What are surf text alerts?
A surf text alert is a text message that tells you when waves at your spot are actually good, instead of a forecast you have to go and check. You pick your spots. We watch live buoy, wind, swell and tide data for them around the clock, and when conditions line up at your break, you get one text. That text is the one that says go surf.
Why a text instead of an app?
There is nothing to install, open or check. A text arrives in the inbox your phone already has open, and it only says one thing: it is on. Forecast apps are built to be opened and read. A text alert is built to get you out the door.
How do you know when it is actually firing?
Every spot is scored on five things: wave height from the nearest buoy, swell period, swell direction against what that specific break needs, wind, and tide. Each break has its own swell window and its own requirements, because a beach break, a point and a reef all work differently. A text only goes out when the combined score clears a high bar, not when one number looks decent.
What does a surf text alert look like?
Short and to the point: your spot, the wave height, the swell period and direction, the wind and the tide at the time it was sent. No charts, no links to read through, just the conditions and the reason to go.
Who are text alerts for?
Surfers who cannot sit on a forecast all day: people with work and family schedules, locals who know their break well, and anyone tired of driving to flat water. If you already know what your spot needs and just want to be told when it has it, this is for you.
How often will I get a text?
Only when your spot is genuinely good. Surf is seasonal, so you may go a week or two without hearing from us, and that silence is the point. A text from us should be worth dropping everything for.
Is there a free way to try it?
Yes. There is a free trial plan, so you can see what a real alert looks like before paying anything. Current plans and prices are on the pricing section of the home page.
Which surf spots are covered?
227 surf spots across New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania, each monitored continuously with its own tuned requirements. You choose your own spots, and you can change them later by replying CUTBACK to any alert text.
Can I see that the alerts are real?
Yes. The Firing Board shows recent real alerts sent to subscribers.
How is this different from Surfline or a forecast app?
Forecast apps show you a prediction and leave the decision to you. Dude, It’s Firing! makes the call for you and only reaches out, by text, when your spot is firing right now. No app, no dashboard, no login.
Related reading: How it works, Why We Built a Surf Alert That’s Just a Text, Texts vs. In-App Alerts, The Threshold: How We Defined Firing.