Exciting isn't hardly the word I would choose.

Hey Gang…I am sure that you have noticed that my updates have been a little spotty the last few days.
Rest assured that this is pretty normal…right about now I start to slide into my slacker/lazy/summer mode that creeps in when the weather gets nice, and we see a few of our Southern Hemi storms sneak in some playful waves to our exposed spots. And if that wasn’t enough…my beautiful wife is off work over the summer…(she is a teacher and has one of those awesome “summer off” teacher schedules)…so she gets to find all sorts of nice ways to distract me from my forecasts. (Get your minds out of the gutters…), it is usually things like fix the doorbell, the garbage disposal smells funny, get off the computer and do some chores .



And since she is home for the summer…so is my army of Clone Troopers.



These troopers like to invade what is normally called my “office” but it now referred to as “happy fun land”. And apparently even after working in Happy Fun Land for YEARS…I have still managed to miss the most popular ride. (The riding of my (140lbs) bullmastiff puppy is the number #2 two ride in Happy Fun Land). Anyway my boys/clones like to call the #1 bestest ride in the park “the Awesome Spaztacular Adventure” but the official name of the ride is called “lets drive daddy insane”… and if you hadn’t guessed, I get to ride that one a lot. None of which is helping me get the forecasts get done on time.

OK that being said…there is another reason I have been lagging on the forecast s, it has been because I have been working on a bigger/better/more bad-ass website, and that when we release these new tool sets my little forecast will get a major overall and it should help you guys score even more surf.

It won’t change all that much…there are still going to be plenty of my awesome drawings…you know…the ones of fish and unicorns racing each other over the rainbow only to have the winner eaten by a dolphin. OH and it will still be FREE…no subscription nonsense.

I am stoked on what we have heading your way….hopefully you guys will dig it as well.

This quote always seems to creep back into my thought process when I am working on the new site…



Randal Graves: [talking about the second Death Star] A construction job of that magnitude would require a helluva lot more manpower than the Imperial army had to offer. I'll bet there were independent contractors working on that thing: plumbers, aluminum siders, roofers.
Dante Hicks: Not just Imperials, is what you're getting at...
Randal Graves: Exactly. In order to get it built quickly and quietly they'd hire anybody who could do the job. Do you think the average storm trooper knows how to install a toilet main? All they know is killing and white uniforms.
Dante Hicks: All right, so even if independent contractors are working on the Death Star, why are you uneasy with its destruction?
Randal Graves: All those innocent contractors hired to do a job were killed - casualties of a war they had nothing to do with. [notices Dante's confusion]
Randal Graves: All right, look-you're a roofer, and some juicy government contract comes your way; you got the wife and kids and the two-story in suburbia - this is a government contract, which means all sorts of benefits. All of a sudden these left-wing militants blast you with lasers and wipe out everyone within a three-mile radius. You didn't ask for that. You have no personal politics. You're just trying to scrape out a living.

Not sure why I keep thinking about it...maybe it is all the contractors we are using to help develop. Good thing I don't own a partially opporational battle-station.

Anyway…sorry about the long rambling post…I meant to say that the some of the bigger pieces/posts…like the “long-range” forecasts and the alerts are going to take a little hiatus. In fact I am actually heading out on a vacation for a few myself (non-surf related unfortunately)…but when things start coming up to full strength I hope you will be both stoked and impressed by the stuff we have built. I will do my best to keep the update schedule as close as normal …it the meantime I hope that the weather is nice and that there are some playful/solid waves until I get back.

Cheers!

Adam

Random Morning Update - Fun in a few places

Winds didn’t end up being too bad this morning…a little texture in the San Diego spots but clean in most of the other counties.



The S-SW swell mix continues to show as well…here are a few shots I took while walking the dog in HB this morning. (Not a euphemism…I really was walking the dog.) As you can see…it wasn’t huge but there were still some playful corners slipping through.


Kelly Dog being a bit more sly than I was...

Random SoCal Surf Report – manageable winds

Looks like the eddy spun up a bit this morning and it is holding off the stronger W winds in the outer waters.



Spots up in Ventura/Santa Barbara are seeing some onshore texture but the more protected spots are not all that tweaked. (the high tide and the shorter-period swell isn’t helping though).

North LA is pretty clean but again the high tide is shutting down a few of the better points. The South Bay is pretty clean too…just a tiny bit of onshore texture so far this morning.

OC is only ok…South OC is better than the North. The North is looking crumbly/funky thanks to the wind turning just a bit too far S-SSW as it swirls through the San Pedro Channel.

