Thursday’s Surf – Surf in the morning…gusty winds possible by the afternoon

Thursday looks like it will be rideable…but questionable morning winds and a bit of a fat mid-morning high tide will keep it from being all that good. Overall I don’t think it will be a real “surf” day…but you will be able to find a couple of playful corners at the protected spots.

Swellwise we are going to see a mix of holding/peaking S-SSW swell (180-210) and some steady NW windswell. Neither swell is all that strong…so don’t expect them to be able to push through the tide all that well…you will probably want to hit up spots that can handle the extra water.



The average S facing spots and good combo breaks will be in the waist-chest high range with some rare bigger sets showing at times. The standout S facing breaks and excellent combo spots will be in the chest-shoulder high range with a few head high waves sneaking through on the lower tides. Expect some inconsistency on the sets…but since the new S-SSW swell will have a little more energy showing it should be a little more active than what we saw on Wednesday.

The wind forecast for Thursday is looking better than it did earlier this week but it still has a bit of onshore funk showing in the model. The morning looks ok…sort of S-SW’erly but below 5 knots for most areas (just a touch more SW flow LA and OC). Basically I would plan on a little texture crumble to it for the morning and then if we get lucky the winds may come in more light/variable, particularly at spots that have a little protection from the wind. The models agree that onshore picks up around lunch…coming in around 12-15 knots from the W-NW for the afternoon.







The springy conditions continue on Thursday…which means that we see sort of marginal winds with some little pockets of cleanliness spinning up from time to time. It never gets for-sure clean or totally trashed (at least until the afternoon) so you have to stay flexible, watch the wind, and hopefully get lucky when you have some time to surf. I wouldn’t drive too far for this sort of surf…but if you live close, have some time in the morning to kill, and don’t mind a little texture…you should throw your board in the car.

Here are the tides…

05/27/2010 Thursday
03:56AM LDT -1.2 L
10:15AM LDT 3.6 H
03:00PM LDT 1.9 L
09:09PM LDT 6.1 H

Waves for the Weekend – S swell peaks but we may have some more eddy

Both Saturday and Sunday will have plenty of southern hemi swell but local eddy winds may keep things from getting super clean. Expect surfable shape but with a touch of texture to bump to it at times.

The new S swell (180-200) that has been moving in here on Friday will continue to hold/peak overnight in Saturday.



Look for the average spots to see surf in the chest-shoulder high range with some head high+ sets showing at breaks with a little better exposure to the southerly swell. Top S facing breaks, mostly through Orange County, will have some shoulder-overhead surf with some sets going a couple of feet+ overhead at times. A few of the breaks that can focus the S swell will be bigger on the lower tides.

Winds look ok…sort of light/variable with some pockets of eddyish texture here and there for the morning. Expect WNW-W winds around 10-14 knots to build in through the afternoon.



Sunday the S swell (180-200) will start to back off while the local NW windswell pushes in a little more size.



Look for the average S facing spots to see surf in the chest-shoulder high+ range with a few head high+ sets still showing through the morning. The standout S spots will be in the shoulder-overhead range with a few bigger sets still going a couple of feet+ overhead at times.

Winds still sort of ok/marginal on Sunday…looks like mostly light winds in the morning but there will be a few areas that pull in variable onshore texture at times. Look for these winds to shift more firmly to the West building up to the 10-15knot range for the afternoon.



I think this weekend is going to be a little challenging in terms of finding “good” surf…there will be crowds, the winds won’t be all that cooperative, and the tide swings are pretty funky…all of which just shorten our surf window. However, I do think that if you pick the right spot and head down to the beach with your mental state/expectations in the right place you will be able to find plenty of waves and probably be even be able to dig some fun out of what we have going conditionswise. Points and reefs are going to probably be the best call…the S swell won’t have much to break it up, particularly on Saturday, so we are going to need some sort of reef/point to help shape the wave. If you are looking for smaller waves, stick to the NW facing breaks…they will be more in the weak playful size range.

Here are the tides…hope you get a few.

