French Basque Country, France

Belharra buoy: live swell

Belharra is an offshore reef 2 km out from Urrugne that only breaks a few days a year, when a huge north-west swell arrives: the waves then go well over 10 m. The Météo-France Gascogne buoy, in the middle of the Bay of Biscay, is the one to watch: it sees the swell go by several hours before it gets here. On site, the Saint-Jean-de-Luz buoy, 3 km away, measures what actually arrives, and the Bilbao-Vizcaya buoy adds a second offshore reading.

High tide	01:26 AM	3.72m	61
Low tide	07:17 AM	1.33m
High tide	01:46 PM	3.96m	66
Low tide	07:54 PM	1.09m


0.6-0.7m 115 kJ	0.6m 12s	306°
0.6-0.7m 107 kJ	0.6m 12s	305°
0.6-0.7m 99 kJ	0.6m 11s	306°
0.6-0.7m 87 kJ	0.6m 11s	306°
0.5-0.6m 76 kJ	0.6m 11s	307°
0.5-0.6m 69 kJ	0.5m 11s	307°

High tide	02:11 AM	3.89m	71
Low tide	08:06 AM	1.14m
High tide	02:30 PM	4.08m	75
Low tide	08:36 PM	0.97m


0.5-0.6m 66 kJ	0.5m 11s	308°
0.5-0.6m 65 kJ	0.5m 11s	309°
0.5-0.6m 61 kJ	0.5m 11s	309°
0.5-0.6m 58 kJ	0.5m 11s	309°
0.4-0.5m 54 kJ	0.5m 11s	309°
0.4-0.5m 51 kJ	0.5m 11s	309°

High tide	02:50 AM	4.04m	78
Low tide	08:50 AM	1m
High tide	03:09 PM	4.16m	81
Low tide	09:14 PM	0.9m


0.4-0.5m 36 kJ	0.5m 9s	305°
0.4-0.5m 34 kJ	0.5m 9s	301°
0.4-0.5m 32 kJ	0.4m 9s	301°
0.4-0.5m 29 kJ	0.4m 9s	299°
0.4-0.4m 27 kJ	0.4m 9s	303°
0.4-0.4m 25 kJ	0.4m 9s	289°

High tide	03:25 AM	4.14m	83
Low tide	09:29 AM	0.9m
High tide	03:44 PM	4.19m	84
Low tide	09:50 PM	0.89m


0.7-0.9m 23 kJ	0.8m 4s	189°
0.7-0.9m 23 kJ	0.8m 4s	186°
0.7-0.9m 21 kJ	0.8m 4s	186°
0.7-0.8m 18 kJ	0.8m 4s	185°
0.5-0.7m 11 kJ	0.6m 4s	186°
0.5-0.6m 9 kJ	0.6m 4s	188°

High tide	03:59 AM	4.2m	84
Low tide	10:07 AM	0.87m
High tide	04:18 PM	4.16m	84
Low tide	10:24 PM	0.92m

The spot and its buoys

Buoys for Belharra

Saint-Jean-de-Luz

Gascogne

Bilbao-Vizcaya Buoy

Pasaia II Buoy

Wind · SOCOA

Tides at Saint-Jean-de-Luz

Belharra wave forecast

Nearby spots