San Diego, particularly North/Central San Diego, is looking the cleanest this morning. Winds are light SE-ESE and the ocean surface is pretty smooth. Waves are running in the chest-high+ range even with the tide…and there are a few bigger shoulder-head high sets that are inconsistently popping through. Probably not worth driving (unless you have a lot of time to kill) but if you are in close range it should be worth a look for the next couple of hours. It is going to be a race between the dropping tide and the incoming wind…lets hope the tide wins.

Have a good one...hope you can get a few on the Munday.

Random Morning Surf Report – stupid storm

Sooo that lovely storm that was supposed to move in and blow out our conditions is taking its sweet time actually arriving in SoCal.



In fact, at this point, the storm is actually moving further out to sea and south of us, which is pretty weird…since storms generally don’t ever do that.

Conditions are still pretty clean at this point and it looks like they could stay marginally surfable for the next few hours since the storm is still about 200-300 miles off the coast (and sort of listing about like a drunken sailor).

Since the wind is down we have a shot at some WNW/SW swell combo (as well as building windswell). Look for most spots to be in the waist-chest high range on sets with some of the standouts (Ventura, parts of the South Bay, South OC, and San Diego) to have some shoulder high+ sets. There should have been a touch more size form the windswell but looks like that energy is going to lay low for a while.

The forecasts still have the potential for rain and increasing onshore winds but the % chance is dropping as the storm trails southward, which while bad for my forecast this morning, is good since conditions look like they will be a bit cleaner for the weekend. Ah good times…stupid storm.

Hope you get a chance to get some...I am throwing the board in the truck right now.

Random Morning Update - Ouch!

This may be one of the worst COAMPS observations that I have ever seen. It isn't a forecast model...this was built using real observations at 5am this morning.



Basically the ocean is getting hit with the ugly stick right now.

Monday Morning Surf Report - A few fun eddy textured ones

There are a few fun waves scattered around this morning. Nothing worth hacking your way through the crowds later today...but if you are close to a halfway decent break you might want to try and pick off a couple.

We still have the mind-numbing mix of small S-SW swell and local NW windswell showing this morning but both of them got a little boost of energy thanks to increasing local winds, and a small reinforcement from the Southern Hemisphere.

Most S-SW facing spots and the combo breaks are running around waist-chest high. A few of the Top combo spots in Southern Ventura, South Orange County, and San Diego are seeing some inconsistent shoulder high sets.

Shape is a little textured...there is some slight eddy S winds showing through Orange County and parts of LA...but areas with high cliffs or something to break up the light winds are still pretty glassy. Look for W winds around 10-12 knots by this afternoon.

Like I said it isn't really worth battling it out with the beach crowds today (and I have a feeling that blackball will be descending fairly early this morning)...but if you are desperate it might be worth checking the nearby spots.

Really I would be saving my “free-time” for later this week…the new S swell that hits (late Tuesday) but peaks Wednesday/Thursday should be pretty fun…and big enough to break us out of the groveling wave sizes. I just wish my new board was going to be ready!

Random Thursday Morning Surf Report

I have been looking at the cameras, the buoys, and even made a run down to the beach (HB/Newport) to check it in person...and it doesn't look like much of that tropical swell is showing this morning.

Most of North OC, and really most of SoCal, is still in the knee-high+ range with some rare waist high sets. Conditions are clean but there isn't a lot to ride.

Now that I am back online the buoys are starting to shift around to show some of the tropical SE swell...so watch for that to fill in more as we move throughout the day.

Random Wednesday Morning Surf Report – Looking fun out there

I was just rolling through the cameras and getting my plethora of text messages this morning and it sounds (and looks) like there is still plenty of surf showing out there.

Sets are a little less consistent as the tide drops through midmorning but the top SW facing spots in San Diego and Orange County are still seeing overhead sets. The average exposed breaks through LA and Ventura are seeing slightly smaller shoulder-head high waves.

Conditions are mostly clean with some light S winds at some of the exposed beaches. Shape is definitely better at points and reefs and a couple of the really good dense sandbars. In general the beach breaks are still a little walled out with some strong south-to-north current, and some good size rip currents…so if you surf a beach break this morning plan on having a loooong hike back to your car.

Lastly here is another shot of the CDIP wave model…it isn’t as accurate this morning…it looks like it is missing data from the new SW energy that is reinforcing the existing swell (and they adjusted the wave heights so that the “range” between each color change is larger than normal…pretty much the stupidest thing I have ever heard of).

Random Morning Update – Thursday is sort of surfable!

