Cave Rock • Statistics for March

March: Autumn's First Whiff of Difference

March is the hinge of the surf season, even if it doesn't feel that way yet. The average swell height edges up to 1.7m (5.6ft) and the period lengthens to 9.8s - a sign that the ocean is warming up for winter. Ideal wind improves to 26%, the best since the previous autumn. The wind rose is still dominated by NE (20.9%), NNE (17.2%) and SSW (17%), but the W/NW sector begins to appear more frequently (W 1.0%, WNW 0.7%, NW 0.9%, NNW 2.3%). Swell directions are heavily focused on ESE and SE (21.6% and 20.7% respectively), with S swell now at 9.8%. The increasing S component is crucial - it adds more push and period to the waves, pushing the average period up. Water temps remain warm at 25.6°C, but rain begins to ease to 2.95mm/day. It's still not a consistent month at Cave Rock, but the first proper groundswell sets start to slip through the trade wind noise. When the wind clocks northwest after a cold front, the reef can offer surprisingly crisp, hollow lines.