Around the Grounds: Rolling Highlights of This Late-Autumn East Coast Swell

Photo: Sydney on the pump. From the User Photo Gallery by objuannn
COASTALWATCH | SWELL EVENT
If you happened to read Coastalwatch Chief Swell Forecaster Ben Macartney's Swell Alert on Thursday afternoon, you knew that there was quite a significant swell event converging on the East Coast of Australia over the next couple of days.
Said Ben: "Over the course of this week we’ve seen a unique synoptic pattern take shape, featuring the almost simultaneous development of three, disparate swell sources. Among them resides one very large and slow moving low pressure system that’s set to emerge as the primary swell-bringer across the NSW coast over the next few days."
Friday May 22 was the first strike of this developing swell. Here are a couple of highlights we've gathered from around the grounds as it arrived yesterday:
Quickly first, down south the Surf Coast of Vicco felt a little bit of oomph in the morning. Local photographer Judy Scanlon caught a bunch of Bells and Winki with her lens. Check her Instagram for a heap more.
To Cronulla, where Maccas Photos, AKA Ian Macdonald, snapped this thick one – he was calling 12 foot sets.
Just a little further north to somewhere near the southern side of Sydney – a gallery of bombs by @lozzapix.
Friday afternoon at Bronte.

Photo: From the User Photo Gallery by dallas_kilponen
On the other side of the bridge at North Narrabeen, the great Simon Anderson had his camera out.
Somewhere else north of the bridge, the greatest surfer of all time, Mr Kelly Slater, popped up and got shacked off his head.

Photo: From the User Photo Gallery by tortulens

Photo: From the User Photo Gallery by tortulens
Kelly also snapped his board. ABC News was there to catch it, who despite stringent news reporting guidelines... ahh... aren't great on the whole "don't be too obvious about the general location" thing.
🌊 A monster swell in Sydney today was even too much for @kellyslater to handle!
— ABC Grandstand (@abcgrandstand) May 22, 2020
🏄??? The surfing legend was left with a broken board after taking on Avalon this morning...much to the delight of a young local fan! pic.twitter.com/NEddmLduES
Newcastle pumped! Ryan Callinan, Jacko Baker and a host of hard charging locals were out there, as well as international CTer Leo Fioravanti. Throwing Buckets, as usual, snapped the best of the Hunter region. How's that turn by R-Cal in the first shot below? Phwoaaaar!
And, of course, further north to the Gold Coast, which won't see as much of an effect from the swell that's hitting from NSW at the moment, but should however "see a strong pulse of mid to large Easterly groundswell emerging as the primary source of surf as it arrives on Sunday and Monday", according to Chief Swell Forecaster Ben Macartney.
Wade Carmichael, Liam O'Brian, Tom Whitaker, Mick Fanning, Soli Bailey, Chris Zaffis, Mitch James and a whole heap of others scored perfect beachies. MySurf TV covered it from the lineup, the air and the beach.
What's the rest of the weekend got in store?

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