Looks like there are a few waves showing out there this morning…it isn’t great but the decent windswell spots, particularly surf spots in San Diego, are seeing some workable sections.

Winds are light and variable and we have a lot of WNW windswell leftover from last night.

Here check out this chart…you can see where the windswell is leaking around point conception (the SE swell direction is wrong through…there is actually about 1.3-1.5 of SW swell showing at about 16-17 seconds…so the map should have a touch more light blue showing in some areas).



Anyway just thought I would drop a note since the surf had been so craptacular over the last couple of days. Hope you get a chance to ride a few.

Random Friday Morning Update – It looks fun. Go Surfing!

That SW’er really filled in overnight and it showing some good sized surf to the exposed areas…and to make it better there is still a decent amount of WNW windswell and background S-SW energy to keep even the shadowed areas in some surf.

Conditions are clean, the surf has decent shape and some punch…and I am seeing a few barrels sneak through at some of the dumpier beach breaks out there.

It is running about chest high everywhere (except maybe Seal Beach and a lot of the far north OC spots). The top breaks that can pull in the mix of SW and WNW energy are hitting head high and head high+ on the bigger sets.

San Diego and South Orange County in particular are seeing a lot of quality surf this morning.

So if you have the time, get some!

Here is a shot of the O-side buoy this morning…lots of long-period SW swell showing on it.

Random Tuesday Morning Update: Looks surfable but it won’t last long

I was up checking the surf this morning and thought I would throw out a little morning update.

It does look sort of semi-surfable this morning…well if you don’t mind surfing fat windswelly waves that have a bit of variable onshore texture.

It is definitely not the cleanest or best shaped surf I have ever seen but there are a few rideable peaks throughout all of SoCal…and the winds are still light enough that they haven’t jacked anything up.

Right now San Diego is reporting surf in the knee-waist high range pretty consistently…with some chest high+ sets sneaking through at the top breaks.

Orange County is a touch smaller…more in the knee-waist high+ range at the top spots.

Los Angeles is running with similar sizes…knee-chest high through the top spots in the South Bay. North LA is more in the knee to occasional waist high, tide swamped, but pretty clean as you get close to the Malibu/Dume areas.

Ventura is a bit sloppier…winds are more onshore here than in other spots. Surf is about knee-chest high with a lot of windswell influence. Sort of stacked up windswelly lines with the onshore texture to go with it.

Santa Barbara is a bit cleaner but smaller since it is less exposed to both swells. Look for mostly knee high+ surf through that area.

Finally here is the current morning wind analysis…you can see where the texture/winds will be developing over the next few hours.

Random Morning Update – Tuesday is a bit fugly

So the eddy spun up last night and is anchored a bit more southward than normal. We have also see a decent bump up in WNW windswell to go along with the NW swell and the S-SW energy still in the water.

The biggest surf is showing at the best WNW combo spots, the purely S facing breaks are a bit smaller. The better exposed areas are running around waist-shoulder high with some stacked up sort of dumpy shape. The standouts mostly in San Diego, Ventura, and the South Bay are seeing sloppy head high sets.

The tide is still pretty high so try and pick a spot that likes a bit more water.

Winds are a bit screwy right now too…S-SW winds are showing through San Diego. S-SE winds are blowing through North OC, which is one of our cleanest areas this morning. The South Bay is seeing onshore W winds while North LA is more side-offshore. Ventura and Santa Barbara are seeing those lumpy N-NW winds through the area as well. Basically it isn’t very clean anywhere but North OC, but it isn’t blown out anywhere either.

Here is a little map that I threw together this morning. I basically overlaid the COAMPS on top of the CDIP wave model. It doesn’t look very clean but if you take a closer look you can see the modeled winds overlaying the swell projection…

Random Morning Update: Wednesday at 6:30am

Onshore winds are building across SoCal this morning and it is looking pretty junky for most spots.

There are a couple of weird pockets of cleanliness that are holding on this morning…they aren’t really that good looking surfwise but they have less wind than other areas.



The Malibu area is ok…it is seeing a little protection from Point Dume and the nearby hills this morning. There is not much surf there but it is probably longboardable if you are desperate.

North OC is also seeing a little bubble of wind protection from Palos Verdes…it isn’t going to last long…and the surf isn’t looking great…but it has less wind than other areas. Waves are running around chest-head high in HB and a little smaller through Newport…but it still looks like sloppy stacked up windswell despite the lack of winds. I expect this area to blow out pretty fast but if you are close you might be able to ride a couple of OK sections near the HB pier or the Newport jetties.

