Surf for Thursday – Nothing to get fired up about

Thursday will have a few rideable waves but a combination of spotty winds, building tides, and fluky/inconsistent swell will keep the fun factor pretty low.

Swellwise we are going to see a mix of NW windswell, some inconsistent/fading SW swell (190-220), and some tropical SE swell (155-170) from TS Blas. Like I said yesterday this mix of swells don’t blend together all that well…so we don’t get the boost in size like we would from swells that have a little more compatible swell directions.



Most breaks will continue to hold around the knee high range on Thursday with some inconsistent waist high sets showing on the lower tides. The better exposed average SW or SE facing spots will have some slightly bigger sets sneaking through at times. The standout spots, basically the excellent combo spots and maybe a few of the really good SE/SW facing spots, will have more consistent waist high surf with a few chest high sets showing on the really, really, really, really good sandbars. If you can’t take the hint…it will need to be a really good SE/SW exposed spot to get the bigger waves.

The winds will be a bit squirrelly as well…there is a weak trough of low-pressure holding in the upper levels that is enhancing the onshore flow. The eddyish circulation is supposed to continue on Thursday…blowing southerly winds through San Diego/OC with some swirly flow through LA and some W-NW winds through Santa Barbara and Ventura. Winds should be on the lighter side, around 5-6 knots for the morning. Expect moderate onshore winds in the 10-15 knot range out of the W-WNW by the afternoon.



Not much to get excited about…though there is always a chance that the tropical swell will get a boost tomorrow (reflecting how TS Blas moved into a more open portion of the tropical swell window). With the wind being funky and the other swells being on the marginal side…I wouldn’t commit much energy to the surf. I would stick to checking the cameras and wind observations in the morning and if you don’t see anything that floats your boat then going back to bed and surfing your pillow for a little while longer.

Here are the tides…

06/24/2010 Thursday
03:11AM LDT -0.9 L
09:36AM LDT 3.6 H
02:06PM LDT 2.2 L
08:18PM LDT 6.1 H (swampthing!)

Waves for Wednesday – Looking fun at the combo breaks

Wednesday will be a surf day.

We are going to have a mix of overlapping NW swells (290-300), local NW windswell, and a blend of SW swell (190-220) from the Southern Hemisphere…and while that sounds like a lot of swell activity it won’t be all that big…mostly playful/small sizes for most areas.



Wave heights are going to average around knee-chest high at the average exposed breaks exposed to either the NW or the SW swell directions. Combo spots that pick up “some” of the swell mix will be more in the waist-chest high+ range.

The standout NW facing breaks, the good SW swell spots, and the excellent combo spots will be in the chest-shoulder high range on the bigger sets…with maybe a rare shoulder high+ set mixing in on the lower tides.

Winds look good again in the morning…mostly light and variable to light offshore for most areas. There may be a little swirly wind action in South OC/North SD as well as Northern Ventura…but in general it won’t be too bad. Look for W winds around 10-12 knots moving in through the afternoon.



I managed to surf one of the local combo beach breaks in North OC as the tide was dropping…there were plenty of waves…quite a few fun ones. The NW sets didn’t quite hold up that well but the ones that crossed up with the inconsistent SW sets had some speedy sections.

Overall I think it is going to be fun day tomorrow…the swell mix is pretty much the same as what we had on Tuesday…maybe a touch smaller. Expect shape to be a little soft through the morning high tide, but combo-y enough to set up some playful peaks. I think that the beach breaks are going to be the most fun…points and reefs will be playful but will have that sort of scattered peak shape, rather than the cleaner lines they see on single pure swells. I still think you are going to want to bring a board with a little more foam…just so you can take advantage of the softer NW sets.

Here are the tides…

02:11AM LDT -0.6 L
08:25AM LDT 4.9 H
02:07PM LDT 1.2 L
08:02PM LDT 6.0 H