Angourie surf report and forecast
Forecast for the selected hour
Now · 8pm
3–4 ft · sets to 5
Fair-GoodNo window today · next tomorrow 1–7pm
The swell and the tide 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 8pm readingSwell, wind, tide, breaker, energy, water
- Swell3.7 ft · 9 s · SSESecondary: 54% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- 3.4 ft · 7 s · ENEMakes the wave: 46% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- Wind6 mph from the EOnshore to a shoreline facing 61°Moderate
- Tide-1.1 ft, fallingNext low -1.4 ft at 9:31pm · NAVD88, TICON coffs_harbour-205470-aus-bom predicted (no observed source in AU)
- BreakerPlungingBreaks in about 6 ft of water
- Energy103 kJHeight² × period²Moderate
- Water72° · air — · UV 0
High confidence.
Best windowNone today · next Tomorrow 1–7pm
No usable window in daylight today.
Against what Angourie likesWhy it is Fair-Good, not 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 8pmDiggers Beach, Sawtell and 3 more
The break
The seafloorRock point over a shallow shelf
Shallow is light, deep is dark; contours every few feet; the relief is exaggerated.
- Bottomrock point over a shallow shelf
- 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 thisTwo swells at once, the seafloor is neutral here, where it trips
Read from the current hour (today at 8pm). Each number, and what it does to the wave.
Two swells at once
3.4 ft at 7s from the ENE carrying 46% of the energy, plus 3.7 ft at 9s from the SSE (54%).
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 is neutral here
Kr 0.88 · 92% of modelled rays break.
Energy arrives roughly as it left deep water: this bottom neither concentrates the swell nor fans it out, so what the buoy sees is close to what you get. Why two breaks a mile apart differ
Where it trips
-1.1 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 6 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 onshore
6 mph from the E, against a shoreline facing 61°.
Pushing into the back of the wave from the sea, making it crumble and break early instead of standing up. Note this is measured against the angle THIS break faces, which is why one spot can be blown out while the one round the headland is fine.
How Angourie worksA short, thick, powerful right over rock at the top of Yuraygir
A short, thick, powerful right over rock at the top of Yuraygir — Australia's first National Surfing Reserve. It breaks close to dry rock and rewards a south swell with size; on the wrong tide it is a shorebreak on a shelf.
- Best tidemid
- Best swellS–SE groundswell
- Suitsadvanced
2 swell trains in the current hour · How this is calculated
Common questions4 questions about Angourie
- What is the best tide for Angourie?
- Angourie 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 Angourie?
- S–SE groundswell suits Angourie 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 Angourie good for beginners?
- Angourie suits advanced surfers, over rock point over a shallow shelf. 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 Angourie?
- rock point over a shallow shelf. 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 Angourie on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.