“Off Crowdy I have never seen it as big and waves actually breaking on shallow ground so far out to sea,” said Roger, a resident at Crowdy and operator of Crowdy Bay Charters.

“There are reefs we drive over that are eight to 10 metres deep and the water is actually breaking over those.”

Readings from the Manly Hydraulics Laboratory, which is funded by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, show that swells started to pick up at Crowdy from about sunrise on Sunday, January 14, with waves peaking at lunchtime on Tuesday, January 16, at a maximum height of 11.27metres.

A buoy located five nautical miles north east of Crowdy Head measures the readings.

Other effects of the swell have been seen at Harrington.

Where sand had built up and created two sand dunes on the southern side of the breakwall (next to the lagoon and Crowdy Harrington Marine Rescue building) over the years, the dune closest to the water has disappeared

“It’s been washed away with the waves taking the sand from the entrance to the river. It’s not a bad thing, just one of the results with what has happened over the past few days,” said Roger.

A large amount of seaweed has also washed up on Crowdy Beach.

Roger said swells are still expected to be high on Thursday and by Friday will be getting close to back to normal.