Shark Rock Pier • Surf Spot Statistics

Best Surf Season (October - March)

The foundation of a quality year at Shark Rock Pier is wind, not just swell. The wave rose here is stubbornly dominated by S/SSW/SW groundswell, with essentially no pure N-NE swell showing up in the data. That means the NNE-facing pier needs the S to WSW offshore flow to groom the dominant Southern Ocean swell trains. From October through March, ideal wind percentages climb to 22-28% and average wave heights hold at a solid 6.5-7.2ft (2.0-2.2m) with powerful 10.7-11.0s periods. This is the most consistent window for clean, head-high-to-overhead surf at the pier.

Fair Surf Season (April - May & September)

The shoulder months serve up more size and longer period as the storm track strengthens, with averages of 6.9-7.5ft (2.1-2.3m) and periods stretching to 11.7-12.2s. However, the percentage of ideal wind drops to 22-25%, and the window between messy pre-frontal NNW/NW winds and the good post-frontal SW/S offshore can be short. If you time those clean windows correctly, April, May and September can produce the heaviest sessions of the year.

Low Surf Season (June - August)

Midwinter delivers the biggest swells of the year - average heights of 7.5-7.9ft (2.3-2.4m) and periods of 12.2-12.5s - yet the quality is much harder to find. Ideal wind bottoms out at 17-21%, with strong NW/NNW pre-frontal winds and stubborn WSW/W flow muscling up the surface. The pier is not flat, but big and often bumpy is the name of the game. Patience and a sharp eye on the tail end of cold fronts are essential this time of year.