Surf for Monday – fading but still fun

Monday looks like it will be a surf day…again we will have to work around the tides but the high-tide peak is starting to push back further in the morning than we saw over the weekend.

Our WNW-NW swell (280-300) will be starting to wind down on Monday while some weak S-SSW swell continues to push a few So. Hemi lines around in the background. Look for another fairly slow start in the morning thanks to the building high tide peak…and then some better shape through the afternoon as the tide drains out.



Wave heights are going to continue to be a bit funky around the tidal peak…some spots will flatten out into shorebreak or just sort of mushy barely breaking lines and it will see both smaller and less consistent. Once the tide drops (or if you find a break that can handle the extra water)…then expect the WNW-NW facing breaks to average around waist-chest high with some rare shoulder high waves (as the tide finally bottoms out). The standout NW spots will be more consistent in the chest-shoulder high range and I expect a few of the better exposed spots down in San Diego to have some head high (and possibly a little bigger) sets showing on those low tides.

Winds look pretty light on Monday…light and variable to light offshore for the morning, then light onshore W winds around 10-knots for the afternoon, and then light and variable winds again for the evening. It will be sort of cool day overall and we can expect some building cloud cover to increase as well.



The tides are really playing a big role in the quality of surf that we are seeing…so you need to be a bit pickier about when/where you are surfing…it will also pay to keep in mind that this is more of a WNW-NW swell and swell-shadowing is more pronounced in a few areas. Overall I still think that we will be able to find some fun ones on Monday, it will just be on the other side of the tide peak for many areas. You might also want to switch up your board choice and stick with gear that can push you through flatter/slower surf as the swell backs down…just a thought.

Make sure to check the regional forecasts to see how the swell mix affects the different stretches of coastline.

Regional/County Forecasts

Santa Barbara Surf Forecast
Ventura County Surf Forecast
Los Angeles County Surf Forecast
Orange County Surf Forecast
San Diego Surf Forecast

Here are the tides…

02/01/2010 Monday
04:13AM LST 0.8 L
10:05AM LST 5.7 H
04:48PM LST -0.8 L
11:05PM LST 5.0 H

Tuesday’s Surf – Clean, fading, and getting tide swampy

Tuesday looks rideable but overall mix of backing down surf and high morning tide will keep it from being a surf day.

We are going to see a mix of backing off WNW-NW energy (285-300) that is still fading out from the weekend, some new NW swell (295-300) that is so steeply angled that it will skip past almost every spot, and some trace SW swell (200-220) that is just lingering in the background…never strong enough to make much of a difference but not totally disappearing either.



Wave heights are going to hold in the knee-waist high range for the average exposed spots on Tuesday…mostly the WNW-NW exposed spots, the S facing breaks will be smaller and less consistent. The top NW facing breaks, mostly in San Diego, will be in the waist-chest high range with a couple of rare chest-shoulder high sets still sneaking through. Expect shape to be soft and slow through the morning as more 6’+ high tide tries to drown our little swell mix.

Winds look good…light and variable to light-offshore for the morning. Clean conditions on tap for most areas. NW winds 10-12 knots build in through the afternoon but never get strong enough to completely blow it out.



Ugh…high-tide swampy and a fading/shadowed swell mix…it just doesn’t sound all that fun. Still the weather will be nice, and if you have a big board, or some magical fish board that grants wishes and helps to fight bad guys with its kung-fu action, then you will be able to get out and catch a couple softies…particularly if you have a spot that can handle the high tide. Personally I am planning on taking it slow in the morning and then rolling the dice that the tide can drop faster than the onshore bump picks up…I will probably lose but I don’t think I can face another session of high-tide shorebreak.

Here are the tides….

12/01/2009 Tuesday
01:06AM LST 2.0 L
07:19AM LST 6.5 H
02:48PM LST -1.1 L
09:10PM LST 3.6 H

Surf for Friday – Swamptacular!

Friday will be a nice beach day (once it warms up)…but there isn’t going to be much surf.

We will have a mix of quickly fading short-period NW energy and some stubborn (and small) SW swell (200-220) that is holding in the background. Expect the NW swell to continue to drop off as we move through the day.



Unfortunately the dawn patrol is going to get whacked with a 5’+ high tide that will peak right around 7:30am, which is going to steamroll the surf at most breaks. Once the tide starts dropping we will have a little surf sneak through setting up some knee-knee high+ waves at the average exposed spots…and maybe a little waist high set on the breaks that handle the higher tides a little better. The standout NW facing spots, mostly through Southern SD, Southern Ventura, and parts of the South Bay, will have a little more size…more in the knee-waist high range on the average sets and then a couple waist-chest high waves on the biggest sets. Remember to watch the tide…even the top spots are going to flatten out as it peaks.

