Cronulla Point surf report and forecast
Forecast for the selected hour
Now · 9pm
3–4 ft · sets to 5
FairNo window today · next tomorrow 6–11am
The swell and wind 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 9pm readingSwell, wind, tide, breaker, energy, water
- Swell3.5 ft · 5 s · ENEMakes the wave: 84% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- 1.1 ft · 8 s · SSESecondary: 7% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- 1.0 ft · 9 s · ESecondary: 6% of the energy. Direction at the break.
- Wind12 mph from the NEOnshore to a shoreline facing 80°Moderate
- Tide-1.1 ft, fallingNext low -1.4 ft at 10:34pm · NAVD88, TICON botany_bay-60390-aus-bom predicted (no observed source in AU)
- BreakerSpillingBreaks in about 6 ft of water
- Energy33 kJHeight² × period²Marginal
- Water67° · air — · UV 0
High confidence.
Best windowNone today · next Tomorrow 6–11am
No usable window in daylight today.
Against what Cronulla Point 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 9pmMaroubra, Tamarama and 3 more
The break
The seafloorFlat rock shelf
Shallow is light, deep is dark; contours every few feet; the relief is exaggerated.
- Bottomflat rock 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 this3 swells at once, the seafloor is neutral here, where it trips
Read from the current hour (today at 9pm). Each number, and what it does to the wave.
3 swells at once
3.5 ft at 5s from the ENE carrying 84% of the energy, plus 1.1 ft at 8s from the SSE (7%), plus 1.0 ft at 9s from the E (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 is neutral here
Kr 0.88 · 80% 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
12 mph from the NE, against a shoreline facing 80°.
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 Cronulla Point worksA fast right over a flat rock shelf at the top of Cronulla,…
A fast right over a flat rock shelf at the top of Cronulla, running toward the beach on a solid south swell. Shallow enough that the tide decides whether it is a wave or a hazard, and the shelf is unforgiving.
- Best tidemid to high
- Best swellS–SE groundswell
- Suitsadvanced
3 swell trains in the current hour · How this is calculated
Common questions4 questions about Cronulla Point
- What is the best tide for Cronulla Point?
- Cronulla Point works best on mid to high 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 Cronulla Point?
- S–SE groundswell suits Cronulla Point 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 Cronulla Point good for beginners?
- Cronulla Point suits advanced surfers, over flat rock 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 Cronulla Point?
- flat rock 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 Cronulla Point on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.