Twenty Eight Years At Sea

Photographer and Mavericks Rescue founder Frankie Quirarte gathers a trove of epic photos and stories in his latest coffee table book

By Neal Kearney
July 18, 2025
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Picture this—you’re straddling a jet-ski in the channel at Mavericks on the biggest day in over a decade. Out the back, a fearless surfer plummets down the face of a wave at least three times larger than your two-story house. As you struggle to keep your balance, you follow the surfer’s perilous track through the lens of your high-powered, and highly expensive, digital camera. Every fiber in your body is urging you to stow your camera, turn your ski, and head for the hills, but you stand firm, knowing that if you retreat, not only will you miss this once-in-a-lifetime shot, but the rider who’s depending on you to scoop them up should they wipe out, might never resurface.

For professional photographer and leader of the Mavericks Rescue team Frankie Quirarte, this is just another day at the office. For the past twenty-eight years, Quirarte has made it his mission to not only document the thrills and spills of the best riders brave enough to tackle the bone-crushing waves at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, but to use his well-earned safety skills to perform daring rescues when the unthinkable happens.

Quirarte, in his element

The amount of skill and courage that goes into this dual act is hard for mere mortals such as you and I to fathom, but for Quirarte, this is his calling, and one he’s happy to do. Over the years, his spectacularly intimate images of Mavericks, in all it’s terrifying glory, have graced the pages of countless surf magazines, and his quick wits and unparalleled skills on PWC’s have undoubtedly helped many of the world’s bravest surfers avoid serious injury, and even death.

Now, in a hefty coffee table book entitled Twenty Eight Years at Sea, Quirarte, with the help of Surfer Magazine Editor in Chief Jake Howard, has assembled a spellbinding collection of high quality images and stories for you, the reader, to enjoy. In the book’s preface, Quirarte admits that no photo or story could possibly convey the magnitude of heart-pounding moments and drama that constitute his experience at the famed break, but this book represents a good start.

28 Years At Sea is chock-full of stunning images and pulse-pounding tales

“While I couldn’t pack in every story or photo from the last 28 years, this book is a snapshot of my journey. It doesn’t follow strict rules or conventional storytelling—something that’s probably driving my editors nuts—but these are my tales, raw and honest, and I can’t wait to share them with you.”

Quirarte was kind enough to send me a copy of his magnum opus, and after spending hours engrossed by the glossy photos and thrilling tales, I chose five impactful photos for the humble waterman to expand upon for your viewing pleasure.

Jay Moriarity

“I’ve got a ton of shots of Jay Moriarity, but this one always stands out. The wave was absolutely flawless, and Jay surfed it with that same kind of perfection. He became one of the best big wave surfers in such a short amount of time—it still blows my mind. This image just captures everything that made him so special.”

 

Shane Dorian

“There’s something super powerful about seeing a board tombstoning—knowing a surfer’s getting held down deep. At the time, it was just another gnarly wipeout. But looking back, that moment changed everything. Shane survived it, and the experience sparked the idea that led to the development of the inflatable safety vest. Total game-changer for big wave surfing.”

 

Luca Padua

“Sitting on the left at Mavericks and shooting through the barrel is something else. The right can throw barrels all day, but lining up that perfect see-through shot is a lot trickier. The left opens up so wide—it gives you a way better chance at that rare unicorn barrel where you can see clean through the wave catching the surfer dropping in. It’s a special angle if you can nail it.”

 

9th Ward, New Orleans

“This image of me riding my ski through the flooded streets of the 9th Ward during Katrina rescue efforts hits heavy. I was headed back to our home base after being out in the streets solo when I came across someone who had passed—it was the first of many, sadly. Bill Sharp took the shot, and he captured the raw emotion and scale of the tragedy in that moment. It’s one I’ll never forget.”

 

Daryl “Flea” Virostko

“This shot of Flea outrunning a Mavericks monster is classic. It was the early 2000s, right when tow surfing was starting to change the game out at Mavz. It gave guys like Flea the chance to chase waves that were way beyond what anyone could paddle into. Pure speed, pure chaos—this image says it all.”

 

 

 

For more info on Twenty Eight Years At Sea and to follow Frankie’s exploits, give him a follow on Instagram @mavericks_rescue

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