What is the best tide for The Pass?

The Pass 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 The Pass?

E–SE groundswell suits The Pass 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 The Pass good for beginners?

The Pass suits beginner surfers, over sand over the point at Cape Byron. 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 The Pass?

sand over the point at Cape Byron. 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 The Pass on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.

The Pass surf report and forecast

BeachbreakByron Bay, NSWForecast 12:47pm

Forecast for the selected hour

Now · 5pm

1 ft · sets to 2

Fair-GoodBest today 5–7pm

The swell and size hold it back.

3-hourlyGlobal model6-hourly

Hour by hour · TodaySunrise 6:04 · tap an hour

SurfftWindmphTideftSwells · from

Best

sunset 6:56

Model, not a camera ·Today 5pm GMT+11

Open on the map

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 5pm readingSwell, wind, tide, breaker, energy, water

Swell5.7 ft · 8 s · ENEMakes the wave: 85% of the energy. Direction at the break. Bent 13° from E in deep water.
1.0 ft · 9 s · ENESecondary: 15% of the energy. Direction at the break. Bent 75° from SE in deep water.
Wind5 mph from the ECross-shore to a shoreline facing 337°Moderate
Tide1.2 ft, fallingNext low -1.3 ft at 10:56pm · NAVD88, TICON brunswick_heads-202403-aus-bom predicted (no observed source in AU)
BreakerSpillingBreaks in about 2 ft of water
Energy179 kJHeight² × period²Moderate
Water73° · air — · UV 1

High confidence.

Best window5–7pm

Against what The Pass 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 5pmBroken Head, Lennox Head and 3 more

Compare on the map

The break

The seafloorSand over the point at Cape Byron

Loading the seafloor under The Pass…

Open the seafloor on the map

Shallow is light, deep is dark; contours every few feet; the relief is exaggerated.

Bottomsand over the point at Cape Byron
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, it bends on the way in, the seafloor is neutral here

Read from the current hour (today at 5pm). Each number, and what it does to the wave.

Two swells at once
5.7 ft at 8s from the ENE carrying 85% of the energy, plus 1.0 ft at 9s from the ENE (15%).
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
It bends on the way in
That swell leaves deep water heading 80° and reaches the break at 67°, bent 13° on the way.
Shallow water slows a wave, so the end of the crest that reaches the shallows first swings around. That is refraction. It's why this spot can be working on a swell direction the open coast is missing, and why the swell angle on a buoy is never the angle at your break. Why two breaks a mile apart differ
The seafloor is neutral here
Kr 1.02 · 90% 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.
Where it trips
1.2 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 2 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
Barely any wind
5 mph from the E, against a shoreline facing 337°.
Too light to shape the face either way. At this speed the wave's own texture wins, whatever the direction.

How The Pass worksSwell wrapping hard around Cape Byron arrives at The Pass with…

Swell wrapping hard around Cape Byron arrives at The Pass with most of its power spent and all of its shape intact — a long, tapering right that is the reason Byron is a longboard town. Needs real size in the water to bend that far, and the crowd arrives with it.

Best tidemid to high
Best swellE–SE groundswell
Suitsbeginner

2 swell trains in the current hour · How this is calculated

Common questions4 questions about The Pass

What is the best tide for The Pass?: The Pass 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 The Pass?: E–SE groundswell suits The Pass 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 The Pass good for beginners?: The Pass suits beginner surfers, over sand over the point at Cape Byron. 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 The Pass?: sand over the point at Cape Byron. 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 The Pass on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.