Hot pipe

Hot Pipe is a peculiar novelty wave created by the discharge of warm wastewater from Shoreham Power Station into the English Channel. The break forms where a discharge pipe encased in a flat concrete groyne creates a slab left-hander with intense, peaky barrels typically lasting just one to two seconds. It works best between mid and low tide with southwestern swell and offshore winds from the north or northwest, not at high tide as commonly believed. The wave is extremely rare, breaking perhaps only once every few years when massive Atlantic storms combine gale-force winds with large swells powerful enough to breach the natural harbour defences and funnel water through the system.

The spot is hazardous due to six steel poles protruding from the top of the groyne structure that require careful navigation, the shallow depth over concrete, and the inherent risks of a fast, disorganised wave. Winter offers the best conditions when it does form, most commonly in January, though suitable swells are rare. The warm water discharge reaches around 20 degrees Celsius in winter, creating thermal gradients that attract marine life and contribute to localised algal blooms.

Hot Pipe is located immediately adjacent to Shoreham Power Station's distinctive 100-metre chimney, approximately two kilometres west of Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex. Parking exists on the road leading to the power station in spaces near a blue warehouse structure, though local authorities discourage vehicle access and walking on the pipe itself with threat of clamping. The spot has earned recognition among UK surfers as one of Europe's rarest and most unusual breaks, favoured by committed local surfers willing to chase the infrequent conditions that make it rideable.