05/15/2010 Saturday
05:10AM LDT -1.0 L
11:37AM LDT 3.4 H
04:07PM LDT 2.1 L
10:19PM LDT 6.0 H

05/16/2010 Sunday
05:56AM LDT -1.0 L
12:31PM LDT 3.3 H
04:50PM LDT 2.2 L
11:03PM LDT 5.8 H

Friday’s Surf – New S swell grinds in

Friday is looking like a surf day…but if you are looking for bigger surf you will need to hit up a S-facing beach (with no islands in the way).

We will see our new S-SSW swell (180-200) filling in fast on Friday…with the peak of the swell starting to hit later in the afternoon and holding overnight into Saturday. Small NW windswell will run in the background but don’t expect it to amount to very much. Check out the swell and how it fills in throughout the day…

Friday Morning


Friday Midday


Friday Afternoon


Sizewise…for the morning I am looking for the average S facing spots to be in the chest-shoulder high range with some head high sets becoming more and more common as we get closer to lunchtime. The standout S facing spots will be in the shoulder-head high+ range pretty consistently through the morning and then will start going overhead to a few feet overhead by the end of the day. Again remember that spots that can focus this long-period energy will have a shot at getting some solid surf showing before sunset.

Winds look good on Friday…mostly light and variable through the morning with a few pockets of light offshore winds near passes and canyons and light onshore winds at a few of the most exposed breaks. Look for winds to shift more onshore around lunchtime…eventually reaching the 10-13 knot range at the more wind-prone spots.



Plenty of S swell showing on Friday, even if the swell isn’t peaking until later in the day…unfortunately for the beach breaks there isn’t much in the background that will be able to break up the Southern Hemi lines…so a lot of spots will get a bit walled as this swell starts to really fill in. Points and reefs will have the best shape, but you might be able to find a manageable shoulder off the various structures out there (piers/jetties/rocks)…if you don’t have a point/reef nearby I would check those sort of spots before hitting the wide open sandbars. Expect some decent current to work against, particularly as the tide fills in.

Here are the tides…hope you get a few.

05/14/2010 Friday
04:28AM LDT -0.9 L
10:48AM LDT 3.5 H
03:31PM LDT 1.9 L
09:40PM LDT 6.0 H

Friday’s Surf – Friday Funtime…spring edition

Friday is looking like surf day…

In fact, Friday might end up being the cleanest of the week…with a still healthy S swell in the water to boot. So that S swell (180-200) will be holding into early Friday…the periods will be a little shorter so some of the spots that like the long-period Southern Hemis may lose a little pop but everything else should be about the same size.



Look for most S exposed spots to be running in the chest-shoulder high range with a few head high sets sneaking in on the lower tides at spots without too much shadowing. The standout S facing breaks, mostly in OC, will have shoulder-overhead surf with a few of the top spots seeing some bigger sets.

Winds look mostly light in the morning…and the COAMPS is even calling for the eddy circulation to get a little disrupted through the early morning…setting up light/variable to even light NE winds for a few areas. Look for these winds to turn onshore out of the W-SW around 10-12 knots for the afternoon and possibly strengthen a bit more by late in the day.



Again the best call is going to be the points/reefs…there is enough windswell to get a few creases into the beach breaks but there will be plenty of current and a bunch of closeouts on the bigger sets…the points/reefs will just hold the swell better (sort of sucks that Nike has shut down one of the best points in Socal for this swell…). With light winds, a decent S swell, you sort of get to pick your poison tomorrow…summer spots will be the biggest…but if you want something more mellow it should be easy to find as well.

Check out some of the shots that Jason at the Dailybread Blog took this morning…

http://dalybread.blogspot.com/2010/05/wedge-alittle-sloppy.html



And he has some video too…

http://dalybread.blogspot.com/2010/05/wedge-vids-from-this-morning.html

Here are the tides…

05/07/2010 Friday
12:00AM LDT 2.2 L
05:08AM LDT 3.5 H
11:51AM LDT 0.9 L
06:30PM LDT 4.1 H

Thursday’s Surf – now with more S swell!

