Ral Island • Statistics for December

December: Size Returns, Wind Battles

December delivers the first true broadside of the northwest monsoon. Average wave height jumps to 3.9ft (1.2m), with the average period reaching 10.5 seconds, one of the strongest of the year. NNE leads at 50.8 percent, N jumps to 11.5 percent, NNW also comes in at 11.5 percent and NW adds 2.3 percent, putting a huge 76.1 percent of swell energy in the favorable N-family window. A significant amount of surf sits in the 3 to 5ft (1 to 1.5m) range, with roughly 8 percent pushing into 5 to 6.5ft (1.5 to 2m) territory. This is the kind of size that gets Ral Island's reefs properly excited.

The main problem is wind. Ideal conditions drop to 30 percent, and the wind rose is dominated by W, WNW and NW flow, which is onshore or heavily side-onshore for a north-facing beach. Air temperatures remain warm at 28.4°C, water temperature is 30.0°C and rainfall is 7.06mm per day. December is about patience: when the monsoon trough pushes through and the wind swings south, the combination of strong north swell and offshore breeze produces some of the best and heaviest surf of the year.