EASTER brought with it arguably the biggest and best swell of the year.
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Clear blue water, offshore winds and series of south-easterly pulses made for magic, as surfers scoured the Mid-North Coast for perfect waves. But if the photos are anything to go by, it’s safe to say Darren O’Rafferty struck gold.
It would be a better than Good Friday for the former World Championship Tour surfer, as he slotted into some of the most perfect waves of the season.
“It was probably the best conditions I’ve seen on the Mid-North Coast in a while,” O’Rafferty said of Friday morning’s session. “We got some great waves.”
Photographer Brett Dolsen said he was simply “in the right place at the right time” when he managed to capture O’Rafferty deep in the belly of a few monsters. O’Rafferty is renowned for his ability as a lifeguard, avid waterman and a surfer with enviable familiarity with the tube.
On Saturday, those skills came to the fore, when a powerful swell maxing at between eight to 10 feet struck parts of the coast.
Mr Dolsen watched on as O’Rafferty and mate Israel Hyde tamed relative mountains in the eyes of average folk with the help of a jet-ski.
Others, weren’t so lucky.
“A few guys got washed-in after trying to get out a number of times,” Mr Dolsen said.
At some spots, Mr Dolsen said, surfers were getting washed over rocks, while others dared not brave the paddle-out in the testing conditions.
“There was a couple of times when I had my heart in my throat a bit when we were trying to get back out and caught in the wash,” O’Rafferty admitted. “But nothing really scary, it was a lot of fun.”
The pair was doing step-offs from the jet-ski, effectively jumping onto the face of the wave with their board and standing with the benefit of plenty of speed.