Thursday is looking surfable…even pretty fun in some spots. There may be a few wind issues in a few areas so don’t expect complete glassy perfection tomorrow.

You can see the new S swell (180-200) showing solid on the southerly exposed buoys this afternoon…



This swell will fill in more tonight and will be peaking through Thursday morning, and generally holding throughout the day (and overnight into Friday as well). There will be some smaller windswell in the background, coming sort of WNW-NW, but I don’t think it is going to be enough to really break up the S swell…there may be a few more corners but most of the beach breaks are going to be a bit walled…hopefully the windswell will come on a bit stronger and we will get some better combo action (with kung-fu grip of course!).



Most S facing spots are going to see chest-shoulder high surf on Thursday…while the more exposed areas see some inconsistent head high sets. The standout S facing breaks, mostly in Orange County (but in a few other areas as well), will have more consistent shoulder-head high surf with some overhead sets mixing in. The spots that can focus this swell will have some bigger waves showing throughout the day as well.

Winds in the morning should be pretty light for most areas…Santa Barbara may have some WNW flow early but it will be shadowed from most of this swell so it doesn’t really matter that much. Further south it looks like a bit of an eddy is forecast to form up, but its center is forecast to be lower in latitude, which would let winds be more E-ESE for San Diego and OC…and light/variable for LA/Ventura. The forecasts have winds turning more S by mid-morning and then finally swinging around to the W in the afternoon…probably in the 10-14 knot range. Since the winds don’t get a lot of time going any particular direction I don’t think it will get too blown out…and the protected spots may stay pretty surfable throughout the day.



So steady new S swell showing on Thursday, a touch of windswell trying to break it up (key word is trying)…and winds that start off nice but get all swirly by the afternoon. S-facing points/Reefs are going to be the best call…with the biggest size in the OC. North LA, particularly as you move closer to Santa Monica, will be a bit shadowed by Catalina, San Clemente Island, and the Cortez Banks so expect slightly smaller, less consistent surf than in other spots. I am going to be up looking at things early, I have a feeling that the winds aren’t going to treat my North OC beach breaks all that well tomorrow...so hopefully we get bit more windswell to break things up overnight but without the winds themselves (really is that too much to ask?)

Here are the tides…happy hunting

05/06/2010 Thursday
03:45AM LDT 3.6 H
11:07AM LDT 0.7 L
06:05PM LDT 3.7 H

Waves for Wednesday – Fun Morning surf

Wednesday will be a surf day.

The S swell that filled in on Tuesday will hold/peak into early Wednesday…though the W-NW energy from that last storm will be dropping down a bit. I still think there will be enough of both swells to combo up at the well exposed spots but the S-SSW swell (180-200) will be doing a bit more of the heavy lifting while the NW standout spots drop off a bit in size.



Look for average exposed spots to be in the waist-chest high range on Wednesday with the better S facing breaks seeing a bit more size and consistency. The standout S facing breaks and the excellent combo spots can expect more chest-head high surf with some inconsistent overhead sets. Looks like most of the energy is going to be focused on Orange County and San Diego, but most of the usual summer standouts should have something to ride, though it may not be as big or as consistent.

Winds look good for the morning…mostly light and variable, even light offshore in a few spots…but they look a little fragile in terms of the overall flow, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some early onshore texture pick up through OC and SD during the midmorning. By the afternoon all spots will be seeing W-NW winds around 10-14 knots. Definitely look for the cleanest conditions in the morning.



I think Wednesday will be pretty fun for most of the exposed areas…the S-SSW swell should be a little more consistent but still punchy, and with the high tide moving a little further back in the morning there should be a little better dawn patrol window. I would try and get on it as early as you can…it feels like the onshore texture/crumble is going to pick up fairly quickly.

Here are the tides…

04/14/2010 Wednesday
04:00AM LDT -0.2 L
10:01AM LDT 3.9 H
03:34PM LDT 1.2 L
09:36PM LDT 5.4 H