THE surfing world had its eyes on the Margaret River region again this year when a "once in a decade" swell rolled in.
Crowds gathered from Friday morning through to Sunday to experience the massive waves.
The cause of the huge waves was a deep low in the Indian Ocean which saw storm-force winds of up to 200km/h earlier in the week generating the massive swell Duty forecaster from the Bureau of Meteorology Paul Viviers said.
Surfers reacted to the news instantly, grabbing their boards, wetsuits and jet skis to take on the holy grail of the bays.
“The whole world was looking in on this swell and it showed up smack bang on time and delivered massive waves, bit of drama and another reminder why the south west is the best place on earth,” Margaret River photographer and surf enthusiast Anthony Pancia said.
Early in the afternoon, a number of surfers were still waiting patiently on the sand with the massive swell creating choppy conditions close to shore.
From 2pm, it was on as surfers were towed out to the waves; the crowds gathered exclaiming openly about the length of the rides that were possible for the surfers.
Mr Pancia said he had seen bigger waves in his time, but not as clean as these.
“We get lots of big storms that generate big, unruly, storm surf but this was something else,” he said.
“Just lines and lines of massive waves stretched out to the horizon throwing off massive plumes of mist,
”Swell of the decade? Maybe not, but geez it was good.”
The Friday afternoon also provided families, retirees and workers on a "sick-day" a chance to view the spectacle.
Large, cleaner waves were more fruitful for most on Saturday when surfers from across the country made their way to destinations along the coast.
The outstanding story from the weekend came from champion east coast paddle boarder Justin Holland when he cheated death thanks to his best friend and a high performance wetsuit.
Taking on an 18-metre monster wave, Holland’s leg was shattered in Gracetown on Saturday when the wave left its mark.
Luckily the reflex to activate his buoyant wetsuit and a quick acting friend with a jet ski rescued Holland from a very different fate.
Augusta Margaret River Sea Rescue volunteer Jock Salkeld said the crew had received no calls over the weekend for a rescue, with surfers approaching the waves responsibly.
“Everyone behaved themselves and looked after their gear,” Mr Salkeld said.
He said they had heard tales of plenty of broken boards.
