The Island (Island Bay)
Edit SpotAbout
Challenging + fun
Atmosphere:
Spooky - a long, long way offshore, grunty waves when the swells up, unpredictable bottom shape
Great wave when its working, but you'd need to surf it a lot to really get it figured out - not exacly user-friendly!
Additional Info:
paddle 5-600m to get to the break (fortunately not through breaking waves!)
take care - there are 3 rocks in the lneup that you need to watch out for, but its pretty obvious where they are
breaks best in a bigger swell on low tide - on smaller swells, especially if the tides in, it gets very close to the rocks
watch out for the ravenous swarm of sandflies that live on the Island and feast on surfers....
Location
Loading...Access
Drive 10 min from Wellington central to Island Bay. Suit up, and start paddling
| Walk | Instant access (<5 min) |
|---|---|
| Public access | Yes |
| 4x4 required | No |
| Boat required | Yes |
Wave Characteristics
| Type | Reef (rocky) |
|---|---|
| Direction | Right |
| Bottom | Reef (coral, sharp rocks etc.) |
| Power | Fast, Powerful, Ledgey |
| Frequency | Sometimes breaks (50 days/year) |
| Normal length | Short (<50m) |
| Good day length | Normal (50 to 150m) |
Ideal Conditions
| Wind direction | North, NorthWest, West |
|---|---|
| Swell direction | SouthWest, South, SouthEast |
| Swell size | 3ft-5ft - 8ft+ |
| Tide | All tides |
| Tide movement | Rising and falling tides |
Crowd
| Week | Empty |
|---|---|
| Weekend | Few surfers |
Dangers
Rocks
Videos
None
Nearby spots
0.72 miles away
| Direction: | Right and left |
| Bottom: | Sandy with rock |
| Frequency: | Sometimes breaks (50 days/year) |
1.14 miles away
| Direction: | Right and left |
| Bottom: | Reef (coral, sharp rocks etc.) with sand |
| Frequency: | Sometimes breaks (50 days/year) |
