A quick dip at St Kilda Beach in yesterday's 80kmh northwesterly winds certainly matched that brief.
Further south at St Clair Beach, a male surfer suffered injuries after being thrown against a rock.
The man needed stitches to his face but was not seriously injured, surfing colleague Dave Crooks said.
The waves reached up to 5m yesterday but were not the biggest Mr Crooks had seen at the beach during more than 50 years of surfing.