Bells Beach: It wasn’t quite the mythical 50-year storm that had been predicted, but it might have actually been scarier.

Friday's heavy conditions at Bells Beach – which got bigger as the day progressed and turned ‘‘triple overhead’’ by the end of proceedings – caused carnage.

Veteran Kelly Slater bails out on a wave. Credit:Justin McManus

The predicted swell, expected to match the legendary conditions of 1981, had competitors scrambling for boards big enough to handle the massive waves.

Some borrowed, others begged and Ryan Callinan even made an emergency call to his shaper on the Gold Coast and had a couple of spares flown in overnight.