Sydney Northern Beaches: Winter Surf Guide
In short
El Nino is building fast, and for Sydney surfers that's mostly good news - cleaner conditions, groomed south swells, reliable westerly glass in the mornings, and water running a degree or two warmer than recent winters.
The Northern Beaches fire hardest in winter. Here's what each spot delivers and when to show up.
What to watch
South to south-east groundswells are the engine of Sydney's winter - track the Southern Ocean fronts on Seabreeze and be ready to move fast when the wind swings westerly behind each system.
Water's sitting at 20 degrees off Sydney right now, and it'll settle in the 16-18 degree range through June to August - warmer than the last couple of winters thanks to above-average Tasman Sea temps.
Pack a 4/3mm and a pair of booties for the coldest mornings, and you'll be comfortable in the water through the whole season.
The winter pattern
Sydney winters run on a reliable cycle: Southern Ocean fronts push south-to-south-east groundswells up the coast every week or two, clean up behind them as the front passes, and leave westerly offshore conditions that can last a day or two before the next system rolls through.
The morning after a front clears is the prize - glassy west-to-north-west offshore, solid south swell, light crowd because not everyone's watching the forecast closely enough.
El Nino winters tend to produce fewer monster swells and more of those mid-sized, well-groomed 1.5-2m days that actually suit the Northern Beaches sandbars perfectly.
Spot by spot
Curl Curl is the pick of the Northern Beaches in south swell.
It faces east-south-east and catches everything the Southern Ocean sends, averaging 1.6m and surfing well at twice that size when the banks are lined up and the offshore is blowing.
Dee Why Point is the go-to when Curl Curl is maxing out - the point slows the swell down and gives you an actual wall to work with on bigger days, holding cleanly up to 4m before it closes out.
Collaroy is quieter, longer, and great for anyone who wants proper waves without the circus - the sandbars produce long peeling walls in south swell and it's noticeably less crowded than the peak spots further north.
Newport lights up in south-east swell - the reef and sandbar combination throws A-frame lefts and rights that hold their shape through the tide.
www.seabreeze.com.au/weather/wind-forecast/avalon-beach-nsw-2107?utm_source=Seabreeze.com.au'> Avalon is best in June, catches swell reliably, and has some of the most consistent banks on the peninsula - go early.
www.seabreeze.com.au/weather/wind-forecast/narrabeen-beach-nsw?utm_source=Seabreeze.com.au'> Narrabeen and www.seabreeze.com.au/weather/wind-forecast/manly-beach-nsw?utm_source=Seabreeze.com.au'> Manly both face north and actually score well in winter - south swells wrap around the headlands and produce cleaner, more workable surf than you'd expect, especially when the groundswell period is long and the swell energy pushes around the corner.
"Winter mornings on the Northern Beaches with a solid south groundswell and a light westerly blowing offshore are as good as surf gets on the Australian east coast."
Timing your sessions
Get there at first light.
The westerly offshore holds through mid-morning most winter days before the land warms up and the wind dies or shifts - that two-hour window from dawn is consistently the best of the day.
Watch the cold front timing on www.seabreeze.com.au/weather/synoptic/manly-beach-nsw?utm_source=Seabreeze.com.au'> Seabreeze Synoptics : the day after a front clears is typically the standout session - swell still running, wind already swung offshore, crowd thinned out by the previous day's onshore conditions.
Track Northern Beaches swell and wind at seabreeze.com.au/weather/wind-forecast/sydney .
