🇦🇺 GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA
Snapper Rocks
The Superbank — the longest pointbreak on earth
SMALL
Live Conditions
Conditions Summary
4ft waves — but short 6s period indicates wind swell, expect choppy conditions — swell direction is wrong for this spot, expect poor shape — light cross-shore winds, still manageable
LOW CONFIDENCEModel-only forecast, no buoy nearby
Why it's SMALL
Swell Direction
Primary swell is 150° — wrong angle. This spot needs 45° swells to break properly.
Swell Period
6s — this is wind chop, not groundswell. Waves will be weak and disorganized.
Wind
11mph cross-shore — not ideal but surfable if wind is light
Season
September is peak season for this spot
Data Confidence
Model-only forecast, no buoy nearby
At the Break
3.6ft
LOW CONFIDENCE
Model-only forecast, no buoy nearby
Period
6s
✗ Wind swell
Wind
11mph
S
CROSS-SHORE
Water
70°F
Spring suit
Swell Direction
15%
Wind Direction
65%
Primary Swell
1.8ft @ 7.7s
SSE 150°
Secondary Swell
0.6ft @ 5.7s
SE 131°
10 Day Outlook
3.7ft
TODAY
Sep 7
(10s)
3.2ft
TMRW
Sep 8
(10s)
6.3ft
WED
Sep 9
(12s)
5.4ft
THU
Sep 10
(10s)
5.1ft
FRI
Sep 11
(7s)
4.5ft
SAT
Sep 12
(7s)
3.6ft
SUN
Sep 13
(6s)
3.0ft
MON
Sep 14
(7s)
5.2ft
TUE
Sep 15
(8s)
4.9ft
WED
Sep 16
(7s)
Best this week: WED Sep 9 — 6.3ft
Best next week: WED Sep 16 — 4.9ft
Incoming Swell Events
Day 3
moderate
Swell building to 6.3ft @ 12s
Day 9
moderate
Swell building to 5.2ft @ 8s
Model Breakdown
ECMWF (45%)4.4ft
ICON (35%)3.3ft
GFS (20%)2.4ft
Model confidence45%
Updated every 30 mins · Open-Meteo ECMWF + ICON + GFS
About
Snapper Rocks is the start of the famous Superbank — a sand-bottom pointbreak that can produce rides of over 2 minutes when it links up through Snapper, Greenmount, and Kirra. The Gold Coast is Australia's surf capital.
The Break
Snapper Rocks peak linking through to Kirra on a big cyclone swell — ride for 500m if you are lucky.
Ideal Conditions
E-NE cyclone swell 4-6ft, light SW offshore winds, low tide
Best Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Best months highlighted · Current: Sep
Trip Planner
Gold Coast Weekend
Weekend · 3 Days
Friday
Fly into Gold Coast (OOL). Stay in Coolangatta — walking distance to Snapper. Fish and chips on the esplanade.
Saturday
Dawn patrol Snapper. Walk the pointbreak to check Greenmount and Kirra. Afternoon at Duranbah for beach break.
Sunday
Morning session, explore Coolangatta town, fly home.
Gold Coast Surf Week
Full Week · 7 Days
Day 1
Arrive Gold Coast, settle in Coolangatta.
Day 2
Full day Superbank — Snapper through to Kirra.
Day 3
Duranbah beach break — powerful and consistent.
Day 4
Day trip to Noosa — mellow pointbreak, beautiful national park.
Day 5
Back to Snapper if swell is still up.
Day 6
Explore Brisbane — 1hr north, great city.
Day 7
Final session, fly home.
Local Knowledge
01
The Superbank works best on a cyclone swell from the north — check forecasts in summer.
02
Coolangatta is the best base — cheaper than Surfers Paradise and right on the breaks.
03
The Kirra end of the bank can produce the most perfect barrels when it all links up.
04
Australia has excellent cafe culture — great coffee before your dawn patrol.
Best Window
Day 3 · Sep 9
6.3ft @ 12s
GOOD
Trip Cost Estimate
Flights from NYC~$1100
Hotel per night~$80
Weekend est.~$1340
5 day est.~$1500
Week est.~$1660