The paper presents the results of studies of wave transformation on a multi-bar cross-shore profile of the southern Baltic Sea. The field investigations of wave motion were carried out using an offshore wave buoy and string wave gauges at the IBW PAN Coastal Research Station, Lubiatowo (Poland). These experimental results were used to validate statistical relationships between characteristic wave parameters in the coastal region and to assess wave energy dissipation in the surf zone. A simple model for calculating the residual nearshore wave energy is proposed and tested versus the data collected in situ.