Mavericks surf report and forecast
Forecast for the selected hour
Now · 8am
~4 ft swell
FlatNo window today · next tomorrow 12–4pm
Too deep for this swell. The reef needs a bigger, longer swell.
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 8am readingSwell, wind, tide, breaker, energy, water
- Swell3.5 ft · 11 s · WSWMakes the wave: 63% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- 2.3 ft · 7 s · WSecondary: 28% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- 1.3 ft · 18 s · SWSecondary: 9% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- Wind9 mph from the NWCross-shore to a shoreline facing 251°Moderate
- Tide4.1 ft, fallingNext low 3.3 ft at 12:31pm · NAVD88, NOAA 9414131 predicted (no live sensor)
- BreakerNot breaking
- Energy215 kJHeight² × period²Punchy
- Water60° · air 56° · UV 0
High confidence.
Best windowNone today · next Tomorrow 12–4pm
Swell can't reach the reef today.
Against what Mavericks likesWhy it is Flat, not Very Poor
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 8amRoss's Cove, Pillar Point (Surfers Beach) and 3 more
The break
The seafloorReef / boulder (deep-water big-wave)
Shallow is light, deep is dark; contours every few feet; the relief is exaggerated.
- Bottomreef / boulder (deep-water big-wave)
- DepthCUDEM 1/9 arc-second (2022), relative to NAVD88. 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, too deep for this swell
Read from the current hour (today at 8am). Each number, and what it does to the wave.
3 swells at once
3.5 ft at 11s from the WSW carrying 63% of the energy, plus 2.3 ft at 7s from the W (28%), plus 1.3 ft at 18s from the SW (9%).
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 0.74 · 84% 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
Too deep for this swell
4.1 ft of tide, and the reef needs a bigger swell to feel it.
The reef sits deep enough that today's swell passes over without breaking. Swell size is not surf size. The bottom has to be shallow enough, relative to the wave, to trip it. How the tide moves the break
Wind is cross-shore
9 mph from the NW, against a shoreline facing 251°.
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 Mavericks worksWorld-famous big-wave right off Pillar Point, ~0.5 mi offshore
World-famous big-wave right off Pillar Point, ~0.5 mi offshore. 25–60 ft faces, elite only, Dec–Mar.
- Best tidemid
- Best swellW–NW (big)
- Suitsexpert
3 swell trains in the current hour · How this is calculated
Common questions4 questions about Mavericks
- What is the best tide for Mavericks?
- Mavericks 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 Mavericks?
- W–NW (big) suits Mavericks 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 Mavericks good for beginners?
- Mavericks suits expert surfers, over reef / boulder. 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 Mavericks?
- reef / boulder (deep-water big-wave). 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 Mavericks on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.