Surfing Conditions
• Seasons
• Three main factors influencing surfing
conditions:
•
•
•
•
•
– swell direction
– currents and tides
– winds
Waves
Bottoms
Beach types
Pollution
Surf reports (phone and online)
Surfing Conditions: Seasons
• Conditions in California
• Winter brings larger waves (often from the
north and west)
• Winter brings colder water (low 50’s)
• Summer brings smaller, less frequent
waves (often from the south)
• Summer brings warmer water (up to 70˚
F)
Surfing Conditions: Swell Direction
North Swell
West Swell
South Swell
Surfing Conditions: Swell Direction
• North Swell: generated by storms in the North Pacific
during the winter (December through February).
Average size 3-6 feet, but can reach 10-15 feet
(powerful).
• West Swell: originates from storms in the Western Pacific
and is common during fall and spring. Average size 3-6
feet. Often mixed with other swells (southwest).
• South Swell: generated by storms in the South Pacific
during the summer (May through September). Average
size 3-6 feet but may reach 8-15 feet. The Wedge in
Newport Beach reaches up to 20 feet on largest south
swells.
Surfing Conditions: Currents and
Tides
• The moon’s gravitational pull on the earth creates a
bulge in the ocean, causing a high tide on the near side
of the earth and on the opposite side of the earth.
• The sun’s gravitational pull creates a lesser bulge in the
ocean, which can contribute to or detract from the
moon’s pull.
• High (flow) and low (ebb) tides in California fluctuate
about 4-5 feet.
• In California, we have two high and two low tides
(semidiurnal) in a 24-hour period.
• In general, higher tides create easier-breaking waves
while lower tides create faster, tubing waves (preferred).
Surfing Conditions: Wind
• In general, wind is bad for surfing, creating
choppy, blown-out conditions.
• In California, early morning is the best time to
surf because the ocean’s surface is glassy and
smooth.
• In California, wind usually picks up by late
morning, 11:00 a.m. or so.
• Occasionally, the wind dies late in the day,
creating “evening glass off.”
Surfing Conditions: Wind Direction
Sidewind
moves north
or south
Onshore
wind
moves
east
Offshore
wind
moves
west
Surfing Conditions: Wind
• One beneficial wind
exists: Santa Ana
wind (offshore).
• Santa Ana wind is a
warm, desert wind
unique to southern
California.
• Santa Ana winds
produce hollow, fast
waves and occur
most often in the
summer.
Surfing Conditions: Waves
• Anatomy of a
wave: crest
(top), trough
(bottom), face
(front), peak
(highest point),
shoulder (side)
Surfing Conditions: Measuring
Waves
• Waves are officially
measured in feet from
crest to trough.
• However, surfers like to
underestimate wave
height or measure by
back of the wave; i.e.,
they might call a 6-foot
wave a 4-foot wave.
• Surfers also often
measure according to
body-height: shoulderhigh, head-high, double
overhead.
Surfing Conditions: Bottoms
• Three main types exist: sand, rock, and coral.
• Sand is best for beginners and most common in
California.
• Rock exists at several great breaks in southern
California: Rincon, Malibu, Trestles, San Onofre,
etc. Booties help surfers negotiate through
rocks.
• Coral exists in Hawaii and other places, creating
sharp and dangerous bottom.
Surfing Conditions: Beach Types
• Three main beach types exist.
• Beach break: waves break on a sandy beach like
Mondos (best for beginners)
• Point break: waves break onto a rocky point like
Rincon (creates a long ride with the right swell)
• Reef break: waves break on a rock bed or coral
reef as on many beaches in Hawaii (often
creating the best and most dangerous
conditions)
Surfing Conditions: Pollution
• Ocean water quality is determined by many
factors and fluctuates but is good most of the
time in California.
• Some surfers avoid the ocean for a few days
following rain because of the city filth washed
into the ocean and the ensuing bacterial
pollution.
• Heal the Bay provides a weekly report card by
beach and educates the public about
environmental issues involving beaches.
• Surfrider Foundation provides water-quality
reports by beach.
Surfing Conditions: Reports
• Phone Reports: many city lifeguards provide a
daily surf report by phone
– Newport Beach (949) 673-3371
– Huntington Beach (714) 536-9303
– San Clemente (949) 492-1011
• Online Reports: several websites provide daily
surf reports on the Internet
– Surfline
– Wavewatch
– Wetsand
Surfing Conditions: Resources
• The Encyclopedia of Surfing by Matt
Warshaw
• Surfing California by Bank Wright
• The WetSand WaveCast® Guide to Surf
Forecasting by Nathan Todd Cool
The End
• Return to KPEA 109