Tuncurry Breakwall • Surf Spot Statistics

Best Surf Season (April - August)

As autumn takes hold, the subtropical high-pressure belt shifts north and the persistent north-easterly trades that plague the summer months finally weaken. April through August delivers the cleanest and most consistent conditions at Tuncurry Breakwall. Offshore winds from the SSW, SW, WSW and W blow 35 to 50 percent of the time, setting up glassy, lined-up faces on the east-north-east facing breakwall. Average swell heights hold in the 5.6-6.2ft (1.7-1.9m) range, with peak periods of 9.3-9.8s-punchy, rideable, mid-period energy from the Tasman Sea and Southern Ocean. Late autumn and early winter bring the highest percentage of true offshore windows, and while more swell sneaks in from the SSE/S quadrant, enough E/NE energy leaks through to keep the breakwall producing.

Fair Surf Season (March and September - October)

These are transition months. The atmosphere is caught between winter and summer regimes, so the surf is a mixed bag. March can still fire when an East Coast Low retrogrades close to the coast and sends E/ENE swell into the breakwall, while September offers the first real taste of spring E/NE groundswell. However, ideal wind percentages hover around 23-35 percent, meaning the NE sea breeze still kicks up on many afternoons. Your best bet in these months is to pick windows with a fresh SW/W change that cleans up the lingering E/NE swell.

Low Surf Season (November - February)

Summer at Tuncurry is the season of trade-wind swell and afternoon sea breezes. There is often plenty of ridable NE/ENE/E swell-the window is well fed by tropical trade winds and occasionally cyclonic swell-but the N/NE winds blow onshore much of the time, and offshore flow from the SW-W quadrant drops to only 10-17 percent. Wave periods slip to 8.3-8.9s, so most waves are short-period, bumpy and wind-affected. Only a strong southerly change or tropical cyclone tracking in the right place can produce truly clean, high-quality surf in this season.