WorldAustralia › Victoria › D - Bay

D - Bay 68.7

#2467 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇦🇺 Australia · Victoria · near Cranbourne

Works almost every day, no off season.

Works all yearIntermediate
D - Bay, Australia
Photo: ozzmosis · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · photo taken 2.4 km from the spot
Surf score68.7 /100
Surfable days99% of the year
Clean days31% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell71% period 11 s+
Typical size1.4 m 4.6 ft median
Water16°C a 4/3 with boots

Best time to surf D - Bay

The best time to surf D - Bay is January, March, November. The season runs Mar to Mar. In November the water sits around 16°C, so pack a 4/3 with boots, and the typical wave is 1.3 m. The nearest airport is MEL (59 km) and the nearest town is Cranbourne (18 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan98%37%1.2 m19°C2mm
Feb98%34%1.3 m20°C2mm
Mar100%45%1.3 m20°C2mm
Apr100%29%1.4 m18°C3/2
May99%25%1.5 m16°C3/2
Jun99%24%1.4 m14°C4/3
Jul99%13%1.5 m12°C5/4
Aug99%18%1.7 m12°C5/4
Sep100%28%1.6 m13°C5/4
Oct95%25%1.3 m14°C4/3
Nov100%48%1.3 m16°C4/3
Dec99%33%1.2 m18°C3/2

What is under D - Bay

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor drops to 78 m. Alongside the bank the survey finds a channel, 294 m against 78 m, deep enough to bend swell onto one peak instead of spreading it along the beach.

Depth 8 km out78 m
Depth 4 km out67 m
Channel beside it294 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 68.7

Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.

Wave quality 34.7%
13.4
Best days 22.4%
12.8
Clean days 18.4%
13.9
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
1.3
Access 4.1%
3.8

The detail

Faces 310° with 36% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 43% of days. Mean peak period 12.1 s. Days over 3 m: 2%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 2.3 m, with a peak period of 14 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 36%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates -38.166, 145.092 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,990/ month
typically €1,750 – €2,230
Rent, one bedroom€1,050
Groceries€416
Eating out€238
Getting around€140
Phone + internet€151
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€3,890/ month
typically €3,420 – €4,360
Somewhere to stay€2,290
Eating out€815
Car, transfers, fuel€529
Data + extras€248
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Airport and town on the doorstep, so the local estimate is 8% above the country average. Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Australia (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.

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Spots nearby

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