Explore / Australia · Tasmania
Shipstern Bluff.
Now
· updated 11 hours agoThe week opens with a building 2-3m southwest swell at 13-14 seconds under blown-out north wind Tuesday, easing to strong by evening. Wednesday peaks with a 2.5-3.2m SSW/ESE swell at 10-14 seconds and heavy wind-sea under blown-out southwest wind — the week’s largest and most wind-affected conditions. Thursday sees the swell drop to 2-3m at 12-13 seconds with continued heavy wind-sea and blown-out southwest wind easing to strong. Friday through Sunday hold a steady 2-2.5m southwest swell at 12-16 seconds under strong northwest to southeast winds, with Saturday showing a slight build to 2.5m. Early next week, the swell gradually fades to 1.5-2m at 11-15 seconds as winds shift from light south to moderate northeast by Tuesday, then ease to light
Swell height
Wave systems
- primary —
- secondary —
- tertiary —
- wind sea —
Power
Wind speed
Tide
Weather
Nearby regions
About Shipstern Bluff
Shipstern Bluff is a single right-hand slab on the Tasman Peninsula in southeast Tasmania, ~90 minutes south of Hobart, breaking under the 300 m dolerite cliffs at Cape Raoul. The wave is famous for its second ledge, “the step”, a backwash double-up that throws the lip clear of the takeoff and turns most rides into something between a ramp and a free-fall. There’s no road in. Get there by boat from Pirates Bay (a 30 km, ~40-minute trip) or hike an hour through Tasman National Park from the Cape Raoul carpark. Andy Campbell put it on film in 2000, and Red Bull Cape Fear ran here in 2019 and 2021.
The lineup needs Southern Ocean energy. Best season is June through August, when Roaring 40s lows track east under Tasmania and pump west to south-west swell. The window is narrow. Period under 12 s won’t stand the slab up; over 16 s the step gets unmanageable. Working size is 2.5 m and bigger, with the heaviest paddled sessions sitting at 4 to 5 m. Offshore is north-west to west. Tasmanian weather flips inside an hour, so the call to launch the boat is usually made at dawn off the swell model and the synoptic chart, not the day before.
The wave is what’s dangerous. The water is dangerous too. Winter sits at 10 to 12 °C, summer caps at 21 °C. A 5/4 with hood, boots, and gloves covers winter, a 4/3 is the summer minimum. The slab runs over shallow dolerite with a dry-rock section that exposes between sets. Wash through to the headland and you’re in cold water on shallow reef, 30 km from a road. White sharks live in Tasmanian water. So do aggressive sea lions. The paddle audience is a handful of local specialists, Tyler Hollmer-Cross and Marti Paradisis chief among them, plus visiting pros on tow assist when it’s truly heavy. If you came to watch, stay back from the headland. The washes do not negotiate.