As Wednesday's south swell caught people by surprise, the ambitious and armed headed for those deepwater reefs capable of holding the size. There aren't many and beyond the raw energy besieging the coast, each rock ledge presents its own hazards, from suicidal jump rocks to Niagara-like currents and undersucking takeoffs. 

This place has all of those, the ledge here is lethal and being caught inside is a terrifying proposition, which is why only a few surfers had a crack at it while a great many looked on. 

That's Richie Vaculik on the opener, the first wave ridden of the day. Jeremy Wilmotte is the Barina-driving, natural-footer charging on the white board, Spud the natural on the yellow board (Charlie missed a huge wave of Spud's and sends his apologies!), and Boogs the goofy on the yellow board.

If you're wondering why the surfers didn't get in tighter to the ledge check the sequence that closes this gallery. Yeah, that's why...

Photos by Charlie Straumeitis. Sequence by Lucas Palma at Skids.com.br

Following sequence by Lucas at Skids (click link for full sequence plus more from the day)