Intro:

The Mavericks surf competition off the Northern California coast delivered massive waves.

In the end, South Africa's Grant "Twiggy" Baker took home the title.

Script:

The Mavericks Invitational is a surfing contest held annually at one of the world's most perilous surfing spots, near the San Francisco Bay Area town of Princeton-by-the-Sea.

Conditions were perfect for some big wave riding for the ninth running of the competition.

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.

Only invited surfers can participate, and the event is only held when conditions are prime.

This year, invitations went out to 24 of the world's best big wave surfers and a South African took top place.

Grant Baker, a 40-year-old considered one of the world's foremost big wave riders, made the most of the swells by the Bay. Baker had rides of 9.00, 10.00 and 9.33 to take the title over this guy, American Shane Dorian.

The participants competed in groups throughout the day, with judging based on the quality of the wave, difficulty of the drop and the surfer's performance.

This year's event was without major injury; two seasoned watermen have died in Mavericks history, including legendary big-wave rider Mark Foo from Hawaii in 1994.