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Sherkin Island 66.8

#2589 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇮🇪 Ireland · Cork · near Killarney

Works almost every day, wind is the enemy here, no off season.

Works all yearBig waveIntermediate
Sherkin Island, Ireland
Photo: Joe Stump · CC BY 2.0 · source
Surf score66.8 /100
Surfable days90% of the year
Clean days14% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell27% period 11 s+
Typical size1.6 m 5.3 ft median
Water13°C a 5/4 with boots and hood

Best time to surf Sherkin Island

The best time to surf Sherkin Island is January, March, November. It rarely works. In November the water sits around 12°C, so pack a 5/4 with boots and hood, and the typical wave is 2.4 m. The nearest airport is ORK (77 km) and the nearest town is Killarney (65 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan88%28%2.2 m10°C6/5
Feb80%8%3.0 m9°C6/5
Mar95%21%1.9 m10°C6/5
Apr92%14%1.4 m10°C5/4
May97%11%1.3 m13°C4/3
Jun89%5%1.0 m14°C4/3
Jul86%2%0.9 m17°C3/2
Aug87%2%1.1 m18°C3/2
Sep97%10%1.3 m15°C4/3
Oct95%7%2.0 m14°C4/3
Nov93%31%2.4 m12°C5/4
Dec87%12%2.5 m11°C5/4

What is under Sherkin Island

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor is still shallow, 22 m.

Depth 8 km out22 m
Depth 4 km out20 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 66.8

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%
15.8
Best days 22.4%
18.8
Clean days 18.4%
6.0
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
0.0
Access 4.1%
2.9

The detail

Faces 190° with 50% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 52% of days. Mean peak period 10.0 s. Days over 3 m: 17%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 3.5 m, with a peak period of 12 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 32%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 51.471, -9.422 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,500/ month
typically €1,320 – €1,680
Rent, one bedroom€786
Groceries€314
Eating out€178
Getting around€106
Phone + internet€110
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€2,920/ month
typically €2,570 – €3,260
Somewhere to stay€1,720
Eating out€612
Car, transfers, fuel€395
Data + extras€187
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Remote spot, so the local estimate is 15% below the country average. Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Ireland (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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