Winds look good tomorrow (of course we don’t have surf so they don’t need to mess with us)…look for light-offshore for most beaches and some slightly stronger offshore gusts at the usual wind-prone passes and canyons. Winds stay light for the afternoon…just coming onshore around 5-10 knots later in the day.



So for tomorrow…I would probably stay in bed. It will be butt-cold again tomorrow morning and the water temps have dropped down into the upper 50’s in some areas…to top it off the weak swell mix will be burgered out with the peaking tide…so there won’t even be much to paddle for that could help keep you warm. Personally I am going to take it easy in the morning…maybe go on donut patrol…wait for the air to warm up and the tide to drop. Hopefully the tide will drain enough to set up a few longboard peaks before the wind starts to tweak it too much.

Here are the tides…

01:19AM LDT 1.1 L
07:31AM LDT 5.2 H
02:07PM LDT 0.9 L
07:56PM LDT 4.2 H

Waves for the Weekend - Some surf with a cruel tide

Saturday and Sunday will both be surf days. The tide is going to suck at times but if you be a bit flexible there will be some fun surf windows. Watch out for the Swamp Thing!



It won't be huge either day but there will be a fairly consistent mix of overlapping WNW energy (280-300) that starts arriving on Saturday and peaks into Sunday (holding into Monday). At the same time we will have some smaller S-SW swells (190-210) that will continue to push in through the background.

Saturday we can expect most exposed spots to hold in the waist-chest high range with some chest high+ sets on the lower tides. The standout spots will be in the chest-shoulder high range with a few bigger waves coming through at the top spots in San Diego.

Sunday the new WNW'er will fill in a bit more. Most exposed WNW spots will move into the chest-shoulder high range...again you will have to work around the tides. The standouts spots will be in the chest-head high range while the top winter spots will have some head high+ sets.

Check out Friday's CDIP...expect this with a little "more" WNW over the weekend.

Weather is looking good through the weekend...even warm once the sun is up. Winds will be light to moderately offshore through the morning and will be light/variable to light offshore for the afternoons. A few areas, particularly around Ventura, North LA, North SD, and Baja Norte (areas with high passes and canyons) will have moderate to strong offshore flow at times.

Here are the tides for Saturday and Sunday

Sat
03:10AM LST 2.3' Sort of Normal
09:25AM LST 6.7' Swamp Thing
05:06PM LST -1.2' Where did the water go
11:46PM LST 3.6' Survivable

Sun
04:00AM LST 2.5' Sort of Normal
10:16AM LST 6.3' Swamp Thing
06:05PM LST -0.9' Ankle Snapper

Have a great one!

Thursday’s Surf – Waves with a touch of the Swamp Thing

Thursday will be another surf day…and other day that starts off by getting buried by the morning high tide.

Swellwise we will have the seemingly endless combo swell mix of both WNW and SW energy. Unfortunately these swells will have to try and push surf through a 5.6’ high tide that peaks around 7:30-8am.

Since the tide peak is a little later in the morning than the last couple of days there may be a small surf window right as the sun comes up…literally…and if you want to try and get a few waves before the shape totally bogs out you are going to want to be changing into your suit in the dark and paddling out before you can really see anything.

Once the tide peaks expect surf in the waist-chest high+ range for most spots…but expect a lot of that size to be shorebreak. Standout high-tide combo spots will be bigger…closer to shoulder high+ but shape will be slow at those breaks as well.

As the tide drops through mid-morning expect a lot of improvement. The average exposed breaks will get more consistently into the waist-shoulder high range and the standouts will see head high sets. Expect the biggest and most consistent surf through the best combo spots in San Diego and Orange County.

Winds look better for Thursday…expect light NE winds around 5-8 knots through the morning with some onshore NW texture below 10 knots developing through the afternoon.

Your best bet for surf on Thursday…if you just can’t motivate yourself to become a Dawn Patrol Warrior…is to wait for the tide to drop. I think the winds will hold off a bit longer than they have compared to the last couple of days so we may have less bump on the water as the tide becomes less of an issue. I think beach breaks and the reefs will have the most fun shape but the points will have workable waves (on the lower tide) as well.

Here is a random beach picture from the other night…the surf isn’t great but it was a nice shot…makes me want to have a mai-tai…