Witnesses say 45-year-old Peter Davi, of Monterey, lost his board and was attempting to swim to shore, but never made it. Friends of Davi lost sight of him and later found him floating in the water unconscious.

Ruben Garcia of the Monterey County coroner's office says Davi was pronounced dead at about 1:30 p.m.

Davi's death comes just days before the waiting period opens for the big wave surf contest at Mavericks off the shore of Half Moon Bay, where waves rolled in Tuesday at 20-foot heights and larger.

According to the official Mavericks Web site, Davi was one of the early pack of brave surfers to test themselves at Mavericks after word got around about its massive waves.