Video: Mayhem and Mutant Waves from Snapper Rocks

Recently, Snapper and the surrounding Superbank on Australia’s Gold Coast went absolutely mental with swell, as anyone with an iPhone likely saw. Clips upon clips were pouring in, showing sunny conditions and electric blue tubes. Pretty much perfection.

It was so good that Kelly Slater even skipped the Meo Rip Curl Pro Portugal – and risked further injuring his already tenuous hip, which he had surgery on last year – to play hooky from the World Surf League’s Championship Tour.

Other pros, of course, were there too.

Like Mick Fanning, who got ridiculously kegged on Kirra’s steep, reeling walls. And Occy, seen in the video above, battling the crowd at Snapper – although, if you’re Occy, catching a wave to yourself isn’t as much of an issue as it is for most humans.

Speaking of the video above, it shows mostly surfers taking off behind the rock at Snapper. It’s the very top of the point, literally behind the rocks, an extremely tight takeoff zone, and often plagued by backwash from the nearby crags of stone.

And the video is paired, rather cheekily, with a rendition of Santo & Johnny’s extremely mellow 1959 song “Sleep Walk.” But this video, and the waves in it, are far from mellow.

This is mutant Snapper – like the (attempted) ride at the 00:50 mark. Sheesh.