Seanic — Beach Conditions at a Glance
← Back to HomeSeanic is a beach condition forecasting app for Irish coastal locations. It provides 8-day hourly forecasts, activity scores, tide charts, and real-time weather data — available on iPhone, Apple Watch, and home screen widgets.
When you first open Seanic, you'll be asked to accept a safety disclaimer. This reminds you that forecasts are for informational purposes only and should not be used for safety-critical decisions. The disclaimer reappears every 30 days as a reminder.
Seanic has four main tabs along the bottom of the screen: Favourites, All Beaches, Near Me, and Map.
The Favourites tab is your home screen. It shows the beaches you've saved for quick access.
If you haven't added any favourites yet, you'll see a prompt directing you to the All Beaches tab.
Your favourites automatically sync to the Watch app and home screen widget.
A complete, alphabetically sorted list of every Irish beach in the app.
Find the best beaches near your current location, ranked by conditions.
An interactive map of Ireland showing all beaches.
Tapping any beach opens the detail view with comprehensive forecast data.
The top card shows conditions for the current hour (or the next available forecast):
| Data | Description |
|---|---|
| Air temperature | Current temperature in °C |
| Feels like | Adjusted for wind chill or heat index |
| Humidity | Relative humidity percentage |
| Water temperature | Current water temp with historical average |
| Wind | Speed (with Beaufort description), direction, gusts, and classification (Onshore, Offshore, Cross-Shore) |
| Swell | Height in metres, period in seconds, direction |
| Breaking waves | Height at shore and break type (spilling, plunging, surging) |
| Tide | Current height in metres and state (High Tide, Low Tide, Rising, Falling) |
| Other | Pressure, visibility, UV index, precipitation chance |
Seanic shows the type of breaking wave expected at the shore. Understanding these can help you choose the right beach for your activity:
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Spilling | The wave crest gently spills down the face, creating a long, rolling line of white water. These are the most common type on gently sloping beaches and are ideal for swimming and beginner surfers as they break gradually and with less force. |
| Plunging | The wave crest curls over and crashes down with force, forming the classic barrel or tube shape. These occur on steeper beach profiles and produce more powerful waves — great for experienced surfers but can be dangerous for swimmers. |
| Surging | The wave doesn't visibly break but instead surges up the beach face with considerable power. These occur on very steep beaches and can be deceptive — they may look calm but can knock you off your feet with strong undertow. |
When Met Éireann has issued a weather warning for the area, a colour-coded banner appears at the top of the detail view:
Activity scores are hidden while a weather warning is active.
The interactive chart shows an 8-day hourly forecast that you can scroll through:
Seanic calculates scores (1–10) for seven activities based on current and forecast conditions:
| Activity | Key Factors |
|---|---|
| Swim | Water temperature, wave height, wind, air temperature, water quality |
| Surf | Wave height, swell direction, wind direction, tide |
| Beach Day | Air temperature, precipitation, wind, visibility, UV |
| Walk | Precipitation, wind, air temperature, visibility |
| Photo | Cloud cover, golden hour timing, visibility, wave conditions |
| Paddle | Wind, wave height, water temperature, tide, visibility |
| Wind | Wind speed and gusts, direction, wave height, water temperature |
Each score includes a breakdown of what's helping and what's hurting the score. Some activities (Swim, Beach Day, Paddle, Wind) don't show scores during nighttime hours.
| Score | Rating |
|---|---|
| 9–10 | Excellent / Epic |
| 7–8 | Very Good / Good |
| 5–6 | Good / Fair |
| 3–4 | Fair / Poor |
| 1–2 | Poor / Flat |
Below the forecast, you'll find information about the beach itself:
An embedded map shows the beach location with:
Access Settings via the gear icon in the Favourites tab.
Toggle which activities appear throughout the app. Each activity includes a description of what it measures. Changes apply everywhere — the detail view, Favourites cards, Near Me rankings, widgets, and the Watch app.
Add the Seanic widget to your home screen for at-a-glance beach conditions.
The widget shows current conditions including tide, wave height, wind, and activity scores. Tap the widget to jump straight to the beach in the app.
Add Seanic complications to your watch face to see conditions for your favourite beach. The complication shows temperature, wind, and wave data at a glance. Tap to open the full forecast on your watch.
The Watch app shows forecasts for your favourite beaches, synced automatically from your iPhone.
Settings for tide phrase style, daytime high tide preference, and enabled activities sync from your iPhone.
Scroll the tide chart to see up to 8 days of forecast data.
Tap the chart to jump to a specific hour and see conditions change in the current conditions card.
Use Near Me when you're flexible about which beach to visit — let the conditions decide.
Select multiple activities in Near Me to find beaches that are good for more than one thing.
Check wind classification — offshore wind is great for surfing, onshore wind is choppy.
Watch for breaking wave type — spilling waves are gentler for swimming, plunging waves are better for surfing.
Report problems using the link at the bottom of any beach detail if something looks wrong.
Seanic uses data from the following sources:
Request a beach using the link at the bottom of the All Beaches tab, or report a problem from any beach detail view.