Monday’s Surf – Still plenty of waves with only a 100th of the crowd.

Monday will be a surf day…and since the weekend is over and, in my neck of the woods, the US Open is over, the crowd size should drop nicely.

There will still be a decent mix of swell in the water on Monday…we are going to have peaking S-SE swell from Hurricane Genevieve, fading SSW swell from the southern hemisphere, and some minor local windswell.

Average S exposed spots will continue to see surf in the chest-high+ range on the sets. Standout S-SE facing areas, particularly in North Orange County, will have consistent shoulder-head high sets with some overhead sets mixing in at the top breaks.

We should have clean conditions in the morning…at least the forecasts are calling for light winds below 10 knots. Still there is a chance for a bit of an eddy to spin up…so keep an eye on the winds in the morning…we might have some southerly texture or bump to a few of the more exposed breaks.

I think that we will have plenty of waves for most areas (except in SB and some of the shadowed areas of the South Bay). It will be biggest in North OC, but still fun in North San Diego, and Northern LA County. From just watching a few sets roll through HB on Sunday I can see that there is not much crossing up this tropical swell/SSW swell mix…so the beach breaks are going to be a bit walled. Look for the best shape at the points and reefs hiding out in the areas I mentioned.

Waves for the Weekend - Lots of waves...plan on surfing

This will be a surf weekend with plenty of waves coming through both on Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday we will see a mix of new SSW swell, some slowly building tropical SE swell, and it looks like a touch more local WNW windswell. Wave heights are going to be pretty similar to Friday...so lots of the average spots will be around chest-shoulder high. The standout S facing breaks, mostly through North Orange County, will be in the shoulder-head high range with some bigger overhead sets sneaking through on the tide push.

Sunday the mix of swells will continue to push through similar sizes...but the SE tropical swell should actually start to strengthen by the afternoon (and hold into Monday). This swell will be aimed pretty SE at first but it does gradually turn more southward on Monday which will help a few more spots start to work.

Winds look good for the next couple of mornings...but sort of breezy by the afternoons. Plan on light and variable winds...with a little southerly texture at the more exposed breaks...early in the mornings. Afternoons will see W winds around 10-12+ knots with some areas seeing some 15-knot+ gusts.

There won't really be much of a change in the "best bets" this weekend...if you scored some surf over the last couple of days then I would check those same spots on both Saturday and Sunday. I would look for North OC (meaning surf areas North of Laguna Beach) will be the biggest this weekend...due mostly to its exposure to the tropical hurricane swells. I don't really think it will be worth driving around a ton though...there will be enough waves in the other regions (except maybe Santa Barbara and the deep South Bay area) to have some fun. Here I made a handy map as a reference guide to what I am talking about. See the subtle notes in red.



Remember that North OC will be teaming with a retarded amount of surfing talent this weekend as well thanks to the US Open of Surfing...and all of the pros, pro-wannabes, has-beens, sponsor reps, and Red Bull Girls that come with it. If you are into the contest scene or just like to watch freaky people...then I would recommend checking out the contest finals on Sunday.

Oh and as I proved earlier this week...stay on the lookout for overly amorous dolphins!