Cathedral Rock
Surf spot · Australia
Is it worth the trip?
45Fair out of 100 for your dates
Best on Thu 5: 5 ft swell at 7 s, sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow
Mon 2 · 55 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft10 ssoft
- Energy
- 331kJ
- Wind
- SE 4 kn
- Temp
- 17°C
Tue 3 · 46 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft9 smushy
- Energy
- 247kJ
- Wind
- SSE 6 kn
- Temp
- 17°C
Wed 4 · 22 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft9 scrumbling
- Energy
- 92kJ
- Wind
- WNW 13 kn
- Temp
- 17°C
Thu 5 · 56 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 202kJ
- Wind
- W 8 kn
- Temp
- 15°C
Fri 6 · 49 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft10 ssoft
- Energy
- 368kJ
- Wind
- WNW 13 kn
- Temp
- 17°C
Sat 7 · 29 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft9 ssoft
- Energy
- 430kJ
- Wind
- SSW 11 kn
- Temp
- 12°C
Sun 8 · 14 out of 100
- Swell
- 6 ft9 smushy
- Energy
- 458kJ
- Wind
- SSE 6 kn
- Temp
- 12°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 137, too small
- Mon 255, fair
- Tue 346, fair
- Wed 422, too small
- Thu 556, fair
- Fri 649, fair
- Sat 729, poor
- Sun 814, poor
- Mon 932, too small
- Tue 1024, too small
The spot in five facts
- Faces SEtakes swell from the SE
- Offshore: NWwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 4–15 ftof swell
- Water 15 °C4/3 wetsuit and boots
Full forecast
every day, every number
| Day | Score for intermediates | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 37, too small | 3 ft7 smushy1 ft at break (est.) | 81kJ | wind from the south-east, 3 knots | 17°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 55, fair | 4 ft10 ssoft1 ft at break (est.) | 331kJ | wind from the south-east, 4 knots | 17°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 46, fair | 4 ft9 smushy1 ft at break (est.) | 247kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 6 knots | 17°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 22, too small | 3 ft9 scrumblingunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 92kJ | offshorewind from the west-north-west, 13 knots, offshore | 17°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 56, fair | 5 ft7 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 202kJ | offshorewind from the west, 8 knots, offshore | 15°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 49, fair | 5 ft10 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 368kJ | offshorewind from the west-north-west, 13 knots, offshore | 17°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 29, poor | 5 ft9 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 430kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 11 knots | 12°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 14, poor | 6 ft9 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 458kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 6 knots | 12°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 32, too small | 4 ft9 smushy2 ft at break (est.) | 191kJ | wind from the east-south-east, 7 knots | 17°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 24, too small | 3 ft4 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 25kJ | wind from the north, 8 knots | 22°C |
Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More
Tide
- Sun 1 NovHigh 04:38 +1.2 mLow 10:20 −0.6 mHigh 16:17 +0.7 mLow 22:20 −1.2 m
- Mon 2 NovHigh 05:21 +1.1 mLow 11:04 −0.6 mHigh 17:06 +0.7 mLow 23:07 −1.1 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 06:07 +1.0 mLow 11:51 −0.6 mHigh 18:05 +0.6 mLow 23:58 −0.9 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
No month stands out
Good days in a typical week, each month, for intermediate surfers, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan0of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb0of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May1of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug1of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep1of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov0of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec0of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast.
Map
the spot and its town
Cathedral Rock on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for intermediates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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More surf near here
5 places
- Upper Cathedral Rock 0.7 km away
- supertubes 2.9 km away
- Hunters 3.7 km away
- steppy's 4 km away
- Lorne 4.1 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Cathedral Rock
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces SE (131°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (311°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 4–15 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 450 m out (1 in 44). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 13°C in August, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 19°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Lorne, 4.6 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 9 surf spots and 3 wind sports spots.
Water about 15°C: 4/3 wetsuit and boots. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
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$1,920–US$3,660 each
about US$1,920–US$3,660 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, board and wetsuit.
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
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return MDW to MEL, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$958–US$2,000 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$147–US$241 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$355–US$596 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$322–US$596 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$141–US$234 |
| Total | about US$1,920–US$3,660 |
For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: 3 towns
8 min by car · 43 places to stay
about US$134/nightcountry average
About Lorne its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Fairhaven on Booking.com
14 min by car · 13 places to stay
- Beds in Aireys Inlet on Booking.com
18 min by car · 18 places to stay
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 30h 15m
About 30h 15m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → MEL, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 2h 25m by road
Flights MDW → MEL on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.