PILLAR POINT, Calif. -- While surfers mourned the death of a local legend in Monterey Bay's turbulent waters early Wednesday, a Coast Guard helicopter search failed to find any sign of two missing crab fishermen whose boat apparently broke up during the height of a late season storm.

The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office identified the missing men, both from San Leandro, as 59-year-old Ben Hannaberg, the owner of the boat, and 57-year-old Jim Davis.

Walt Doll, a fellow Pillar Point crab fisherman, said he feared the worst for the two men aboard the "Good Guys."

"I can't understand why they went out," he told KTVU. "The one guy's a plumber so he has to be making money…So it wasn't a greed thing. I don’t know if it was a macho thing…I know I wouldn't have gone out in those conditions."

Deputy Pillar Point Harbormaster Cary Smith said additional debris had been discovered along the San Mateo coastline during a morning search. However, the air and sea search was hampered by foggy conditions with swells of 12-16 feet.

"The Half Moon Bay police have found two pieces of fiberglass and the State Beach lifeguards have found was appears to be a boat seat," he said.

The combination of debris and the temperature of the water -- 57 degrees -- forced officials Wednesday to switch from a search to a recovery operation.

The 25-foot "Good Guys" with its crew of two fishermen was returning after crabbing with a second boat to Pillar Point Harbor when contact was lost a little after 1:00 p.m Tuesday.

Late Tuesday, searchers recovered shattered wood, a survival suit like those worn by fishermen and an emergency beacon but could not confirm that the debris was from the missing boat.

"We did a search in the debris field and found an immersion suit or life suit -- the kind commercial fishermen use on their vessels. We also found large chunks of wood [from a] broken up boat," said Coast Guard rescue crew member Greg Babst.

"We couldn't verify that that wood was from the boat in distress and we couldn't see anyone in the water."

Officials said the last time a boat was lost from the local fishing fleet was eight years ago.

Further to the south, the Northern California surfing community was stunned by the death of Peter Davi in the churning waves at an unforgiving surf break known as Ghost Trees, a Monterey County spot known for its fast-moving 20-foot and better waves.

Davi, 45, of Monterey, lost his surfboard and was attempting to swim to shore, but never made it, witnesses told authorities. Friends of Davi lost sight of him and later found him floating in the water unconscious.

Monterey County Sheriff's Sgt. Dennis English said a department search and rescue team responded to a report of a surfer in distress, but that Davi was dead by the time the team got to Pebble Beach.

"It's just extremely high surf. Waves are crashing against the rocks, kind of dangerous," he said. "It's primo conditions for surfers."

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.

Jeff Clark, the founder of the Mavericks surf contest, surfed Mavericks alone for 15 years before sharing his secret with close friends -- including Davi. Clark described Davi as a "rambunctious big wave rider" and the two took a few surf trips together.

"He was one of the early guys that I was able to convince to come up and surf Mavericks with me. He was like blown away at how big a wave it was," Clark said.

Davi's death came just days before the waiting period was set to open for the big wave surf contest at Mavericks off the shore of Half Moon Bay, where equally large swells rolled in Tuesday.

The scary surf also attracted spectators who had to be chased off cliffside property in exclusive Pebble Beach, English said. California Highway Patrol officers were called in to ticket motorists who flooded the scenic 17-mile Drive.

In nearby Santa Cruz, lifeguards had to evacuate at least four surfers from the Mitchell's Cove surf spot after high tide rolled in. Authorities confirmed they also rescued a nearly hypothermic man found face down about a quarter-mile off the coast of Capitola.