The search for a surfer who appeared to get into trouble at a Sydney beach has wrapped up after he was found safe and sound on shore.

Police were called to east Sydney’s Coogee Beach just after 5pm on Tuesday and told a man on a long blue surfboard appeared to have been struggling in large, powerful conditions about 200 metres offshore.

Officers found no sign of the man during a search of the beach, and two other surfers who were seen near the man did not see where he went.

The search resumed on Wednesday but was called off after a 31-year-old man contacted police and identified himself as the “missing” surfer.

He told police he’d made his way to shore and knew nothing of the search.

-AAP