Waves for Wednesday – Fading S swell and slightly better winds

Wednesday will have some rideable waves…but the winds will still add in some texture and keep things from getting too clean (we can't have that can we).

Our swell will be a mix of fading S swell (175-190) and some background NW windswell. Expect the S swell to continue to offer up some good sized surf throughout Wednesday…but the bigger waves will be less consistent by the afternoon as the swell backs down.



Average S-facing spots will be in the chest-shoulder high range…with a few shoulder high+ sets sneaking through on the lower tides. The standout S facing spots, mostly in Orange County but in a couple of other select areas as well, will have chest-head high surf with a few head high+ sets showing through the morning.

Winds will still be on the shaky side…not as bad as the last couple of days…but still with enough S-SW flow to add some texture to the more open/exposed beaches. Look for light/variable onshore to light/southerly winds for the morning. Forecasts are calling for the wind to be around 3-5 knots for the start of the day…with the lightest flow around 7-8am. W-WNW winds around 10-15+ knots will return by the afternoon.







I am a little more optimistic about the surf on Wednesday…mostly because of the wind forecast calling for the lighter flow in the morning. I don't think it will be great or outstanding…but if the winds do actually stay down we could end up having some fun at the good S-facing spots. I still think the points/reefs will continue to have the best shape…the beach breaks will be a bit more walled up and their long-shore current will still be pretty strong, which will make it hard to keep in place. A few of the better beach breaks might be ok…but only If you have something like a pier/jetty to break up the S swell lines. Expect some size still coming through on the bigger sets…but consistency as well as some of the bigger sizes will continue to back down through the afternoon.

Here are the tides…

07/07/2010 Wednesday
01:24AM LDT 0.5 L
07:49AM LDT 2.9 H
11:39AM LDT 2.4 L
06:17PM LDT 5.5 H

Tuesday’s Surf – Slowly fading but still fun

Tuesday looks pretty surfable…and if you don’t mind a bit of texture it will be pretty playful at the well exposed spots.

Our mix of S-SW swell (190-210) and tropical S-SE swell (170-180) will be fading on Tuesday, but there is still enough leftover energy to keep things pretty rideable. NW windswell will continue to hold in the background…but won’t be all that surfable by itself.



Average spots can expect chest-shoulder high surf with some inconsistent head high sets showing from time to time throughout the morning tide push. Standout S facing spots and excellent combo breaks, mostly through Orange County, will still have most of the sets sticking around shoulder-head high with inconsistent overhead sets. Expect the bigger sets to become less and less frequent throughout the day as the swell mix backs down.

Our morning winds are still looking a little onshorey early in the morning but the overall wind-speed is expected to be below 5-knots. In general I think we can expect light/variable to light/onshore for most spots with a touch more texture at the really wind sensitive breaks. Look for the cleanest shape at spots with some protection (like kelp, some sort of structure, or a big coastal cliff)…or at least something that can knock down the wind a little. Afternoon winds build out of the W-WNW around 10-15+ knots.



So even though the swell mix is backing down I am still expecting a few playful ones out there. Your best bet is going to be focusing on S facing beaches…especially now that the swell is dropping (the fringe spots are going to lose size and consistency pretty fast as the energy backs down). We still have some fairly low-tide in the morning which we will want to keep in mind when selecting our surf spots. I am probably going to shoot for an early to mid-morning session and see if I can get a few waves before the onshore wind gets too bad…hopefully with the swell being a little smaller the low tide will keep it from being to sectiony.

Here are the tides…hope you get a few tomorrow.

06/29/2010 Tuesday
06:06AM LDT -0.4 L
12:35PM LDT 3.7 H
05:27PM LDT 2.3 L
11:17PM LDT 5.1 H