Tuesday’s Surf – Clean and on the small side

Tuesday looks surfable…but it will be on the small side, and a tad inconsistent, which will keep it from being a real “surf” day.

Swellwise we will have a mix of fading NW windswell and an inconsistent SW swell (190-210) on tap for the morning. By the afternoon there will be a little bit of tropical SE energy (from TS Blas) starting to show…this won’t generate a ton of surf before dark…but exposed spots might see consistency start to improve a bit.



Average exposed spots will be in the waist high range with a few bigger chest high sets sneaking into the average spots that have a little better SW exposure. The standout SW facing breaks, mostly through South OC and parts of San Diego, will be in the waist-chest high range fairly consistently with some shoulder high sets sneaking through on the better tides.

Winds will be light in the morning…mostly light and variable but with a few areas with light offshore flow, and a few unlucky pockets that pick up some light onshore texture. Generally winds will be below 2-3 knots through the first part of the day. The onshore flow builds in out of the W-WNW around 10-15 knots for the afternoon.



Like I said it will be a bit small and inconsistent on Tuesday…but the clean conditions will help to make the smaller surf a bit more tolerable. I would stick with the small wave gear on Tuesday...something that will help you power through the weaker in-between sets. Bigger guys might want to bust out the logs…while the lighter guys might get away with fishy shapes...basically you just want something that works for you in smaller waves. Cleanest conditions will be through the morning but there is a minor high tide (3’+) around 8am, which you might want to keep in mind.

Here are the tides…

06/22/2010 Tuesday
01:40AM LDT -0.2 L
07:51AM LDT 3.3 H
12:29PM LDT 2.0 L
06:55PM LDT 6.0 H

Surf for Friday – Mostly leftovers

Friday will be clean and semi-surfable but the morning high tide and the general lack of swell will keep most spots from having much of a surf day. On the plus side winds will be light and it will be pretty warm weatherwise which might be a good reason to paddle around.

In the water we can expect a mix of fading NW swell (290-300), some background WNW-NW swell (285-300), and some weaker S-SW swell (190-220). Again we will have to fight the morning swampthing…but there should be a few little peaks to get out on once the tide evens out a bit.



Look for the average WNW-NW facing breaks and the better combo breaks to hold right around knee to occasionally waist high. The better NW breaks in Ventura and the South Bay will be more in the waist-chest high range while the top NW spots and best combo breaks in Southern SD will have some chest-shoulder high sets.

Winds will be clean again on Friday…light and variable to light-offshore in the morning…with some stronger offshore flow near some of the passes and canyons. 10-15 knot NW winds build in through midday and hold through the afternoon.



So another small clean day on tap for Friday…not much in the water to get fired up over but if you have the right gear, a shallow sandbar, and a good attitude you will probably be able to find something to ride. I would stick with the small wave boards for sure…longboards will probably be the most fun but if you are under 130lbs you might be able to bust out some of the fishier shapes at the better NW facing spots.

Make sure to check out the regional forecasts for the details for each county.

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…

03/12/2010 Friday
01:09AM LST 1.5 L
06:59AM LST 4.9 H
01:50PM LST -0.2 L
07:59PM LST 4.0 H

Thursday’s Surf – Much cleaner…but not a lot to work with

Thursday’s looks surfable…conditions will be a LOT cleaner, but don’t expect a ton of size showing at most spots.

We are going to have a mix of quickly fading NW windswell (290-300), some backing off medium-period WNW-NW swell (285-300), and some inconsistent background S-SW swell (190-210). That windswell has a pretty steep NW angle so only a few areas, like Southern San Diego, will be able to pull much out of it…everywhere else is going to working off mostly leftovers and background energy. Check out the CDIP chart…you can see the areas where the NW’er is sneaking through the gaps.



Average spots…mostly the NW facing ones and the really good combo breaks…will be in the knee-waist high range with some inconsistent chest high sets. The standout NW facing spots in Ventura and the South Bay will have some chest-shoulder high sets. The best breaks down in Southern SD will be more in the chest-head high range…and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a bigger set now and then as the S-SW swell combos it up in a few places.

We finally get a break in the winds…look for light/moderate NE winds setting up for Santa Barbara down through North OC…and then more of a variable offshore/SE flow as you move down toward San Diego County. NW winds around 10-15 knots will push in through the afternoon. Beach temps should warm up about 10-12 degrees compared to Wednesday…so possibly hitting the low-70’s.



