Video Gives View Inside The Waves of Mavericks

SAN MATEO (CBS SF) – If you've ever watched the highlights of the Mavericks big wave surf competition off of Pillar Point you have probably imagined what it would feel like to be on a board as a 25 foot swell sweeps over you. San Mateo camera makers GoPro had the same question, and captured those moments with their board-mounted HD Hero3 units.

The footage was taken during the 2013 competition near Half Moon Bay, but the nearly six minute video was released on YouTube just last week ahead of the 2014 surf-off. The conditions last year – 25-30 foot sets – were actually relatively tame by Mavericks standards, but that didn't make the unique perspective any less exhilarating:

The company's YouTube channel offers a number of other first-person perspectives on extreme sports. The Mavericks clip had been viewed over 180,000 times as of Tuesday morning. Santa Cruz native Peter Mel took home the crown last year. The 2014 title, awarded last Friday, was taken home by Grant 'Twiggy' Baker of South Africa.