Surf for Friday – Swamptacular!

Friday will be a nice beach day (once it warms up)…but there isn’t going to be much surf.

We will have a mix of quickly fading short-period NW energy and some stubborn (and small) SW swell (200-220) that is holding in the background. Expect the NW swell to continue to drop off as we move through the day.



Unfortunately the dawn patrol is going to get whacked with a 5’+ high tide that will peak right around 7:30am, which is going to steamroll the surf at most breaks. Once the tide starts dropping we will have a little surf sneak through setting up some knee-knee high+ waves at the average exposed spots…and maybe a little waist high set on the breaks that handle the higher tides a little better. The standout NW facing spots, mostly through Southern SD, Southern Ventura, and parts of the South Bay, will have a little more size…more in the knee-waist high range on the average sets and then a couple waist-chest high waves on the biggest sets. Remember to watch the tide…even the top spots are going to flatten out as it peaks.

Winds look good tomorrow (of course we don’t have surf so they don’t need to mess with us)…look for light-offshore for most beaches and some slightly stronger offshore gusts at the usual wind-prone passes and canyons. Winds stay light for the afternoon…just coming onshore around 5-10 knots later in the day.



So for tomorrow…I would probably stay in bed. It will be butt-cold again tomorrow morning and the water temps have dropped down into the upper 50’s in some areas…to top it off the weak swell mix will be burgered out with the peaking tide…so there won’t even be much to paddle for that could help keep you warm. Personally I am going to take it easy in the morning…maybe go on donut patrol…wait for the air to warm up and the tide to drop. Hopefully the tide will drain enough to set up a few longboard peaks before the wind starts to tweak it too much.

Here are the tides…

01:19AM LDT 1.1 L
07:31AM LDT 5.2 H
02:07PM LDT 0.9 L
07:56PM LDT 4.2 H

Thursday's Surf - zzzzzzzzzzzz

Thursday is again not looking like a surf day. There will be some rideable waves here and there as we move around the high tide but overall there isn't going to be a ton of swell in the water.

We are going to have a mix of mostly leftover SW energy and a few small WNW blips and weak local windswell.

Average spots will be in the knee high+ range while the better exposed breaks see some knee-waist high+ sets on the lower tides. Standout breaks down in San Diego will have some chest-high+ sets sneaking through at times.

Winds are looking light again in the morning but we may have some small texture from that on/off fog bank that has been holding over the area. Look for NW winds 10-15 knots through the afternoon. Here is a NWS weather map...you can see the fog in yellow.



Again I am not really excited about the surf tomorrow...I think it is going to be small and soft and have a lot of tide issues through midmorning. If you don't mind the longboard or fishy shapes you might be able to get a couple of semi-workable ones, particularly if you are down in San Diego (it ain't worth driving there). Other spots will be smaller and softer.

Here are the tides

03:32AM 2.1' Low
09:40AM 5.9' High
05:04PM -0.1' Low
11:23PM 3.6' High

Surf for Friday – High Tide Swamptacular!

I checked the surf at lunch here on Thursday…it had picked up from the morning but it was still tide-swamped and inconsistent so I couldn’t bring myself to paddle out.

The good news is that this swell will fill in a little more and get a little more consistent on Friday.

The bad news is that the high tide that peaks mid-morning will continue to keep most of the day soft and slow…unless you don’t mind surfing shorebreak or have a really good sandbar hidden somewhere. After seeing how badly the tide is abusing this swell mix I think I may have overestimated its potential funness.

In the water we will have a mix of WNW and SW energy, which will be good for knee-waist high surf at most breaks…and a few chest high+ sets at the standouts. Not a very impressive swell mix…but better than being totally flat. San Diego will probably be the biggest and most consistent…north county will probably be the most fun. (fun being a relative term)

Check out the CDIP swell model…hmm almost makes me want to take a nap.




Friday I will probably do the cam thing in the morning. If it looks like it isn’t just shorebreak then I may take a drive to check it in person. Unless you are really desperate to surf, or to taste saltwater or something, don’t waste you time driving very far. It may be worth keeping an eye on it for the afternoon...the winds look look light and the tide will be lower so there may be a chance of getting some waves late in the day.