Staying Home Sucks, home
Aerial perspective of Torquay Bowls . March 2019
Torquay, the nearest town, 7 km away. Photo: Bob Tan, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Southside

Kitesurf spot · Australia

Is it worth the trip?

38Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Sat 7: 20 kn gusting 27, side-shore, Water: waves 1.3 m

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 0 out of 100

Wind
ESE 7 kn
Gusts
9kn
Shore
side-on
Water
chop
Air
16°C

Tue 3 · 0 out of 100

Wind
SSW 11 kn
Gusts
15kn
Shore
side-on
Water
0.8 mwaves
Air
14°C

Wed 4 · 49 out of 100

Wind
WSW 17 kn
Gusts
22kn
Shore
side
Water
1.0 mwaves
Air
18°C

Thu 5 · 0 out of 100

Wind
SSW 12 kn
Gusts
16kn
Shore
side-on
Water
0.9 mwaves
Air
16°C

Fri 6 · 49 out of 100

Wind
SSW 19 kn
Gusts
24kn
Shore
side
Water
1.0 mwaves
Air
18°C

Sat 7 · 97 out of 100

Wind
SSW 20 kn
Gusts
27kn
Shore
side
Water
1.3 mwaves
Air
12°C

Sun 8 · 0 out of 100

Wind
S 9 kn
Gusts
17kn
Shore
side-on
Water
1.0 mwaves
Air
12°C

Tap a day for wind, gusts, shore and air. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 10, poor
  2. Mon 20, poor
  3. Tue 30, poor
  4. Wed 449, fair
  5. Thu 50, poor
  6. Fri 649, fair
  7. Sat 797, good
  8. Sun 80, poor
  9. Mon 90, poor
  10. Tue 1023, poor

The spot in six facts

  • Faces SEopen to the SE
  • Best wind: SW or NEalong the shore
  • Avoid: NWblows out to sea
  • Shelteredto the swell
  • Water 15 °C4/3 wetsuit and boots
  • Best in Feb2 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know gusts, offshore wind, tides or your skill.

Wind forecast and score for each day at Southside
DayScoreWindGustsShoreWaterAir
Sun 1Nov0, poorwind from the south, 5 knots6knside-onchop15°C
Mon 2Nov0, poorwind from the east-south-east, 7 knots9knside-onchop16°C
Tue 3Nov0, poorwind from the south-south-west, 11 knots15knside-on0.8 mwaves14°C
Wed 4Nov49, fairwind from the west-south-west, 17 knots22knside1.0 mwaves18°C
Thu 5Nov0, poorwind from the south-south-west, 12 knots16knside-on0.9 mwaves16°C
Fri 6Nov49, fairwind from the south-south-west, 19 knots24knside1.0 mwaves18°C
Sat 7Nov97, goodwind from the south-south-west, 20 knots27knside1.3 mwaves12°C
Sun 8Nov0, poorwind from the south, 9 knots17knside-on1.0 mwaves12°C
Mon 9Nov0, poorwind from the east, 7 knots13knside-onchop15°C
Tue 10Nov23, poorwind from the north-east, 12 knots19knsidechop20°C

Wind is the day's best reading, mean and gusts, in knots; the arrow points where it blows to. Shore "off" blows out to sea. More

Tide

  • Sun 1 NovHigh 04:43 +1.3 mLow 10:26 −0.6 mHigh 16:24 +0.8 mLow 22:27 −1.3 m
  • Mon 2 NovHigh 05:27 +1.2 mLow 11:09 −0.6 mHigh 17:14 +0.8 mLow 23:14 −1.1 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 06:13 +1.0 mLow 11:57 −0.6 mHigh 18:12 +0.7 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

best in Feb

Good kitesurf days in a typical week, each month, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb2of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May1of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug1of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep1of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov1of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
  12. Dec1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical, not a forecast. Reanalysis wind misses some local thermal winds, so a spot known for an afternoon breeze may do better than this.

Map

the spot and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More kitesurf near here

3 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Southside

Known for kitesurfing and windsurfing, by the OpenStreetMap map of the area. The shore faces SE, so wind from the NW blows out to sea (our estimate from the coastline).

Water about 15°C: 4/3 wetsuit and boots. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

A spot for kitesurfing and windsurfing, as OpenStreetMap maps it, on a shore facing SE. Wind from the SE blows onshore, wind from the NW blows out to sea, and wind from the SW or NE runs along the shore. It is sheltered to the open sea. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 450 m out (1 in 46). The sea is about 13°C in July, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 20°C in February, its warmest (2 mm shorty). For kitesurfing at intermediate level the best month is usually February, with about 2 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Torquay. Within 5 km we also list 8 surf spots and 3 wind sports spots.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,780–US$3,430 each

about US$1,780–US$3,430 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to MEL, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$958–US$2,000
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$147–US$241
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$355–US$596
Food7 days eating outabout US$322–US$596
Totalabout US$1,780–US$3,430

Kit hire is not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Torquay

Closest

Torquay

12 min by car · 37 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 37 places to stay in Torquay · Booking.com

About Torquay its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$134 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 29h 35m

About 29h 35m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → MEL, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 1h 50m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.