I am not expecting a ton out of the surf tomorrow…but I am planning on getting a few waves…for some reason the mostly leftover mushy windswell isn’t really pushing my buttons, but hey that is just me. I would plan on brining your smaller wave gear just so you can get a few more as the tide and dropping swell take turns hampering shape. Oh and you might want to bring your booties too…all that wind did not do water temps any favors.

Make sure to check out the regional forecasts for the details for each county.

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…

03/11/2010 Thursday
12:36AM LST 1.9 L
06:23AM LST 4.7 H
01:25PM LST -0.2 L
07:41PM LST 3.8 H

Surf for Thursday – Much cleaner but fading fast

I don’t think I am going to call Thursday a “surf day”…yes it will be rideable, and conditions will be a lot cleaner than Wednesday, but the windswell is going to drop fast and the higher morning tide isn’t going to do us any favors.

Swellwise we are going to see a mix of quickly dropping NW windswell (285-300 with most of the energy around 295-300) and some background SW swell (200-220) crawling in from the Southern Hemisphere.

The average exposed spots…the breaks that have some exposure to the windswell mix…will be in the waist-chest high range through the morning. The standout NW facing spots, mostly the well exposed areas of Ventura, the South Bay, and Southern San Diego, will be in the waist-shoulder high range with still a few plus sets trying to power through the morning high tide. Since the swell is fading, look for the bigger waves to become less and less consistent as we move through into the afternoon.

Winds look much better for tomorrow…the fast moving cold front that spun up the winds for Wednesday is moving out of the area and high-pressure will build in its wake helping to set up some morning offshore winds. All areas can expect N-NE winds in the 5-10 knot range for tomorrow morning. The Santa Barbara, Ventura, and North LA areas may see some stronger gusts near passes and canyons. The winds will turn onshore out of the NW in the afternoon but should stay on the light side…right around 10-12 knots for most areas.

The windswell spots will definitely be the call tomorrow...the more NW exposure they have the better. Unfortunately the windswell doesn’t have a lot of kick to it…so even the top spots, which have some decent size, will be on the soft/rolly side. Your best bet is to find an exposed spot that likes both the shorter swell periods and the higher tides…preferably one that has a nice shallow sandbar for the windswell to throw itself over. Boardwise I personally think that a smaller/thicker board might be a good call…just so you can power through the mushy soft spots that you find in swells like these.

Here are the tides…

12:52AM LDT 1.0 L
07:11AM LDT 4.8 H
01:34PM LDT 1.4 L
07:14PM LDT 4.2 H

I am sure you noticed…but I am making a few changes to the layout of the blog (it is a little bit wider and is has new header!)…let me know what you think about the new set up. Also…now that I have some better ad-placements if any of you are interested in advertising on the site please drop me an email and we can go over the details. – Thanks! AW

Surf for Tuesday – Cleaner but a touch smaller

Tuesday will be a surf day.

In the water we are going to have a mix of fading WNW-NW windswell, some steady S-SSW swell (180-200), and some background SW energy (200-220). With the windswell dropping out pretty fast tomorrow plan on the bigger wave heights to shift around a bit…the purely NW/windswell spots will get quite a bit smaller…and the bigger waves will be showing primarily at the top S-facing spots.



Average S-facing breaks and the OK combo spots will hold in the waist-chest high range on Tuesday. There may be a few chest high+ sets on the early morning low tide. Standout S facing breaks, mostly through Orange County (but in a few other areas as well), will hold in the chest-shoulder high range on the sets, with a few bigger waves showing at times through the early morning.

Winds look good…finally that stupid low is gone (talk about a forecasting headache)...the local conditions are going to normalize a bit, getting back into what we generally expect for the Fall. Look for light and variable conditions for the morning, maybe even a few spots with offshore flow, and then building W-NW winds 10-14 knots on tap by the afternoon.



While it will be a surf day…I am not expecting it to fire or anything tomorrow...the tides and the sort of dropping/shifting swell may not mix well together. I think your best bet will be the early morning session if you can motivate…the tide comes up fast midmorning and hits a nearly 6’ high by 10:15 or so…by the time it drops in the afternoon the onshore bump will have moved back in. I think that it will see be fun at the better combo spots…but if you are looking for the bigger sets you will have to stick to spots that have good southerly swell exposure.

Here are the tides…

04:10AM LDT 1.7 L
10:18AM LDT 5.9 H
05:28PM LDT 0.1 L
11:36PM LDT 3.7 H