Star Ratings

If you've done your share of time in the water you'll know that 'how big is it?' is really just one question you need to ask to get an idea of conditions down at the beach. A chest high long period swell creating head high barrels is by most surfers criteria preferable to mushy double overhead waves with inconsistent direction. Now a computer can't perfectly assess either every local variable creating surfable waves at your local beach OR perfectly understand exactly the conditions you prefer to surf, but it can go a long way to helping you identify at a glance the swells most likely to create a quality wave. Here's a brief overview of what you can and can't expect from the MSW Star Rating:

What our Rating DOES do:

SIZE AND POWER

Calculate from the period, size and direction of every component of the swell the likely power and size of the waves on the beach.

DIRECTION

Ensure that only component swells heading in the direction of your beach are considered in the rating and that swells heading in the optimum direction are more highly rated.

WAVE SHAPE

In very general terms smaller longer period swells will create waves more likely to barrel at a given size than larger shorter period swells. Although the waves are the same size we prefer the barrel and our rating reflects that.

GHOST SWELLS

Rather than just analyse the 'headline' figures for a swell we drill down into each individual component swell, how are they likely to interact and how will their combination create surfable waves. The rating can spot something you might miss at a glance.

WIND

Notice those 'faded' stars on your forecast? This is our way of telling you that without troublesome winds the swell might be good, but taking into account an onshore wind it's not going to reach it's potential. If you know a local spot that works in the predicted wind you can expect the full rating, otherwise read these 'faded' stars as an indication that the winds are likely spoiling the surf.

What our Rating DOESN'T do:

COMPLEX LOCAL SWELL SHADOWS

Although we take into account the swell direction we don't calculate the really local details that can effect incoming swells at some breaks. If you've a local headland, a pier or harbour wall, a really local chain of small offshore islands, or a complex point or reef break requiring a very specific swell direction you'll need to dig deeper to adjust our rating for these specific local conditions.

TIDES

The tide can radically effect the surf produced from a swell. We clearly display tide times but we don't take these very local (and often sand bank dependent) factors into account in the rating.

SAND BANKS

A sand beach (or sand covered reef) will change shape over the season as the sand is moved around by swell. These factors are far too local and variable for a computer forecast to ever accurately account for but can make the difference. You'd have to be a very picky surfer to neglect a great swell for poor banks but a clued up local regularly on the same beach will take this, normally with tide, into account when planning a session.

WAVE SHAPE

A combination of all the above factors and more can mean the difference between a close out and a peeling a-frame. No computer system will be able to analyse all these details and most experienced local forecasters can struggle especially for beach breaks.

In Summary

We can, with some degree of accuracy, tell you when there's a great quality swell heading towards your beach. We can tell you the tides and whether the winds going to be right. After that you'll need two things, a little local experience to make the best of it and just a touch of luck.

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