Woodman Point
Western Australia · Perth · Coogee
also known as Woodies
Riding essentials
Season
Oct–Apr
Months riders and schools name
How windy
20-25
Character: thermal
Room to launch
Narrow to modest. Beach 1 is a small strip with trees, a limestone wall and signage close behind the launch, and schools fill it through summer; Beach 2 is the walking route north; Beach 3 opens out but you reach it on foot.
access rules on record, below
Water
protected flat water, chop and small waves depending on which of the three beaches is used
22–25 °C in summer
Hazards
13
Reported by riders
Level
Beginner to advanced
With a caveat: see Your level
Crowds
high crowds · busy Oct Nov Dec Jan
Schools
3
named at this spot
From the airport
34 min
Perth Airport (PER)
Fremantle Doctor
10:00 · 15:00
most summer afternoons; the Fremantle Doctor commonly starts between about 10:00 and 15:00
The marks are the clock times the record names, laid on a 24-hour day. The bar between the first and the last covers those hours; it is not a promise of wind.
Nearbystraight-line distance
Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.
- Applecrossno page yet
- Scarborough Beach Perthno page yet
The spot
- Beach 1 is the protected bay with the school and the learners;
- Beach 2 is chop and small waves, shared with windsurfers who have right of way;
- Beach 3 is mirror-flat freestyle water in offshore wind, and only for people who can self-rescue, because if a kite goes down out there the swim back is long.
Wind
Hazards
Rules and practical tips
The wind
locals call it Fremantle Doctor
Direction
Direction to shore
Beach 1 faces roughly south-west. SW is the clean direction there and the easiest to get off the beach in; SSW arrives on to sideshore and is awkward; S is straight onshore. Everything from WSW round through north to ENE is offshore at Beach 1 and unusable.Beach 3 sits on the far side of the point and faces north-east, so the same summer S, SSW and SW sea breeze is offshore across flat water, while NE through SE is its onshore quarter. Winter WSW-to-NNE days do work at Beach 3, gusty and choppy.
Dominant direction
S, SW and SE depending on the beach and session
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
The quiver, in words
8-13 m covers it. For 75-85 kg, 8-10 m in a full 20-25 kt Doctor and 11-13 m for a light or early afternoon. Indicative: no local size table is published.
Character
Average strength
20-25
Typical strength
20-25
Forecast
Live forecast
Month by month
- Jan, riders' month99
- Feb, riders' month96
- Mar, riders' month86
- Apr, riders' month61
- May52
- Jun43
- Jul61
- Aug55
- Sep67
- Oct, riders' month85
- Nov, riders' month83
- Dec, riders' month92
per cent of the month at force 4 or more
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec.
- 16 ktJan24°
- 15 ktFeb24°
- 14 ktMar23°
- 12 ktApr21°
- 12 ktMay20°
- 12 ktJun18°
- 14 ktJul17°
- 13 ktAug18°
- 13 ktSep18°
- 14 ktOct20°
- 14 ktNov21°
- 15 ktDec23°
avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted
Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2020-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds.
Every figure, month by monthForce 4+ · Knots · Wind from · Air · Water
| Month | Force 4+ | Knots | Wind from | Air | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 99% | 16.4 kt | SSW | 24.6 °C | 24 °C |
| Feb | 96% | 15.3 kt | SSW | 25 °C | 24.2 °C |
| Mar | 86% | 13.6 kt | ESE | 22.8 °C | 23.2 °C |
| Apr | 61% | 12 kt | S | 19.6 °C | 21.2 °C |
| May | 52% | 12 kt | S | 16.6 °C | 19.5 °C |
| Jun | 43% | 11.9 kt | N | 14.2 °C | 18.2 °C |
| Jul | 61% | 13.9 kt | WSW | 14.1 °C | 17 °C |
| Aug | 55% | 13 kt | N | 13.9 °C | 17.5 °C |
| Sep | 67% | 13.3 kt | S | 15.4 °C | 18.3 °C |
| Oct | 85% | 13.8 kt | S | 16.9 °C | 19.7 °C |
| Nov | 83% | 14.1 kt | S | 19.6 °C | 21.3 °C |
| Dec | 92% | 15.4 kt | SSW | 23.4 °C | 23 °C |
How this is modelledmodelled · 2020-2024
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.
ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2020-2024
The water
Type
protected flat water, chop and small waves depending on which of the three beaches is used
Standing depth
Patchy shallow reef and sand that shifts with the tide, shallow enough to stand in places at Beach 1 and on the Beach 3 sandbar, sharp enough that booties are not optional. No measured standing-depth figure has been published for any of the three beaches.
