A principal component analysis (PCA) is used to decompose data on the coupled morphodynamics of the shoreline and nearshore sandbar of a typical single-barred embayed beach (Tairua Beach, New Zealand). Dynamic patterns are classified into simultaneous modes, where the bar and shoreline move at the same time, and nonsimultaneous modes, where the shore moves independently from the bar, and vice versa. Two simultaneous modes accounting for 65% of the variance of the shoreline and barline dominate the system. One mode describes inverse shoreline and sandbar cross-shore migrations (alongshore averaged), occurring with simultaneous rotations in the same direction. The other mode accounts for migration in the same direction accompanied by variations of the barline curvature (similar to 'breathing modes' previously described in embayed beach shoreline modeling studies). Two nonsimultaneous modes of lesser importance account separately for independent shoreline and barline rotations (10 to 15% of the variance explained). A PCA applied to the shore and sandbar behaviors modeled by four standard equilibrium models simulating shore and sandbar cross-shore migrations and rotations show that these are interrelated because of a correlation between wave energy and direction. Shore and bar rotations are coupled partially because the shape of the bay induces a correlation of their respective drivers, the wave angle of incidence and the alongshore gradient of wave energy. However, this correlation depends on the wave energy. This, in combination with different shore and sandbar response times (quantified using the models), also explains the independent rotations reflected by the nonsimultaneous modes.