Kirra Alert Guide

Gold Coast, QLD, Australia · part of the Kirra spot guide

Kirra is unique in this campaign: its make-or-break variable, the sand set-up from the Tweed bypass, is fundamentally un-modellable, so a perfect swell forecast still can’t guarantee the wave. The alert catches the east-southeast window; a webcam confirms the bank. The heights below are open-ocean model readings.

The forecaster's checklist

1. 1.Look for a Coral Sea or Tasman cyclone, ex-cyclone, or strong east-southeast fetch from November through April, peaking January to March.
2. 2.Demand the direction — east-southeast around 100–140° is the money band; too far south and the bank won’t draw.
3. 3.Read period at 10 seconds and up, ideally 12–16, and convert size down: a big open-ocean reading makes a much smaller (but perfect) face, and beyond about 12 ft of face it closes out.
4. 4.Confirm the sand state on a live cam — this is the make-or-break variable no forecast can see. A defined bank drawing off the point with a clean line to the Little Groyne is classic Kirra; a straight, over-full whitewater wall means it is sanded up, so go to the upper points.
5. 5.Want a light southwest-to-west offshore; on cyclone days the wind is often in the same easterly quarter as the swell, so you may be waiting for it to clock around.

Local winds & tide

Best wind: S–SW–W offshore (the point blocks southerlies) — from 180° to 270° (S–W).

No tide series is modelled here, but local lore leans toward a mid-to-high dropping tide to keep the barrel throat deep — treat it as a soft preference, not a rule.

Dial it in