Surfers head to Bay Area's legendary Mavericks as powerful waves expected

That's how it looked in Pacifica today, but the waves are only getting larger. ABC 7 News reporter Lauren Martinez caught up with some folks who know this surf very well. Huge and deadly waves are expected to hit the Bay Area coastline Thursday morning. The National Weather Service is forecasting waves could reach up to 30 feet. Pro surfers have traveled from all over the world to chase these storms If the buoy readings are true and it's not affected by the local winds well then it'll be the biggest waves I've been out in by far. Tanner Waite and a group of surfers traveled from Portugal to Half Moon Bay for the big wave surfing competition well underway. Keeping these surfers safe is Drake Stanley, a member of the Mavericks rescue team. I mean they're deadly waves. A few people have passed away here at Mavericks. Stanley will be standing by on a jet ski ready to pull anyone to safety. The former pro surfer himself loves the adrenaline and found a way to gear that towards helping people. We have this inflatable vest and this was actually invented by a pro surfer named Shane Dorian after he almost drowned here at Mavericks. Thursday is expected to be the biggest day for Mavericks in five years. Everybody's going to go out tomorrow. It's just a question of how windy it's going to be and again we hope that the wind's going to stop and it's going to be manageable. People are advised to view the ocean from a safe distance. Just last month a five-year-old girl died after being swept into the water at Martins Beach. For Mavericks, the wave height is forecasted to peak from 6 a.m to 6 p.m. We spend our lives to be here for these moments and all the training and the work and the practice and the backup safety networks that we create are all for these moments. In Half Moon Bay, Lauren Martinez, ABC 7 News.