There are people out there that will tell you that when it comes to scoring waves 'it's all in the timing'. Well, I'm here to tell you that it's not true.

On Wednesday morning a lot of people in Sydney set their alarm clocks so they could get up early and time their surf to coincide with an expected pulse of southerly swell.

It didn't happen.

The swell didn't come through and, despite having good timing, a lot of crew went home without getting wet. Thing is, while the swell didn't hit Sydney it did, for whatever strange reason, hit the coasts to the north and south of the city. The Batemans Bay and Crowdy Head buoys reported big spikes while the Sydney buoy flatlined.

Matt Hipsley had good timing and also good positioning. He found himself right in the sweet spot when the pulse came through on the stretch of coast he was visiting. I can't tell you where it is, but needless to say it's somewhere north or south of Sydney.// STUART NETTLE