Wednesday’s Waves – holding S-SW swell and possibly some funky chicken

Wednesday might be rideable for a few spots in the morning but building onshore winds and weird weather may keep it from being much of a surf day.

We are going to have a mix of new S-SSW swell (180-200) filling in with some long-period energy while the bigger pulse of S swell continues to fade out. NW windswell will start off with mostly leftovers but we can expect it to start to pulse up again by the end of the day.



Sizewise it looks like most spots will feel a little smaller through Wednesday morning as the second swell starts off with some 19-20 second period energy (but very small swell heights)…which basically means our surf will be mostly leftover energy from the S and NW. Average spots are going to be in the chest high range with a few inconsistent shoulder high sets showing at the better exposed combo spots. The standout S facing breaks and excellent combo breaks will be in the chest-head high range…possibly a little bigger on the lower tides…not all that consistent on the bigger sets though.

Winds look pretty marginal on Wednesday. Santa Barbara on through LA county will see light W-NW winds around 8-10 knots for the morning…possibly stronger the closer you get to Point Conception. Orange County and San Diego will have more variable flow on tap for the morning…the COAMPS is showing a weak front moving through around that time…so pessimist in me thinks that the variable direction will mostly be onshore. I would definitely give the winds or cams a check before committing too much time to hunting down surf. 10-15 knot W-NW winds will return for most areas by the afternoon.







So like I said…not that great…but at least some potential for manageable/rideable conditions to show through the morning. The early morning high tide isn’t going to help things…fortunately it isn’t a full on swampthing. Plan on surfing early…looks like the cleanest conditions will be on tap for the morning.

Here are the tides…

05/26/2010 Wednesday
03:13AM LDT -1.0 L
09:26AM LDT 3.6 H
02:21PM LDT 1.7 L
08:33PM LDT 6.2 H

Surf Photos – A few from the mid-morning session

If only we were 2" tall...then it would be easy to build an artificial pointbreak.

Tuesday’s Surf – Fading but playful through the morning

Compared to the last several days Tuesday looks like a semi-surf day. (yes I know there have been a few clean spots if you knew where to look…but for most breaks it has been pretty sloppy).

Tuesday is looking pretty manageable through the morning…enough swell to still push in some solid surf and finally a bit of clean up with the early winds. Right now it looks best through early to mid-morning…then the W-NW winds return in the afternoon.

The S-SSW swell will be slowly fading on Tuesday but it should still have plenty of energy showing. NW windswell will hold in the background but may lose a little steam as the local winds back off a bit.



Average S facing spots and the good NW breaks will be in the chest-head high range with a few bigger waves mixing in during the lower tides. The standout S facing spots in Orange County, and the best NW combo spots (mostly in SD) will see some shoulder-head+ surf with sets still going a couple of feet overhead.

Winds will be mostly light and variable in the morning…with a touch of NNW flow for Santa Barbara and Ventura, along with a bit of southerly texture showing down in San Diego. It looks like winds are going to lay down late Monday night so there may be some leftover funky chicken on the ocean surface even with the light winds. Look for W-NW winds to return by the afternoon topping out around 10-18 knots by late in the day.







Overall Tuesday is looking like one of the best surf days this week…the onshore wind is likely to return on Wednesday, and then stay funky through the end of the work week (stupid wind). It looks like the dawn patrol through the first few hours of daylight will be the cleanest…then onshore winds pick up around lunchtime. S facing spots, like those in OC, will have the biggest size…but the other S spots throughout Socal should stay pretty playful as well.

Here are the tides… Happy Birthday Jack (my son is turning 5) and Scott (a good friend of mine who acts like he is 5)!

05/25/2010 Tuesday
02:29AM LDT -0.6 L
08:33AM LDT 3.6 H
01:41PM LDT 1.4 L
07:56PM LDT 6.1 H