Expect stronger W winds around 10-25 knots this afternoon...looks like it is going to get pretty sloppy by the end of the day.

Random Friday Morning Surf Report: Stay in bed

Hey gang the dawn patrol isn't looking very fun this morning.

There are a few rideable waves but there is a touch of morning sickness to it and the tide is already starting to mush it out. Wave heights are generally in the knee-waist high range through Ventura, then jump up to about waist-chest high+ through most of North LA and the South Bay.

OC is holding around waist-chest high+ with some very inconsistent bigger sets lurking around out there at times. San Diego is about the same but it has a little more onshore texture and is a touch more consistent thanks to the windswell hitting just a little better down there.

If you absolutely have to surf make sure to check the better high tide spots and try and shine areas that need a low tide to work.

Really, if you can hold off, try and surf on the other side of the high tide...it may be a bit bumpier from the wind but size and consistency will be a lot better.

Random Morning Update - Thursday (with a little extra wind)

Gang...I was just doing the dawn patrol this morning and it doesn't look like we are going to get much of an eddy today (maybe tonight) so the onshore winds are going to get a straight shot at us in the next couple of hours.

That being said it is surfable...we have more windswell in the water to go along with the building S-SW swell and wave heights are already starting to hit around head high at the better combo breaks (and bigger in OC and San Diego).

Right now the winds are not that bad...Ventura and LA are seeing some side/offshore texture and more of a stacked up shape...it cleans up a lot around Malibu and Venice.

OC and SD are doing OK as well...you can tell that the wind has been blowing in the outer waters all night and some of that bump has made it to shore. The Current winds are mostly light and variable and a few spots are even semi-offshore but there is a funk to it. There are also a few overhead sets starting to mix in at the good spots.

I would try and get on it as early as you can...the winds will be picking up as we head into the afternoon.

Random Morning Update: Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Hey gang I hope you all had a good weekend drinking green beer…(I know I did, which is probably why I am finally getting around to posting an update this morning…hahaha)

Anyway the surf has made a major clean-up from the weekend this morning and while it is still looking a little windswelly shapewise it is definitely surfable.

Our swell is a mix of WNW energy, part storm swell, part longer-period windswell. Most exposed breaks throughout the region are running in the shoulder high+ range. Standout breaks, mostly in San Diego, Southern Ventura, and the South Bay, are seeing consistent overhead sizes. San Diego in particular is going a couple of feet plus overhead, which is testament to the steeper NW swell angle that is skipping past a lot of breaks. (Northern Baja will also be pretty good size…probably bigger than SD in a lot of places).

Shape is pretty dumpy, stacked up, and a bit crumbly despite light offshore winds…it is just the shorter period swell more than anything.

These waves won’t last that long…it should be dropping fast by this afternoon…so if you don’t mind the lumpy, sectiony shape, and the super cold water (thanks to the upwelling over the weekend)…then I would try and get on it.

Random Morning Update: Tuesday Surf Report

SD and OC this morning are looking pretty fun. There are a few playful sets in LA and Ventura as well but it doesn't have quite the amount of size (yet) that is showing down south.

Right now the surf is holding in the waist-shoulder high range at most of those decent combo spots in OC/SD (Newport, Oceanside, Dana/Point Laguna, La Jolla and HB are all good areas) ...and there are a few head high sets that are occasionally slipping through. Winds are mostly light and variable...but are expected to build onshore out of the NW around 10-12 knots this afternoon.

Looks like you could score a few if you get out in the next few hours.

Monday Morning Update

Posted 6:35am

The surf looks fun in pretty much every region this morning but the 5’+ high tide is bogging it down at most spots.

The combo swell is still showing plenty of energy on the buoys and surf along the beach is mostly around waist-chest high+ with shoulder high sets. Standout combo breaks that can handle the tide are seeing head high+ sets. It looks biggest through San Diego but OC is seeing some similar sizes at times. Best shape is at the combo beach breaks. Santa Barbara and North LA are both looking pretty small but expect longboard waves at the top spots in those areas even with the high tide.

Winds are light to moderately offshore right now. They should stay offshore for most of the morning before backing down this afternoon…watch for a chance for an afternoon surf later today.

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.

Thursday's Surf: Morning Update

Just doing the dawn patrol this morning and it looks like the bigger punch of W swell is lagging a little bit. It looked like it should have been showing more by morning but it hasn't filled in as fast as was forecast.

So for the morning expect a lot of waist-shoulder high surf at the average combo spots...with some head high sets sneaking in at the standouts.

Wave heights will build, sending in more head high-overhead surf at the better spots over the next several hours.