Red Strand (Dirk Bay) Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Cork, Ireland)

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- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
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Weather State
Spot Information

Red Strand (Dirk Bay) Surf Guide

Red Strand(Dirk Bay) in County Cork is a sheltered reef break that has reasonably consistent surf, although summer tends to be mostly flat. The best wind direction is from the north. Waves just as likely from local windswells as from distant groundswells and the optimum swell angle is from the southwest. Both left and right reef breaks. Best around high tide. Take care of rocks in the line up.

Red Strand (Dirk Bay) Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef	3	fairly consistent	12.0°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Red Strand (Dirk Bay):

The best conditions reported for surf at Red Strand (Dirk Bay) occur when a Southwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the North.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Red Strand (Dirk Bay) (for consistent clean waves)?

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Red Strand (Dirk Bay) with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of January. Clean surfable waves are typically found 4% of the time in January while 40% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 56% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

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

blown out

40%

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

too small

56%

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

Explore Red Strand (Dirk Bay) Location Map

Interactive Red Strand (Dirk Bay) 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 Red Strand (Dirk Bay) is Cork Airport (ORK) in Ireland, 45 km (28 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Red Strand (Dirk Bay) is Kerry Airport (KIR), also in Ireland, 81 km (50 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.

Red Strand (Dirk Bay) Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Monday, 4 May 2026, 23:30 Local Time

m, °C	Mon	Tuesday 05
ft, °F	10PM	1AM	4AM	7AM
Wave (m)	S	S	S	S
Period (s)	13	13	13	13
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	off	off	off	off

Tides at Red Strand (Dirk Bay)

Current tide and informaton

For Long Strand-Castlefreke, 3 km from Red Strand (Dirk Bay).

Next High Water: 07:56am | 3.02m

Next Low Water: 01:50am | 0.53m

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

Red Strand (Dirk Bay) Sea Temperature

The Red Strand (Dirk Bay) water temperature is rather cold (12.0 °C). Although it will be cloudy today, air temperatures will be relatively mild, feeling like 13.0 °C, so feeling about the same in the water as out of it. A winter steamer or even a good quality spring wetsuit and neoprene boots should suffice. Wear a hood and gloves if you have not been surfing for a while.

Today, many surfers would wear a winter wetsuit and neoprene boots.