A quantitative definition for the coastal border isotropy of met-ocean processes is proposed. Wind velocity and significant wave height anisotropies are examined along four transects at the north-western Mediterranean coast. Both decrease offshore, determining a coastal fringe of width of 2–4 km. The joint probability structure reflects a decoupling near the coast and a stronger dependence in the bay-like part, where the wave field is being more actively generated by the overlaying wind.