Gas Bay • Statistics for January

January: Peak Summer Fickleness

January is a month of contrasts at Gas Bay. Average swell height sits at 1.9m (6.2ft) with a long-ish period of 11.8s, so there is generally rideable groundswell. The direction is actually great: SSW contributes 33.5% and SW 38.6%, with another 4.9% from WSW, putting the vast majority of the wave energy right in the west-southwest exposure window. Most of that swell breaks in the 1.5-2.5m (5-8ft) range, so expect fun-size to solid sets. The problem is wind. The summer pattern is dominated by SSE (28.3%) and S (18.6%) flow, with SE adding 16.8%. Those winds are not the true offshore northeast directions Gas Bay needs, and they tend to add bump and texture. Only 13% of the time does the ideal setup align with clean offshore conditions, typically early in the morning or during a weak easterly surge. With water temperatures at 20.4°C and air temps averaging 20.2°C, it is full summer surf gear, but choose the dawn patrol windows for the cleanest shape.