen from above. |
| On an unruly day at Rincon, Kyle Thiermann lays down one of the morning’s best Larrys. |
| “The first pulse of swell that hit Hawaiʻi ended up being the swell I chased down to Santa Barbara. With both Kyle Thiermann and Kilian Garland in SB, and the swell at an optimal angle to avoid the Channel Islands, I decided it was a good bet to pack the car and head south from Santa Cruz. It was all systems go at first light as I checked a few spots around Ventura while KT and Kilian did the same. The swell was huge but a bit jumbled. KT and I went for coffee, and I started obsessively watching the buoys as the Eddie competition was just hours away from starting.” |
| This undisclosed wave generally doesn’t do much, but the magnitude of the swell had other plans for it. Kilian Garland comes off the bottom. |
| Kilian clears for launch, somewhere in Santa Barbara. |
| “It was an easy call to head to the Queen of the Coast, but upon our arrival there were waves breaking in places only seen with XL swells. The energy had arrived overnight and quickly overloaded the banks. After three laps to the top of the point, we decided it was best to try our luck somewhere more novel and a bit more contained. Kilian’s recommendation led us to an uncrowded spot where I hopped in the water to mix up some angles—all the while still battling with where I wanted to go the following day. After refueling with some sandwiches in SB, I made the decision that I would chase the swell back to Mavericks. We went for our third and final surf at sunset and I mentally geared up for tomorrow’s big day. The sunset was gorgeous. I thanked the boys for their time and started driving north. A quick 4-hour drive had me back in Santa Cruz before 10 p.m., where I swapped cars with my friend who had a tow hitch for me to tow up my borrowed Jet Ski.” |
| At last light, Kyle and Kilian pack it up after their third session—a fine day of surfing by any measure. |
| “I woke up at 4 a.m. to hit the road to Half Moon Bay. The buoys had been huge in Hawaiʻi and [were] forecasted to be even bigger in Northern California. A small group of us launched our PWCs at dark and motored our way out to the break. Throughout the day the swell grew into something I had never witnessed before. Mini mountains of water surged up and down the reef while some of the most raw and dangerous waves I’ve seen in person exploded in the bowl. Then waves started breaking literally hundreds of yards outside the bowl. I’ve never seen that at Mavericks and I’ve shot there regularly over the last 15 years. Every set continued to grow in size, yet the waves miraculously held their shape. We were witnessing history. The buoys were reading something along the lines of 22 feet at 21 seconds. That translated to waves with 60- to 80-foot faces. A small group of surfers took full advantage of the moment, us photographers too. It was one of the most memorable days in the ocean I’ve experienced, and I couldn’t be happier to be present for it.” |
| In the end, Chachi’s road led to a day of days at California’s premier big-wave venue, Mavericks. |