The full table, so the ordering on the front page can be checked and argued with. Every beach is here, including the ones whose bearing two measurements disagree about.
ocean beach
Modelled +7.5 kn onshore
faces 210° · 5 to 10 kn band · swell 0.98 of straight-in · not patrolled today · offshore 1.9 km away at Blairgowrie Bay Beach (bay side; not patrolled today)
this page's survey of the 18 beaches, bearing 210° (computed; OSM normal and terrain DEM agree to 15 deg; mean of the two)
ocean beach
Modelled +4.8 kn onshore
faces 225° · 0 to 5 kn band · swell 1.00 of straight-in · not patrolled today · walks here: Coppins Track to Diamond Bay & St Paul's Lookout; Back beach to front bar: Diamond Bay to Portsea Hotel · bearing disputed · so this beach is never ranked
this page's survey of the 18 beaches, bearing 225° (approximate; OSM normal and terrain DEM disagree by 34 deg and neither is strong (relief 34.5m, focus 0.20); OSM value left in place)
ocean beach
Modelled +3.8 kn onshore
faces 230° · 0 to 5 kn band · swell 0.99 of straight-in · not patrolled today
this page's survey of the 18 beaches, bearing 230° (computed; OSM normal and terrain DEM agree to 3 deg; mean of the two)
ocean beach
Modelled +1.7 kn onshore
faces 240° · 0 to 5 kn band · swell 0.95 of straight-in · not patrolled today
this page's survey of the 18 beaches, bearing 240° (computed; OSM normal and terrain DEM agree to 8 deg; mean of the two)
ocean beach
Modelled -10.1 kn offshore
faces 304° · offshore band · swell 0.14 of straight-in · not patrolled today · walks here: Farnsworth Track to London Bridge; Back beach to front bar: Diamond Bay to Portsea Hotel · bearing disputed · so this beach is never ranked
this page's survey of the 18 beaches, bearing 304° (approximate; OSM normal and terrain DEM disagree by 95 deg and neither is strong (relief 37.2m, focus 0.33); OSM value left in place)
ocean beach
Modelled +5.5 kn onshore
faces 221° · 5 to 10 kn band · swell 1.00 of straight-in · not patrolled today · offshore 4.1 km away at Blairgowrie Bay Beach (bay side; not patrolled today)
this page's survey of the 18 beaches, bearing 221° (computed; OSM normal and terrain DEM agree to 6 deg; mean of the two, re-measured 2026-09-30 at a corrected point on the beach)
ocean beach
Modelled +7.2 kn onshore
faces 212° · 5 to 10 kn band · swell 0.98 of straight-in · not patrolled today · offshore 1.9 km away at Fishermans Beach (bay side; not patrolled today) · walks here: Farnsworth Track to London Bridge; Back beach to front bar: Diamond Bay to Portsea Hotel
this page's survey of the 18 beaches, bearing 212° (computed; OSM normal and terrain DEM agree to 1 deg; mean of the two)
ocean beach
Modelled +3.4 kn onshore
faces 232° · 0 to 5 kn band · swell 0.98 of straight-in · not patrolled today
this page's survey of the 18 beaches, bearing 232° (computed; OSM normal and terrain DEM agree to 4 deg; mean of the two, re-measured 2026-09-30 at a corrected point on the beach)
ocean beach
Modelled +5.7 kn onshore
faces 220° · 5 to 10 kn band · swell 1.00 of straight-in · not patrolled today · offshore 1.6 km away at Sorrento Front Beach (bay side; not patrolled today) · walks here: Coppins Lookout & Sphinx Rock; Coppins Track to Diamond Bay & St Paul's Lookout; Back beach to front bar: Diamond Bay to Portsea Hotel
this page's survey of the 18 beaches, bearing 220° (computed; OSM normal and terrain DEM agree to 11 deg; mean of the two)
ocean beach
Modelled +4.8 kn onshore
faces 225° · 0 to 5 kn band · swell 1.00 of straight-in · not patrolled today · bearing disputed · so this beach is never ranked
this page's survey of the 18 beaches, bearing 225° (approximate; OSM normal and terrain DEM disagree by 168 deg and neither is strong (relief 14.2m, focus 0.32); OSM value left in place)
bay beach
Modelled -8.5 kn offshore
faces 24° · offshore band · swell 0.00 of straight-in · not patrolled today · water fair
this page's survey of the 18 beaches, bearing 24° (computed; OSM normal and terrain DEM agree to 11 deg; mean of the two)
bay beach
Modelled -6.1 kn offshore
faces 38° · offshore band · swell 0.00 of straight-in · not patrolled today · walks here: Millionaires Walk: Sorrento to Portsea · water good
this page's survey of the 18 beaches, bearing 38° (computed; OSM normal and terrain DEM agree to 22 deg, and the DEM's value is taken rather than the mean of the two. The DEM was checked against four bearings already recorded on this coast and reproduced all four to within 3 deg: Portsea Front, 283 m from here, to 1 deg, Shelley to 2 deg, Point King to 3 deg and Rosebud exactly. The span-fitted coastline normal was 8 to 20 deg out on those same four, because the shore turns 67 deg between Portsea Front and 400 m east of here while the fit stays near 16 deg along the whole bend, so averaging the two would blend a checked number with a known artefact. Relief here is 23.1 m, the strongest of any point measured on this stretch, and focus is 0.29)
bay beach
Modelled -7.2 kn offshore
faces 32° · offshore band · swell 0.00 of straight-in · not patrolled today · walks here: Millionaires Walk: Sorrento to Portsea · water fair
this page's survey of the 18 beaches, bearing 32° (computed; OSM normal and terrain DEM agree to 5 deg; mean of the two)
bay beach
Modelled -11.3 kn offshore
faces 0° · offshore band · swell 0.00 of straight-in · not patrolled today · walks here: Millionaires Walk: Sorrento to Portsea; Back beach to front bar: Diamond Bay to Portsea Hotel · water good
