Very Good Friday

It’s been a crazy six weeks of activity across the Australian East Coast.

Since the start of March, the Australian East Coast has been hit with three extra-large swells.

First there was Tropical Cyclone Alfred and the extended run of stormy, XL swell through the early to middle parts of March, then there was the storm-force Tasman Low that developed off the Southern NSW Coast in late March, which on Tuesday April 1st, produced some of the largest waves in recent memory across many breaks from the Hunter to the Illawarra.

And finally, holiday makers got to witness an incredibly clean and powerful extra-large swell on Easter Friday, generated by the extratropical transition of Tropical Cyclone Tam as it drifted south through the Coral Sea last week.

Though Tropical Cyclone Tam only existed for 36 hours, the system retained many cyclonic features as it moved south, transitioned into an extratropical system, then parked itself due east of Sydney.

While big swells aren’t uncommon this time of year, all of the last three have been helped along in regards to intensity and longevity by warmer than normal sea surface temperatures in the Coral and Tasman Seas.

For the big wave brigade it’s not been a matter of 'when' but 'where' their attention should be focussed with swells arriving from varying directions and with mostly workable winds. In fact, it's notable that none of the swells came from a hard southerly direction, as so many big swells on the East Coast do. Instead we had a mix of E/NE and E/SE which opened up many big wave options.

Friday’s swell was the most beautiful of the bunch, with consistent 10-12ft lines emanating out from the Ex-TC Tam, groomed clean by moderate to fresh offshore winds under clean, sunny skies. The fetch developed due east of Sydney, and adjacent to the NZ's west coast. Swells from this region aren't unheard of, the East Coast often gets mid-range (and short-lived) east swells from there, but what was different this time was the size and period of the swell - see the earlier point about intensity.

With the increased size and period in the swell, normally dormant offshore reefs came to life, with one of them falling smack bang in the middle of the country's busiest city. A small bunch of local crew from the surrounding beaches tackled the 12-15ft monsters including Max Hyett, Sam Jones, Tom Myers, and Max Dodshon.

No doubt you've already seen the video and stills of what Tom Myers is calling his "wave of a lifetime" but as the adrenalin wore off we had a quick chat with Tom about how the day unfolded. First the video footage:

"Oh my god..."  (Video and narration by La Loca Cafe)

“I’d been sick all week and had a sinus infection," said Tom Myers of the lead up to Good Friday, "so I had to buy half the pharmacy to get in the water that day (laughs)."

Tom even tested the waters, so to speak, just 24 hours before the swell hit. "I took my kids to Manly pool the day before and couldn’t even get my head a foot under water without sinus pain. Luckily, when the day came I was feeling just good enough to surf but wanted to play it safe and not get sent under too deep."

"The only crew out were from Manly so it’s always cool to be surfing big waves with just the boys from home. I watched my mate Max Hyett send it on a couple of psycho ones so it pumped me right up. I managed to get a handful of fun ones for a few hours but then the energy started to dissipate so a lot of the boys headed in."

"Sam Jones and Max Dodshon were cruising in the channel and having a chat when this bomb set reared up outta nowhere."

Though there were surfers outside Tom, the wave doubled up and moved underneath them. "I was in too good a position to let it go and the wave just let me in so nicely - probably couldn’t have been a metre deeper or wider. I felt my 8’6” just hold its line through a long bottom turn and it just threw out so big and wide which let me scoop up under the lip."

As seemingly easy as the entry was, Tom needed to call on his experience to get under the pitching lip. "When the foamball hit my board I just felt this crazy boost I’ve never felt on a surfboard before. It was like in Mario Kart when you hit those arrows and it just catapults you (laughs), it felt surreal."

"When it spat I was completely blinded by white spray. All I could hear was Jonesy and Dodshon just screaming their heads off a few metres away. I ended up in the channel with Maxy and Sam sprinting down to me, we all just hugged and were pretty tripping. They are two of the most underrated big wave surfers in Australia so it was cool to have the boys there at that moment."

"I paddled straight in after that and saw Kobi Clements wave at South Narrabeen on Instagram. So I raced up there and suited up again. Tried for nearly half an hour to paddle out but spent most of it underwater and gave up."

"From the best wave of my life to not being able to get out the back within the space of an hour. The ocean always humbles when you think you’re doing alright (laughs)."

Further afield the swell provided numerous other standout sessions up and down the coast.

Long line, expansive playing field. A surfer on the Mid North Coast appears insignificant among the energy (Craig Brokensha)

Woody Bouma was patient and also well-equipped, racing a long one that tapered just right. (Craig Brokensha)

Even the quiet corners were roaring (John Brumfield)

Though a big crowd gathered, the Cape couldn't handle the energy when the swell was peaking. Before and after, however, it did its thing as a young crew pushed the limits. Here, Jimmi Hill takes an unconventional - and perhaps unintentional - high line into the barrel (Dimas De Novais)

Speaking of young, 16-year-old Kash Brown stands bolt upright in a deceivingly heavy Cape barrel. (Dimas De Novais)

Kerry Langdon Down pushing the innermost limits at a wave that's defined, not by how tall it is, but how thick it gets (Michael Lester)

As the swell peaked through midday Friday it began breaking on outside reefs offering few ways to gauge size (Michael Lester)

Up north the swell was smaller but arguably more perfect: Marlon Harrison a long way from the highrises of Coolangatta (Andrew Shield)