As of Wednesday 1:00pm, the best window this week is Fri dawn, 8.7 of 10 - excellent. In by 5:15am at Shelly Beach (Cabbage Tree Bay).
No ring in sight, but a morning worth having. Last rang September 6, 2026 - 66 days ago.
Right now
Water
68F
by satellite · the bell wants 59F or warmer
Buoy, right now
3.4 ft @ 10.8 s
from 136° · 2 h ago
Satellite clarity
milky
Kd490 0.151, 12 days old · a witness, not a forecast
Dry spell
72 h+
the gate wants 72 hours without rain
Plankton
clear
chlorophyll 2.0 mg/m³ by satellite · green water is plankton
Moon
new · 2%
full in 14 days · new in 28
The water index
Fri dawn - this bell's best window this week, scored on its own water.
The week, scored
Each window is scored 1 to 10 for this water alone; 7 is worth the drive. The bell rings only when every condition aligns and holds across two readings.
Wed dusk6.5
swell 3.1 ft @ 7.2 s from 135° · wind 6.5 kn · cloud 31% · sun down 7:32pm
held back by stirred-up water · Shelly Beach (Cabbage Tree Bay)
Thu dawn7.5
swell 2.4 ft @ 6.1 s from 142° · wind 6.3 kn · cloud 36% · first light 5:15am · sun up 5:45am
held back by stirred-up water · Shelly Beach (Cabbage Tree Bay)
Thu dusk8.2
swell 2.6 ft @ 5.1 s from 128° · wind 6.0 kn · cloud 3% · sun down 7:32pm
held back by stirred-up water · Shelly Beach (Cabbage Tree Bay)
Fri dawn8.7
swell 2.1 ft @ 4.3 s from 135° · wind 2.5 kn · cloud 73% · first light 5:15am · sun up 5:45am
held back by all clear · Shelly Beach (Cabbage Tree Bay)
Fri dusk3.7
swell 2.6 ft @ 4.6 s from 90° · wind 12.1 kn · cloud 72% · sun down 7:33pm
held back by swell · Shelly Beach (Cabbage Tree Bay)
Sat dawn5.5
swell 3.6 ft @ 4.6 s from 74° · wind 3.0 kn · cloud 52% · first light 5:14am · sun up 5:44am
held back by swell · Shelly Beach (Cabbage Tree Bay)
Sat dusk4.0
swell 2.6 ft @ 4.5 s from 73° · wind 10.3 kn · cloud 98% · sun down 7:34pm
held back by rain · Shelly Beach (Cabbage Tree Bay)
Sun dawn4.0
swell 1.9 ft @ 4.7 s from 69° · wind 3.9 kn · cloud 100% · first light 5:13am · sun up 5:43am
held back by rain · Shelly Beach (Cabbage Tree Bay)
Sun dusk4.0
swell 2.4 ft @ 4.7 s from 143° · wind 8.1 kn · cloud 100% · sun down 7:35pm
held back by rain · Shelly Beach (Cabbage Tree Bay)
Mon dawn4.0
swell 4.6 ft @ 6.2 s from 147° · wind 6.6 kn · cloud 100% · first light 5:13am · sun up 5:43am
held back by rain · Shelly Beach (Cabbage Tree Bay)
Mon dusk4.0
swell 2.9 ft @ 5.3 s from 114° · wind 4.7 kn · cloud 100% · sun down 7:36pm
held back by rain · Shelly Beach (Cabbage Tree Bay)
Tue dawn3.8
swell 3.2 ft @ 5.2 s from 104° · wind 9.4 kn · cloud 89% · first light 5:12am · sun up 5:42am
held back by rain · Shelly Beach (Cabbage Tree Bay)
Tue dusk1.0
swell 4.3 ft @ 6.8 s from 85° · wind 14.7 kn · cloud 100% · sun down 7:37pm
held back by rain · Shelly Beach (Cabbage Tree Bay)
Wed dawn1.7
swell 5.4 ft @ 6.1 s from 80° · wind 4.7 kn · cloud 23% · first light 5:12am · sun up 5:42am
held back by rain · Shelly Beach (Cabbage Tree Bay)
Lights, left to right: flat · glass · dry · sun · warm. All five, held across two readings, and the bell rings.
Water temperature
The weather model's sea-surface temperature: four days past, three ahead (dotted), today marked. Where a pier or NOAA station measures the water, that reading is the card under Right now.
The water, mapped
Gold: the coves the bell names this week. Filled: placed where USGS place names and OpenStreetMap agree; hollow: one source. Blue: the instruments this bell reads, with their distance. The arrow: the week's best swell, arriving from its direction. Not drawn, because no public source places them: Fairy Bower.
The coves
Shelly Beach (Cabbage Tree Bay)named this week 20 ft · sand walk-in off the promenade · aquatic reserve — dusky whalers, blue gropers, weedy seadragons
Fairy Bowernamed this week 25 ft · the bower steps, swim the pipeline out · sponge gardens along the wall toward Manly · best at mid-high tide
The instruments
buoy Sydney, tide station none, water 68F now (the bell wants 59F or warmer).
When it rings: the winter mornings, when the southerly finally sleeps. In its casting against years of this water, 33% of mornings reached 7. Rings since casting: 0.
Join this bell
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The ledger
This bell has not yet rung. When it does, the ring enters here the moment it is made, and the morning after, the buoy, the wind, the rain and the sky testify to whether it held. Every bell's record →