Cloud 9 • Surf Spot Statistics

Best Surf Season (October - March)

Cloud 9 lives by the northeast monsoon. From October through March, high pressure over Siberia funnels cold, dry air across the western Pacific, lighting up a persistent NE/ENE trade-wind fetch aimed squarely at the reef. Average wave heights climb from 3-4ft (1.1m) in October to around 5-6ft (1.6-1.7m) by mid-winter, while periods hover in the 9.5-10.2s range. This is the season of consequence: more than 90% of the swell comes from the N-NNE-NE-ENE window for much of the winter, and on a clean low-wind day the reef produces long, peeling, hollow lefts. The catch is that the same monsoon often blows from the NE/ENE, the onshore direction. Only a few percent of observations feature ideal offshore wind mid-winter, so the real strategy is hunting dawn patrol windows, passing fronts, and days when the pressure gradient relaxes and S/SW flow takes over.

Fair Surf Season (April and September)

These shoulder months offer a compromise between size and groomed conditions. April still sees significant ENE/NE swell, often in the 2-5ft (0.5-1.5m) range, but the trade-wind belt is weakening and the ideal-wind percentage climbs to 9%. September, meanwhile, is the start of the Pacific typhoon and monsoon-transition window: average heights sit around 2-3ft (0.8m), yet the period ticks up to 9.5s and the wind is offshore an excellent 57% of the time. These are the months when a well-positioned tropical cyclone or distant low can deliver surprisingly clean, rippable waves without the constant NE howl of winter.

Low Surf Season (May - August)

Once the southwest monsoon (Habagat) becomes established, Cloud 9 enters its summer lull. Average heights sink to around 2ft (0.7m) and periods shorten to 8.4-9.1s, with the swell table dominated by small to micro ENE/E windswell. The good news is that wind quality improves dramatically: offshore and cross-offshore flow from the S/SW/W quadrant occupies a large share of the wind rose, and the water is bathtub warm at 29-30°C. But without a solid northern-hemisphere groundswell source, the reef simply lacks the size and power to show its usual form. Unless a summer typhoon wanders into the Philippine Sea and sends a pulse of N/NE energy, June through August is mostly a grovel-fest.