Saturday’s Surf – Stupid Eddy

Saturday won’t be much of a surf day. So I will give you the full forecast today...but make sure to check out the cool wind forecasts we have up at www.solspot.com



The biggest issue is the return of the eddy…seriously it is almost September…this is getting ridiculous. Well ok now that I think about it really the eddy is the only issue we have on Saturday. There will still be some mixing S-SW swells (180-220) in the water…they will be fading…but with the right combo of tide and exposure they could be fun. All you need is protection from the stupid wind (and since I live a little ways down the street from a really exposed S facing beach I have almost zero protection from the S winds…so the eddy always twists the knife just a little harder. Stupid eddy…I bet dolphins built it).



Wave heights will be dipping down…but a few of the spots that had been shut down by lack-o-windswell will start to see a few new waves as more energy moves in from that direction. Average S facing spots will be in the waist-chest high range on the sets while the standout breaks see some shoulder high sets. There may be a bigger wave or two at the top spots, but expect size and consistency to back down through the day. NW facing spots start to see a bump up as local NW windswell increases pushing most spots into the knee-waist high range with a few waist high+ sets sneaking into the best areas.

The models…both the COAMPS and the NOAA/NWS are calling for the eddy in the morning. The COAMPS is a bit stronger with the center of the eddy up around Palos Verdes. The NWS guys have it positioned a bit more toward Catalina...and they have it starting off a little lighter. In general I am expecting a mix variable onshore winds for Ventura up through Santa Barbara…sort of a W-SW for SB, more S-SE toward Ventura. Then SE for LA county. OC and SD get the shaft with mostly S winds. All of this will be in the 3-5 knot range for the morning and then the winds will shift more W and push up into the 10-15 knot range at the most exposed areas.

Check out the live wind forecasts for a few sample spots (hint we have these for all of our surf spots)

Sands (Santa Barbara)
C-street (Ventura)
Malibu
El Porto
Huntington Beach
Trestles
Cardiff
Mission Beach

Your best bet is going to be the breaks that can block the wind and still pick up the S swell…there are a handful of spots throughout SoCal that can almost pull it off…but not that many. There will be more windswelly spots that have protection, but even though the surf is cleaner the surf will be smaller and weaker. It will be one of those compromise days…do you want clean smaller surf or junky bigger surf…the same pain in the butt choice that us Socal guys end up making too many times throughout the year. Oh and I would probably stick with the smaller wave boards, even at the top S facing spots…sets are getting pretty inconsistent and it will be nice to be able to pick off even the small ones.







Your best bet is going to be the breaks that can block the wind and still pick up the S swell…there are a handful of spots throughout SoCal that can almost pull it off…but not that many. There will be more windswelly spots that have protection, but even though the surf is cleaner the surf will be smaller and weaker. It will be one of those compromise days…do you want clean smaller surf or junky bigger surf…the same pain in the butt choice that us Socal guys end up making too many times throughout the year. Oh and I would probably stick with the smaller wave boards, even at the top S facing spots…sets are getting pretty inconsistent and it will be nice to be able to pick off even the small ones.

Surf for Friday – peaking SW swell and some eddy funk

Friday will be a surf day but you are going to need to be a little picky about your spots.

The SW swell (200-220) that was filling in on Thursday will start to peak on Friday, and turn a little more southerly as it fills in. We will have some minor NW windswell in the background but I don’t expect it to break up much of the SW’er.



Wave heights will be in the chest-shoulder high range for most spots with SW exposure. The top SW facing spots, mostly through South Orange County, North San Diego, and Northern LA, will have shoulder-head high surf with inconsistent plus sets at the standout breaks. Expect a little inconsistency on the sets sometimes...and watch for shadowing from the nearshore islands. If you surf in one of the shadow areas (that you can see on the CDIP map) expect smaller and less consistent sizes.

Winds are also going to be a bit funky. Local forecasts are showing the eddy circulation spin up again tonight. Look for variable onshore winds...sort of S-SW ...but below 10 knots for the morning. It will be enough to crumble up the more exposed breaks so try and find a spot with some protection. WNW winds 10-15 knots will blow through in the afternoon.

The SW’er was already showing some decent energy on Thursday and these sizes will continue into Friday, getting a little bigger and more consistent. The beach breaks are going to be pretty lined up so if you can’t surf a point or reef, try and find some sort of “structure” (for coconutz) or sandbar to try and break up the lines.

Here are the tides...hope you guys get some.

07:15AM LDT 0.0 L
02:08PM LDT 3.5 H
06:32PM LDT 2.7 L

Wednesday's Eddy - More stupid wind

Wednesday will be semi-surfable in the morning, particularly for parts of LA County and North Orange County. Other areas will have some wind issues.

We will have a mix of S-SW swell and WNW windswell showing through the morning. A new SW swell starts showing late in the day, basically right around sundown, with some extremely long-periods (22-second periods).

Surfwise the average spots will hold around waist high. The better combo breaks will be more consistently in the waist-chest high+ range. Standout spots in the South Bay, Southern Ventura, South Orange County, and most of San Diego will have surf in the chest-shoulder high range with a rare bigger set rolling through at times.

Winds will be the issue again...the eddy will continue to hold over SoCal through tomorrow morning, but it will anchor a bit closer to land (sort of over the South Bay), which is actually a lot better than having it further out to sea.

With the eddy close to land we can expect Santa Barbara through North LA to see NW winds in the 5-12 knot range with the winds lightening up the closer you get to Santa Monica. The South Bay through North Orange County will have variable winds below 5-knots. Then as you move down the coast, Southern Orange County and San Diego will have S winds around 10-knots.

All spots will have W winds around 10-15 knots by the afternoon with the breeziest winds showing through the northern regions.

Again it won't be worth spending a lot of time hunting around for surf tomorrow...if you happen to live close to a cleaner spot you should check the cam in the morning, or ride your beach cruiser down the beach (you lucky bastard). If you have to drive too far it is sort of going to be a roll-of-the-dice conditionswise...so it may not be worth it unless you are really surf-stoked.

Random Morning Update: Friday "I hate you so much eddy"

Hey guys just doing my dawn patrol stuff...looks like there is a little eddy wind on it this morning. Not enough to blow it out but it is adding some texture to the more exposed breaks.

Surf is in the waist-shoulder high range for most of the combo breaks but the standouts spots, in San Diego, South Bay, and OC are seeing some head high and overhead sets.

Winds look like they will eddy most of the morning...maybe lay down a touch mid-morning and then shift onshore pretty quick this afternoon.

Your best bet is to get out there this morning and find a spot that has some protection from the south winds (parts of Ventura, the South Bay, Central OC...around Dana Point/Laguna areas, and down near La Jolla in SD). Those areas will stay the cleanest the longest and all have good exposure to the swell mix.

I am heading out soon to get some myself...I might post a quick post-surf update later this morning.