As the saying goes; only a surfer knows the feeling. Add the rare bonus of some bigger than expected cyclone swell and you could say this weekend goes down as one of the most epic in history for surfing in Western Australia.

After battering Darwin and leaving the Kimberley, Pilbara and Coral Coast locals looking warily out to the darkened skies off the coast, Cyclone Marcus developed into a Category Five cyclone - the most severe of its kind. By the time it had reached the Coral Coast, it was the size of New South Wales, sending glorious long lines of swell down the West Australian coast.

It just so happened, that Marcus' swell was to hit on a Sunday, creating an exciting opportunity for local and Weekend Warriors alike.

We joined the Warriors - jumping in the car and making the journey to the south west.

By late Saturday afternoon, the rare north westerly swell started to thunder in, across the north of the Leeuwin Naturaliste Horst.

We were up at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning to explore the coast. What we witnessed was nothing short of epic. I won't disclose locations (it's an unwritten surfer's code) however, I'll let the pics do the talking. The highlight was watching a guy snap his board in half, retrieve the bottom half and paddle out for some more death-defying fun.

Here's a gallery with 80+ images.

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