Dead to Rights
Deadmans | 15 July 2020 | 9-14 ft SSE @ 13s
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The signs were there – insane numbers on charts and forecasts, heavy car and foot traffic, excitement thick in the air and no car parks! It could only be one thing – Deadmans was going off!
No surprise really. We were beginning to feel the impact of a deep low-pressure system that started life the previous week in Western Australia progressively revealing more of itself as it rounded the southeast corner of the country where it morphed into a Tasman Low off Sydney. Great news if you are a surfer as they are notorious for producing decent swell. But this was anything but decent. Think well north of decent. Into the realms of the unprecedented. And on the day Deadmans handled it perfectly as it does when everywhere else is blown out and the swell is enormous.
The sheer scale and size of the waves blew everyone away. This session, captured from every angle imaginable - land, sea, and air, near and far – was shared and replayed continuously online almost breaking the internet as uploads of surfers and body boarders, bravely and skilfully taking on massive waves, went viral. Despite or because of the pandemic, it was quite the day!
A person surfing on a wave near a rocky coastline with cliffs in the background.
Surfers riding large waves near the shoreline, viewed through a tree in the foreground.
A surfer riding a large wave in the ocean, viewed from near some trees or branches in the foreground.
A surfer riding a wave in the ocean with a group of people swimming in the background.
A person surfing on a large wave with a group of surfers in the background.
A surfer riding inside a large wave near the shore, with a group of surfers waiting further out in the water.
Surfer riding inside a large ocean wave with surfers in the background.
A person surfing on a wave in the ocean with several other surfers in the background.
A surfer riding a large breaking wave in the ocean with smaller waves around.
A surfer riding a large wave in the ocean, with water spray and foam.
A surfer riding a large wave in the ocean with spray at the top of the wave and other surfers seen in the background.
A surfer riding a large ocean wave with several other surfers in the distance.
A group of surfers waiting in the water while a large wave is about to break.
Multiple surfers riding and waiting for waves in the ocean.
A person riding a large ocean wave while surfing, with the wave cresting and spray coming off the top.
A person surfing on a large ocean wave during daytime.
A surfer rides inside the barrel of a large ocean wave.
Surfer riding inside a large ocean wave near the shore.
A person surfing on a large green wave in the ocean.
A person in black wetsuit riding a large breaking ocean wave on a white surfboard.
Surfer riding a large wave in the ocean, wearing a black wetsuit.
A person in a wetsuit surfing on a large, green wave in the ocean.
A female surfer in a black wetsuit riding a large wave on a white surfboard.
A person surfing on a small wave with two photographers in the background capturing the moment.
A person surfing a large wave with two other surfers visible in the background.
Surfer riding a wave with a surfer in the water in the background.
Surfer riding a large wave in the ocean.
A person surfing a large wave in the ocean with another surfer in the background.
A person riding a surfboard on a large ocean wave while another person is visible on a surfboard behind them.
A surfer riding inside a large, curling ocean wave.
A person surfing on a large wave in the ocean.
Ocean wave crashing near rocky shoreline
A person surfing on a large ocean wave near rocky shore, with other surfers in the water.
A person surfing on a large wave at the beach, with a rock in the foreground and the ocean in the background.
Surfer riding a large wave near a rocky shoreline
A person surfing on a wave at the beach with ocean water and rock in the foreground.
A person surfing on a large wave in the ocean near a rocky shore.
A person surfing on a large ocean wave near a rocky shoreline.
Surfer riding a large wave near a rocky shoreline during daytime.
A surfer riding a large wave in the ocean, with the water crashing around them and a rocky shoreline partially visible in the foreground.
A person surfing on a large wave in the ocean, with white foam and spray, seen from the shore with some rocks and blurred foreground elements.
A silhouette of a person watching large ocean waves crashing onto the shore.
A surfer riding a wave at the beach, with large ocean waves and white foam, seen through a silhouette of a person in the foreground.
Surfing in the ocean with waves and surfers in the water.
Surfing in the ocean with several surfers riding or waiting for waves
A surfer riding a large wave in the ocean with several other surfers in the water.
A person surfing on a wave in the ocean.
A person surfing on a large ocean wave with a group of surfers in the background.
A person surfing on a large wave in the ocean.
Person surfing on a large ocean wave with a few surfers in the water nearby.
A person surfing on a large ocean wave with another person paddling nearby in the water.
Surfer riding a large wave with several swimmers in the water nearby.
A person surfing a large wave in the ocean with two other surfers in the water nearby.
Surfer riding a large wave in the ocean, with additional surfers visible in the water nearby.
A surfer riding a wave in the ocean while other surfers wait nearby.
A surfer riding a large breaking wave at the beach with several other surfers in the water.
Surfer riding inside a large ocean wave with waves and surfers in the background.
Surfer riding inside a large ocean wave with other surfers and ocean water in the background.
Surfboard falling into a wave at the ocean.
Surfer riding inside a large, breaking wave in the ocean.
A person surfing on a large wave in the ocean during the day
A surfer riding inside the barrel of a large ocean wave with white foam and spray, with a distant view of the open sea.
A surfer riding inside a large ocean wave during daytime.
A large ocean wave breaking with white foam and spray in the background, with a surfer partially visible inside the wave.
Ocean waves crashing with foam and spray, under a cloudy sky.
A surfer riding inside a large ocean wave with white foam.
A person surfing on a large wave in the ocean.
A person surfing on a large ocean wave
A person surfing on a wave in the ocean.
A person surfing a large wave on a surfboard in the ocean.
Surfer riding a large wave on a surfboard in the ocean.
A surfer riding inside the barrel of a large ocean wave during daytime.
Surfer riding inside a large breaking wave in the ocean.
A surfer riding inside a large ocean wave during the daytime.