Wind makes or breaks it, bru. Offshore (blowing land to sea) grooms the faces clean and glassy — lukka. Onshore chops it all into mush. Under about 10 km/h it hardly matters — basically glass.Wind↓7 km/h SWOnshore
Size @ period, plus where it's from. Period is the secret, boet: 12s+ is proper groundswell — organised lines with real punch. Under 10s is local windswell that folds quick. Same size, longer period = way more klap.Swell↓1.8m @ 11s SW≈ 4ft face
Size and period smashed into one number — the real 'is it worth it?' gauge, ekse.< 40 kJ basically flat40–100 small100–180 fun180–450 solid — punchy450+ heavy — vy with respectLong period klaps way harder than the same size at short period. See 'Swell shadow'? A headland or bay is blocking part of the swell — the number here is what actually reaches the spot, the offshore one is what's out at sea.Energy183 kJ
Swell shadow · 207 kJ offshore
Solid
Pushing in or draining out, and when it turns. Most banks have a favourite tide — right tide and the spot comes alive, wrong tide and it goes fat or dumpy. Time your session, china.TideLow / Falling — Low in 23 min
Water14°C · 4/3 + boots
UV IndexLow — just a touch of sunscreen.
Cold water (14°C) — 4/3 + boots
Tide turning in ~23 min — conditions will shift
Paddle across the beach to the peak, not straight out at it — you can't out-paddle a wave, only out-position it.