Crackneck Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Newcastle, Australia)

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Spot Information

Crackneck Surf Guide

Crackneck in Newcastle is an exposed reef break that has quite reliable surf. The optimum time of year for waves is autumn. Offshore winds blow from the west northwest. Waves just as likely from local windswells as from distant groundswells and the best swell direction is from the northeast. Reef breaks provide lefts and rights. Best around mid tide when the tide is rising. Relatively few surfers here, even on good days. Beware of rocks and sharks.

Crackneck Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef	5	fairly consistent	22.8°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Crackneck:

The best conditions reported for surf at Crackneck occur when a Northeast swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the West-northwest.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Crackneck (for consistent clean waves)?

mayBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Crackneck with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of May. Clean surfable waves are typically found 14% of the time in May while 10% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 76% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

14%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

10%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

76%

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Crackneck Location Map

Interactive Crackneck surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Crackneck is Kingsford Smith International Airport (Sydney) Airport (SYD) in Australia, 69 km (43 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Crackneck is Richmond Airport (RCM), also in Australia, 70 km (43 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Crackneck Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 13:32 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 05
ft, °F	1PM	4PM	7PM	10PM
Wave (m)	ENE	ENE	ENE	ENE
Period (s)	11	11	11	11
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- on	on	on	cross- on

Tides at Crackneck

Current tide and informaton

For Long Jetty, 2 km from Crackneck.

Next High Water: 10:21pm | 1.46m

Next Low Water: 03:46pm | 0.46m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Crackneck Sea Temperature

Sunny with pleasantly warm air temperatures (feeling like 21.0 °C once we account for wind), and similar sea temperatures (22.8 °C). Wear boardshorts or a shorty, or better still a thin summer wetsuit to keep the UV off.

Today, many surfers would wear a shorty.

Current Temp*: 22.8°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite