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. 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.

Fair to say it wasn't your typical package holiday. He's back home now yet the all-hour spontaneous updates have barely slowed: last-minute dashes to Moonlight Head, overnighters upcountry, or in this instance, a pre-dawn 200 kilometre hit out with his running mate, Todd Rosewall.

It is this south-westerly flow that is the bane of Victorian surfers