Last week's oversized East Coast Low left few options for surfers in Sydney and surrounding areas. Such was the size and period of the swell that rarely seen bommies were breaking well offshore mitigating wave energy before it came inshore. It was just too wild and raw for many of the usual breaks.

One of the places handling it was Deadmans on Sydney's Northern Beaches. Owing to the extremely deep water off Sydney Harbour and North Head the swell was hitting Deadies unaffected and with the full force of the low.

Northern Beaches photographer, Toby Manson, shot Deadmans in the morning but broke from the photographic pack to get a different angle - from the water. Toby made like a mountain goat at the rock jump then swam like an otter against the raging current, all the while dodging sets. The effort was worthwhile and he nailed a couple of unridden waves plus a bomb ridden by Michael Darcy before being washed toward the Bower, exhausted but very much alive.

All photos by Toby.