The official trailer for the Maverick's Invitational has dropped, and should the contest actually get some surf this winter it promises be a hell of a show. It's the only big-wave contest on the California coast, and the addition of GoPro as a presenting sponsor will provide some very unique angles for documenting the action. And considering that the company is based in Half Moon Bay, it makes a lot of sense.

But as came to light during the Christmas/New Year holiday, there are other factors to contend with when considering green lighting the event, namely "blackout dates." As a release on MavericksInvitational.com reads:

"Another partner in making this event possible is Vandenberg Air Force Base, which runs the installation at Pillar Point. You may not know it by name, but by sight the Air Force Base Installation includes the series of radars atop the cliff overlooking Mavericks, prime real estate for contest operations including webcast production, photography and the Incident Command Center for the agencies governing the event. Vandenberg AFB has the following blackout dates for the competition:

22 Jan-1 Feb 2013
10-13 Feb 2013
27-28 Feb 2013
16-18 Mar 2013
27-29 Mar 2013

"These blackout dates are nothing new, but they do add another level of complexity to making the call for the right day to hold the contest."

Forecasters are anticipating a relatively active North Pacific this winter, which bodes well for big-wave contests everywhere in the Western Hemisphere. The Mavericks Invitational should benefit from the ramped up storm activity ... as long as it doesn't land on a blacked out date.