Mick Fanning, Kirra Point, Australia

On the weekend, the Gold Coast was pounded by an easterly groundswell. Kept clean by a southerly breeze, Saturday was a burning five-to-six feet and built to a solid six-eight feet by Sunday. Kirra was the pick. Mick Fanning, pictured here, snagged what many were calling wave of the day. The short clip below shows Mick threading three tunnels on one wave at Kirra Point. Photog Andy Potts, who shot this doozy, felt the groundswell’s full force before retreating to the beach where the rest of the paparazzi burned through memory cards: “Absolute insanity at Kirra early today. After my first attempt to swim out with the water housing, I was given the hiding of my life and was forced to head back to the beach to shoot with what felt like the rest of the photography world.” The swell’s abated somewhat today, but there’s still plenty to dip the beak in. Let’s hope the Quiksilver Pro, starting late february, is treated to similar conditions.