10 year old saves surfer from huge surf!

A SURFER who almost came to grief in yesterday's monster swell on Sydney's Northern Beaches has a keen-eyed 10-year-old to thank for his rescue.

James Grant spotted the distressed surfer from his parents' flat at North Narrabeen about 9am.

The beach was just one of many in NSW closed to swimmers because of wild surf yesterday, with the closures expected to be in place until the end of the week.

Meanwhile most Sydney beaches are closed again today - except for some in the Eastern suburbs. Read which ones here and check out pictures of New Year revellers sleeping off their hangovers on the sand.

James sprinted 350m to alert lifeguards, who helped pull the man from the whitewash.

Do you know the identity of the man? If so contact us on 9288 3387 or tell us through the feedback form below.

"I had just been looking for the pro surfers (in the Billabong Pro) when I saw this guy put his hand up and I saw he was in trouble - he was being dragged down the beach," James said.

It was the closest the North Narrabeen nipper has come to a rescue but he has his sights set on becoming a professional lifeguard.

"I want to be a lifeguard because they get to go out on the boards and save people," he said.

"And they get to spend all day on the beach."

The surfer left the beach before James had a chance to meet him.

It was just one of many rescues yesterday, all mainly surfers who decided to brave the wild conditions for that perfect ride.

Six beaches were closed at Coffs Harbour, in the state's north, after winds whipped up 4m swells.

Surf boat competitors in the George Bass Classic on the NSW South Coast were among those who had to be pulled from heavy surf.

To see live web cams of beach conditions, go to our Beaches in-depth section.

The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter also pulled two surfers to safety at Stanwell Park, south of Sydney, about 10am.

Two American surfers attempting tow-in surfing with a jetski had to be rescued after they were washed on to rocks at Woolgoolga Beach, north of Coffs Harbour.

Massive waves of up to 3m are expected to force the closure of Sydney's beaches for the second day today, as a tropical low off Queensland continues to whip up huge surf along the coast.

"There will be a lot of sore heads on the beach, but it doesn't mean that people should stop using their heads," Surf Life Saving NSW spokesman Brett Moore said.

"If a beach is closed, it is closed for your safety.

Heed the warnings of lifesavers on the beach and, while people may be disappointed, it is for their own safety."

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Chris Webb told The Daily Telegraph the wild swells were caused by a tropical low 400km northeast of Fraser Island.

"It formed last Friday, deepened on the weekend and is now moving very slowly to the north," he said.

"There is also a high pressure ridge off the central coast of NSW.

"Combined with the low, that's producing these gale force easterly winds that are causing the big swells in the Sydney area."

He said beaches along the NSW coast would see waves of between 2m and 3m for the rest of the week.

"The swell is coming from a long way away so these waves are very energetic and there will be a lot of power in the swell," he said.

Laird saves Lickle from huge 80ft wipeout naked

WAILUKU, Maui — Ever in search of the 100-foot wave, extreme surfing star Laird Hamilton came to the aid of a fellow surfer off Maui.

Brett Lickle, who was rescued by Hamilton, his dramatic rescue "the most intense thing I've been through."

Lickle said Hamilton stripped naked so he could tie his surf trunks into a tourniquet after Lickle suffered a huge gash on his leg in a wipeout on what he said was an 80-foot ocean wave.
Lickle, 47, (pictured below)

was recovering Wednesday at home in Haiku.
In the incident Monday at a tow-in surf spot called Outer Spreks, Lickle says he was cut by the fin of a board on the Honda AquaTrax watercraft he and Hamilton had used to get to the spot where the waves were breaking. He says he was trying to stay ahead of the monster wave, but it crashed down on him.

Hamilton is among extreme surfers who have pioneered in the riding of superwaves that ordinary surfers don't tackle. He and fellow big-waver Dave Kalama premiered a short film, "All Aboard the Crazy Train," on tow-in surfing in 2005, warning that it wasn't a sport for the inexperienced. Hamilton also was among surfers performing in feature-length films highlighting the sport, "Step Into Liquid" and "Riding Giants."

The outer reef off Spreckelsville is a big challenge for big-wave surfers.

"If ever you're going to find a 100-footer, it's there," said Lickle.
He and Hamilton had surfed the area in the morning and then returned in the afternoon when the accident occurred. He said only one other tow-in team was on the waves at the time.

Lickle said he was trying to outrun the looming water wall in the watercraft when it caught him. Hamilton was in tow.

"I'm in big trouble," he said he told himself.

After the wave crashed down on them, he reunited with Hamilton about three quarters of a mile offshore.



One fear, Lickle said, was the blood from his wound would attract tiger sharks that hover around the Maui shoreline.

He said that after tying the tourniquet, Hamilton swam "like a bat out of hell" for about a half mile to recover the watercraft.

Surfers said ocean conditions on Monday created waves of historic size.

"There were the biggest waves that any of us have seen," said Buzzy Kerbox, another Maui big-wave surfer who saw the Outer Spreks waves but chose to take on another surf spot.