The East Coast Low might have wreaked havoc on the South Coast, but the waves it produced were a dream come true for Broulee surfers, Damien Wehner and Paul Pratt.
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Broulee Island was the destination of choice on Monday June 6 for the big wave surfers.
The pair are a tow-in team, taking turns pulling each other into waves with a jet-ski, a technique used when waves are too big and too fast to paddle into.
Mr Wehner described the “massive” waves as four or five times taller than he was – (or ‘overhead’ in surfing speak)
“lt was bigger than we were expecting,” he said.
“We’ve surfed bigger waves before, but when we got out there we were like ‘whoa these are serious waves’.
“Super clean and super big, ideal for what we wanted to do.”
Mr Wehner and Mr Pratt both had a big wipe-out, and were stuck between the waves and the rocks.
“The scariest thing is not the wave itself, but the consequence if you end up on the rocks,” Mr Wehner said.
“We spent all day trying not to get in there, but we both got in there once each.
“We got handed out some punishment, a near drowning experience.”
Despite heavy wipe-outs, Mr Wehner said the surf session was “heaps of fun”.
“We’ve surfed similar sized waves over the years but never that perfect,” he said.
“It doesn’t happen often enough for us, we usually only surf double or triple overhead.
“When you get a swell like that every ten years you’re like a kid in a playground.”
A packed lunch and a spare tank of fuel allowed the duo to surf for 8 hours.
Another east coast low is due this weekend but Mr Wehner isn’t expecting good surf.
“I don’t expect there will be many surfable waves this weekend,” he said.
“This one’s from the South and the low will be right on top of us which means more wind and sloppy waves - so no good for what we want to do.
“You can’t tow when its choppy.
“You lose control.”
Mr Wehner said another “15 foot groomed swell” this weekend was unlikely .