Curl Curl surf report and forecast
Forecast for the selected hour
Now · 11pm
2–3 ft · sets to 4
FairNo window today · next tomorrow All day (6am–8pm)
The swell and size hold it back.
The wave field solved for this hour on the real seafloor, playing forward. A model, not a camera.
Loads when it comes into view.The wave field solved for this hour on the real seafloor, playing forward. A model, not a camera.
This hour
The 11pm readingSwell, wind, tide, breaker, energy, water
- Swell4.0 ft · 5 s · NEMakes the wave: 82% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- 1.3 ft · 8 s · SSESecondary: 8% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- 1.0 ft · 9 s · ESESecondary: 6% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- Wind10 mph from the NNECross-shore to a shoreline facing 122°Moderate
- Tide-1.4 ft, risingNext high 0.4 ft at 4:43am · NAVD88, TICON sydney_fort_denison-60370-aus-bom predicted (no observed source in AU)
- BreakerSpillingBreaks in about 5 ft of water
- Energy46 kJHeight² × period²Marginal
- Water67° · air — · UV 0
High confidence.
Best windowNone today · next Tomorrow All day (6am–8pm)
No usable window in daylight today.
Against what Curl Curl likesWhy it is Fair, not Fair-Good
Preferred tide and swell are surfer-consensus notes for this spot, not yet reviewed against measurements. Wind is judged by the general rule (light or offshore helps). No percent match: these are plain states and reasons.
Nearby at 11pmFreshwater, Dee Why Point and 3 more
The break
The seafloorSand between two headlands
Shallow is light, deep is dark; contours every few feet; the relief is exaggerated.
- Bottomsand between two headlands
- DepthNSW Marine LiDAR Topo-Bathy 2018 (5 m, AHD). Depth shown is below the selected hour’s tide.
- CoverageRock reef and headland shapes resolve well. Nearshore sandbars are interpolated flat in this dataset, so a beachbreak’s bar is not in the picture. A tile’s year is its publication, not the survey date.
Why it breaks like this3 swells at once, the seafloor spreads it, where it trips
Read from the current hour (today at 11pm). Each number, and what it does to the wave.
3 swells at once
4.0 ft at 5s from the NE carrying 82% of the energy, plus 1.3 ft at 8s from the SSE (8%), plus 1.0 ft at 9s from the ESE (6%).
The shorter, steeper train is carrying most of the energy here, so expect a choppier, less organised lineup than the longest period in the list would suggest on its own. Why period matters more than height
The seafloor spreads it
Kr 0.82 · 76% of modelled rays break.
Energy is fanning outwards over the bottom here, so the wave arrives smaller than the open-ocean swell height suggests. Nothing is wrong with the forecast. The seafloor took the difference. Why two breaks a mile apart differ
Where it trips
-1.4 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 5 ft of water.
A wave breaks when the water gets shallow enough relative to its height, so that depth is a contour on the seafloor, and the tide slides the whole break up and down it through the day. Same swell, different spot, a few hours apart. How the tide moves the break
Wind is cross-shore
10 mph from the NNE, against a shoreline facing 122°.
Running across the face rather than into or against it. Less destructive than a straight onshore, but it puts a texture on the wall and can make the peak harder to read.
How Curl Curl worksOne of the more exposed beaches on the Northern Beaches, so it…
One of the more exposed beaches on the Northern Beaches, so it holds size when the sheltered corners have gone soft, and closes out when they are perfect. Banks along the length of it and a south corner that hides from the nor'easter.
- Best tidemid
- Best swellS–SE swell
- Suitsintermediate
3 swell trains in the current hour · How this is calculated
Common questions4 questions about Curl Curl
- What is the best tide for Curl Curl?
- Curl Curl works best on mid tide. Tide matters because depth is what trips a wave: as the water fills in, the break slides shoreward onto a different part of the bottom, and over a shallow bank enough water stops it breaking at all. Our forecast solves each hour at that hour's real water level rather than assuming one.
- What swell direction is best for Curl Curl?
- S–SE swell suits Curl Curl best. The direction that matters is the one at the break, not the one on the buoy: the seafloor bends swell on its way in, so a spot can work on an angle the open coast is missing. We model that bending for each break rather than reporting the offshore direction.
- Is Curl Curl good for beginners?
- Curl Curl suits intermediate surfers, over sand between two headlands. That is the wave this bottom makes on an average day, and it moves: the same break is a different proposition on a bigger swell or a different tide, so read the day's forecast rather than the label.
- What is the bottom like at Curl Curl?
- sand between two headlands. It is the reason this break behaves the way it does: the shape of the seabed decides where the swell focuses, where it trips, and whether it spills or pitches. We model Curl Curl on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.