Santa Cruz Native Nic Lamb Wins 2016 Titans Of Mavericks Surf Contest

HALF MOON BAY (CBS/AP) -- Santa Cruz native Nic Lamb has won the big-waving surfing contest known as the Titans of Mavericks.

Lamb of nearby Santa Cruz outlasted 23 other competitors to win the 10th organized contest at the legendary Mavericks surf break near Half Moon Bay Friday, about 20 miles south of San Francisco.

The 27-year-old Lamb recovered from one of the day's worst wipeouts amid waves breaking at 15 to 18 feet Friday with occasionally bigger waves.

The one-day, invitation-only competition is held when the surf is just right, between Nov. 1 and March 31. It was last held in 2014.

Thirteen years ago, Lamb became one of the youngest surfers to ever attempt Mavericks, surfing the towering waves at 14 years old.

One of the competitors Friday, Ken Collins, had to withdraw after nearly drowning in a wipeout off a 30-foot wave face.

"I thought I had it, then I felt the whole ocean land on me ," said Collins. "I was spinning around, I felt water going inside my head, down my throat and felt it blew my ear drum wide open."

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