this page's survey of the 18 beaches, bearing 0° (computed; OSM normal and terrain DEM agree to 3 deg; mean of the two)
bay beach
Modelled -12.2 kn offshore
faces 338° · offshore band · swell 0.00 of straight-in · not patrolled today · water fair
this page's survey of the 18 beaches, bearing 338° (computed; OSM normal and terrain DEM agree to 0 deg; mean of the two)
bay beach
Modelled -11.3 kn offshore
faces 0° · offshore band · swell 0.00 of straight-in · not patrolled today · water fair
this page's survey of the 18 beaches, bearing 0° (computed; OSM normal and terrain DEM agree to 2 deg; mean of the two)
bay beach
Modelled -10.1 kn offshore
faces 12° · offshore band · swell 0.00 of straight-in · not patrolled today · walks here: Millionaires Walk: Sorrento to Portsea · water good
this page's survey of the 18 beaches, bearing 12° (computed; OSM normal and terrain DEM agree to 4 deg; mean of the two)
bay beach
Modelled -2.3 kn offshore
faces 57° · offshore band · swell 0.00 of straight-in · not patrolled today · walks here: Millionaires Walk: Sorrento to Portsea · water fair
this page's survey of the 18 beaches, bearing 57° (computed; OSM normal and terrain DEM agree to 28 deg; mean of the two)
Measured The bearings above were measured by 2 different methods, which is recorded per beach above
the aspect measurement recorded for each of the 18 beaches
Unavailable 3 of the 18 beaches are shown but never ranked because two independent measurements of which way they face disagree: Diamond Bay, London Bridge, St Andrews Beach
OSM coastline normal and terrain DEM
All eighteen, ocean beaches first, then the bay. Wind is resolved onto each beach's own bearing: positive is onshore, negative is blowing off the sand. Swell exposure is the fraction of a straight-in swell that reaches it, so 1.00 is square-on and 0.00 is sheltered. Neither number is a score and nothing here is weighted.
| Beach | Onshore windkn | Family14 of 18 | Swim0 of 18All others: no lifesavers here outside the November-to-April season | Surf7 of 18 | Kite11 of 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgewater Bay | +7.5 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Diamond Bay | +4.8 | Nowhich way this beach faces is not settled: two measurements disagree | No | Nowhich way this beach faces is not settled: two measurements disagree | Nonot enough room to launch a kite safely |
| Gunnamatta Beach | +3.8 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Koonya Ocean Beach | +1.7 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| London Bridge | -10.1 | Nowhich way this beach faces is not settled: two measurements disagree | No | Nowhich way this beach faces is not settled: two measurements disagree | Nonot enough room to launch a kite safely |
| Number 16 Beach | +5.5 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Portsea Surf Beach | +7.2 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Rye Ocean Beach | +3.4 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Sorrento Ocean Beach | +5.7 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| St Andrews Beach | +4.8 | Nowhich way this beach faces is not settled: two measurements disagree | No | Nowhich way this beach faces is not settled: two measurements disagree | Nowhich way this beach faces is not settled: two measurements disagree |
| Blairgowrie Bay Beach | -8.5 | Yes | No | Nonot a surf beach | Yes |
| Fishermans Beach | -6.1 | Yes | No | Nonot a surf beach | Nonot enough room to launch a kite safely |
| Point King Beach | -7.2 | Yes | No | Nonot a surf beach | Nonot enough room to launch a kite safely |
| Portsea Front Beach & Pier | -11.3 | Nothe sand beach here washed away; the pier and foreshore remain | No | No | No |
| Rosebud Beach | -12.2 | Yes | No | Nonot a surf beach | Yes |
| Rye Front Beach | -11.3 | Yes | No | Nonot a surf beach | Yes |
| Shelley Beach | -10.1 | Yes | No | Nonot a surf beach | Nonot enough room to launch a kite safely |
| Sorrento Front Beach | -2.3 | Yes | No | Nonot a surf beach | Yes |
Onshore wind is resolved onto each beach's own bearing: positive blows onto the sand, negative off it, and darker cells have more wind coming onshore. The number is the same for every use. The use columns show whether each beach is open for that use today and, if it is not, why.
Wind from the Open-Meteo forecast at this build's hour; patrols from Life Saving Victoria's season convention; water quality from the EPA Beach Report; bearings from this page's survey of the 18 beaches.
A photograph appears only where it has been checked as that beach: named, located within 400 m, and compared by eye. The rest have directions and a map, and no stand-in picture.
Toilets · cafe · playground · pier · on lead, check signs
Toilets · pier · parking · on lead, check signs
Parking · on lead, check signs
Toilets · cafe · marina · parking · on lead, check signs
Toilets · cafe · pier · parking · on lead, check signs
Toilets · cafe · parking · surf club · no dogs (national park)
Toilets · water · parking · surf club · no dogs (national park)
Parking · no dogs (national park)
Toilets · parking · no dogs (national park)
Toilets · parking · surf club · no dogs (national park)
Toilets · parking · on lead, check signs
Toilets · pub · pier · parking · on lead, check signs
Toilets · cafe · playground · parking · on lead, check signs
Parking · no dogs (national park)
Toilets · parking · no dogs (national park)
Parking · no dogs (national park)
Toilets · parking · no dogs (national park)
Toilets · parking · no dogs (national park)
