Where Have All the Big Waves Gone?

More and more California-based surfers are having to travel the globe to find the big waves that earn the big prize money, according to a published report.

For years, the winners at the Billabong XXL Global big-wave awards have been from Hawaii or California, reported the San Diego Union-Tribune. The winners who found the biggest waves and rode them the previous year were often doing so in the North Pacific-- but not recently.

“Other than two days of superb Maverick's, it was a total wash,” said Bill Sharp, director of the Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards, told the paper.

The biggest waves in California can typically be found at Maverick's, which is in California about a half-mile offshore near Half-Moon Bay.

So where are the waves now? Surfers can still ride giants in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Oregon, Hawaii, Alaska, South Africa, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, Chile, Tahiti, Ireland, Spain, France and the Canary Islands, Sharp told the paper.

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