Kirra Swell Window
Gold Coast, QLD, Australia · part of the Kirra spot guide
- Swell window (from)
- 30°–160° (NNE–SSE)
- Best direction
- ~120° (ESE)
- Period sweet spot
- 10–16 s
- Open-ocean height (Hs)
- 4–12 ft
- Resulting faces
- 3–12 ft
Open-ocean vs. the face: the heights on buoys and forecast models are significant wave height (Hs) in deep water. What you ride is the breaking face, which depends on period, direction and this break's bathymetry — that's why the two rows above differ. PierMonkey's spot ratings already do this conversion for you.
Kirra takes a wide arc — roughly 30° to 160° — but really wants the east-southeast cyclone angle, best around 100–140°, to fire the whole bank, with period of around 10–16 seconds. The wrapping right pinned by the groyne is tolerant of direction but needs that easterly component to draw properly.
Size reads modestly at the face: the giant open-ocean numbers from a cyclone (the 12 m maximum wave heights logged during Alfred are open-ocean readings, not the face) become 4–8 ft of perfect barrel on the bank, capping around 12 ft before it closes out. As always, the height on the buoy and the height you ride are two different measurements.