Manly surf swell produces 'best wave ever ridden in Sydney'

Surfer catches huge wave in Sydney on July 15, 2020. Photo / Supplied/news.com.au

This wasn't a day for the faint-hearted.

Deadman's Reef off the Shelly Headland south of Manly became a world-class wave on Wednesday as huge swells of more than 10m produced epic conditions.

Among the chaos was one barrel that could hold its ground against any wave in the world.

To huge applause from those watching from solid ground, one surfer tucked into a tube Avalon Beach filmmaker Spencer Frost described as "hands down the best wave I've ever seen ridden in Sydney".

"I'm not sure who the surfer is but he must be pretty damn stoked with this one," Frost said.

"I've been wanting to shoot this angle of this wave for a few years now and today the stars finally aligned. Stoked to see everyone pushing it — what a wild day of waves."

Surf photographer Nick Fletcher also declared: "Easily the most epic wave I've seen at home."

Not everyone had it so easy, though.

Etienne Calmelet put together this package of wipe-outs that show just how difficult conditions were.

"Today was one for the books," Frost said. "Some of the craziest surf I've documented (and) even wilder to see it all go down not too far from home."