The swell that hit the Victorian coast on the weekend peaked at 25 foot+ west of Cape Otway and 15 foot+ on the exposed coasts of the Mornington Peninsula and Phillip Island. On the Surf Coast the waves topped out at around 10-12 feet in the afternoon with the wind blowing a perfect nor-west offshore. Many people said they were the biggest waves they'd seen there for years.

The waves were produced by a very large low pressure system in the Southern Ocean that stalled in just the right position to send the brunt of it's energy toward the Victorian coast. It was a rare set of circumstances and it had swell forecasters marvelling at the result.

Yet as impressive as the weekend waves were they were still fell short in size and shape of the Easter swell of '81, and it makes me wonder exactly how big the Southern Ocean storm was that created that incredible swell and when, if ever, it will happen again. 50 years...?

But let's not dismiss Saturday's waves - they were a sight to behold. Ben Differding roamed the Bells / Winki clifftops - always within the marked areas, Mr Ranger - to capture these images. //STUART NETTLE