Kai's Place • Statistics for December

December: The Apex of the Winter Assault

December is statistically the biggest month of the year at Kai's Place, with an average swell height of 3.0m (9.8ft) and an average period of 11.7s. The swell distribution is a little more mixed than midwinter, with SSW at 5.8%, SW at 8.5%, WSW at 10.3% and S at 4.1%, but the key is size: a large share of the energy sits in the 2m-plus range, and the over-2.5m category is consistently populated. Winds are overwhelmingly favorable for keeping the wave faces clean: ESE at 13.3% and SE at 12.1% are the top two wind directions, E and ENE combine for another 15.7%, and the onshore W/NW quadrant is only about 9.5% combined. The ideal wind score is 26%. Water temperature is 6.8°C (44.2°F), air averages 3.0°C, and rain is persistent at 9.14 mm/day. December is not for the faint of heart - but for those looking for heavy, clean and powerful west-facing surf, this is the apex.