Tides
Micro-tidal and predominantly diurnal: often one high and one low a day, with a range around 0.7 m at Fremantle, among the smallest anywhere on the Western Australian coast.Small as it is, the swing still decides your day here, because the reef off Beaches 1 and 2 is patchy and shallow and turns sharp at the bottom of the tide.
Temperature
22–25 °C summer · 16–19 °C winter
Modelled monthly average: 17–24 °C
Wetsuit
shorty or 2 mm top can be useful in summer wind; 3/2 to 4/3 and boots are suggested for the coldest winter water; booties are useful around sharp reef and shells
Currents
No measured current figure has been published for any of the three beaches. The tide is micro-tidal and mainly diurnal, so tidal flow is not what catches people out. The drift that matters is wind-driven, and at Beach 3 it runs straight offshore in the prevailing south-westerly.
Conditions
Your level
The scene
What riders come here for
Launch and rules
three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you
With a school or a boat
3 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: Narrow to modest. Beach 1 is a small strip with trees, a limestone wall and signage close behind the launch, and schools fill it through summer; Beach 2 is the walking route north; Beach 3 opens out but you reach it on foot.
Somewhere else
3 spots nearby
Rescue
VHF channel 73
Rescue — full text1 min read
Launch
Three beach launches around Woodman Point.Beach 1 holds the school and beginner traffic on a narrow strip hemmed by trees, a limestone wall and signs, with learners asked to launch and land east of the main zone.Beach 2 is the windsurfers' beach and the access route north.Beach 3 is reached by walking up Beach 2, not through the dunes.
Rules & access
1 min read
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Schools that ride here
Rider tips
- Learning: stay on Beach 1 and stay there until you ride upwind and can self-rescue without thinking.
- Beach 3 is reached by walking north along Beach 2, not through the dunes; the dune rehabilitation areas are closed.
- Booties on, at every beach: the reef is shallow and sharp at some tides, and the shells are worse.
- At Beach 2 give way to the windsurfers; at Beach 3 follow the freestyle line the locals are riding.
- Come in from Cockburn Road via O'Kane Court, Jervois Bay Cove and Woodman Point View, lock the car and leave nothing visible: break-ins are regular.
- Rig 8-13 m for a Doctor afternoon; it usually fills in between 10:00 and 15:00 and is strongest late.
- Learners launch and land east of the main Beach 1 zone; the strip is narrow and the wall is right behind you.
- At Beach 2 give way to the windsurfers; at Beach 3 take your turn in the carousel and do not cut across someone's line.
- The tide only moves about 0.7 m, but that is the difference between covered reef and exposed reef at Beaches 1 and 2.
- Program 000 and Fremantle Sea Rescue on 1800 273 728 before you ride Beach 3 in offshore wind.
Getting there
Airport
Perth Airport (PER)
Route
Drive south-west from Perth toward Coogee. Access is off Cockburn Road via O'Kane Court, Jervois Bay Cove and Woodman Point View.
Transfer
34 min
Staying
Woodman Point Holiday Park is inside/near the regional park; wider accommodation is available in Coogee, Fremantle and Perth.
No-wind days
Woodman Point Regional Park is listed for swimming, snorkelling, walking, cycling, diving, playgrounds and fishing.
Photos
FAQ
When is the best time to kitesurf Woodman Point?
The main season runs October through April with the Fremantle Doctor sea breeze usually strongest in the afternoon at around 20-25 knots.
Is Woodman Point suitable for beginners?
Yes at Beach 1, which is used by beginners and schools; Beach 2 suits intermediate and advanced riders sharing space with windsurfers, and Beach 3 is for advanced riders only because the wind there is offshore.
What is the wind like at Woodman Point?
The Fremantle Doctor brings a south, southwest or southeast sea breeze around 20-25 knots on most summer afternoons.
Are there rules at Woodman Point?
Riders must stay out of the Fairy Tern nesting area near the groyne, which is closed between marked buoys from 1 September to 31 January each year, and walking through the dunes is prohibited.
What hazards should kitesurfers know about at Woodman Point?
Hazards include offshore wind and long self-rescue distances at Beach 3, sharp reef and shells depending on tide, crowded school traffic at Beach 1, and reported car break-ins in the parking areas.
The bigger pictureEverything about Perth
Last updated: August 2026