EP001: Surf School is in Session!
In our first lesson we discuss how ocean conditions can effect different spots.
Hello avatar! I am BowTiedQuoll. I have been surfing for over fourteen years and I have nine years of service as an ocean rescue lifeguard. The ocean is a place of solitude for me and it could be for you too.
Someone needed to teach you degens ocean safety and getting pitted, right?
Surfing is a fantastic hobby that keeps you fit and allows you to be creative as well. After a session you’ll feel similar how you would after a swim or a decent workout. The act of riding a wave allows you to channel your inner child and while being totally immersed in the moment.
Surfing has allowed me to connect with wild life and people all over the world to give me plenty of stories to take home. Surf trips are my vacation, I have little desire to black out on a beach on my time off. Not hating, just saying I personally need to do something and be active on vacation or I get stir crazy.
When the waves are good, its akin to a gold rush. For good waves to reveal themselves you need a perfect storm of ocean conditions to cooperate and you need to know where to look.
To figure out optimal surf sessions we must analyze and forecast weather conditions. It is best to consult multiple forecasting apps to compare reports.
Some will be more accurate depending on where you live. I personally use Surfline, Weatherbug, Windy and Fishweather.
Surfline is a great resource for swell forecasts, live cameras and spot info. Surfline Pro gives unlimited access to cameras and deeper forecast analysis.
Weatherbug and Windy will provide mostly accurate wind speed and wind direction forecasts. These apps will also have radar and rain forecasts.
Fishweather has a great network of buoys located around the coast. These buoys measure wave height and swell period.
Storm surf is pretty good resource for macro trends. It’s a little more involved but it covers most of the coasts across the globe. I’d also like to shout out @DaDaBuh who shares his weather and swell models for free on Twitter. If you’re feeling generous and want to buy him a beer, he has a tip jar on Venmo. After all, he is a construction worker who shares his forecasts just for fun.
Swell, Tide and Wind
For waves to produce rideable surfing conditions it requires a blend of many different ingredients. For now let’s focus on the big three: swell, wind and tide.
This graphic will provide a visual of a wave and help highlight terms as we progress.
We’ll start with a basic understanding and gradually drill down as more lessons are published to Quoll’s Surf Journal.
Wind: The direction and speed of wind gives waves their shape. Light wind is generally better, providing a cleaner face to the wave.
Harder winds will chop up the surface making face more textured and will cause close outs. Close outs are when the wave is disorganized and the shoulder falls apart and the wave breaks on you. Close outs = Rugpull.
Offshore winds are when winds are blowing off the coast towards the ocean. Light offshore winds are ideal paired with swell causes waves to form a tube.
Offshore wind blowing harder than 15 + knots will make it more difficult to paddle into waves since the surfer is getting pushed on the lip and getting sucked over the falls. Happens heaps in the winter time.
Stiff offshore winds + overhead surf + Getting caught on the lip = Brain freeze
Onshore winds are caused by winds blowing from the ocean towards the coast. These winds make choppy and disorganize the surf.
Everyone’s prevailing winds are different based on their geography. In my neck of the woods, nothing fucks up a session like a south wind in the afternoon.
Autist note: Wind protected areas are always nice to have in your pocket. Spots surround by cliffs, in a bay or hills can make a huge difference in the quality of the wave.
Tide: The rise and fall of sea levels affect the quality and the behavior waves break. This is caused by the moons gravitational pull, depending on where you in the world your tidal schedule may be longer or shorter or higher or lower water depth.
There is no perfect tide. Some spots work better on lower or higher tides. However, slack tides on dead high or dead low tides will affect how waves break.
On a low tide, waves will dump on shallow sand bars making take offs a bit dicey. On higher tides, waves don’t have the structure to break so they can fizzle out and keep rolling without breaking.
Groundswell: A group of waves that are formed by distant storm systems over long distances, due to the distance this period is often a long period swell.
Wind Swell: A group of waves created by local winds nearby. Due to the storms proximity this period is often a short period swell.
Short period swells tend to work better on beach breaks typically 8-12 secs. Long period swells tend to work better on point breaks and reefs at about 15-20 secs.
When starting out, it’s best to go out and learn in all types of conditions. You need to gain experience in all of them to learn how the pieces of the puzzle fit together.
Which Break is Better?
Each type of break requires its own sweet spot of conditions for it to be working. The general framework is the more structure on the bottom the higher chance the break will provide a consistent wave.
For example, sand is loose and can shift easily with ocean currents. (I don’t like sand. Sand is rough, coarse, irritating and gets everywhere). Sandbars can move up and down the beach. Rocks will generally stay in the same spot, reefs are anchored to the sea floor as well keeping consistent wave structure.
When a wave breaks on the sea floor it dictates the wave shape and how much runway the surfer will have.
Beach breaks are typically quick waves that only have 5 to 10 seconds to ride. Point breaks and reef breaks can be ridden for up to 20 to 30 seconds, sometimes even minutes if the right conditions are aligned.
Beach breaks occur when swell hits a sand bar. Wind and ocean current can alter sand bar structure which changes the shape of the wave and distance they break. More prone to close outs because of their short rides.
Point breaks occur when swell hits a point and breaks around the land in one direction. Point breaks can form around rocky, sandy or reef bottom. Can produce long shoulders that go one for ages.
Reef breaks occur when swell hits the coral reef and waves crash on top of it. These types of breaks are known for their consistency but can come at a price, you can damage your board or shred your skin. (Not recommended for beginners)
One final thing, all of these types of waves can produce barrels it really depends on the wind. Onshore or side shore winds will cause close outs, even on the best swells. The wind can be a fickle bitch.
On another note for land locked readers, wave pools are beginning to sprout up all over the globe. The experience is pricey but you have perfect waves with the option for private sessions. Kinda like Disney World but minus the insane crowds. (Not recommended for beginners)
How to Read a Surf Spot
Now that you have a foundational understanding of ocean conditions and types of surfing spots. Allow me to use Jacksonville beach as an example.
I haven’t surfed here but I had a friend that lives in the area confirm it’s mostly sandy beach breaks mixed with a few piers. We have a small 2.1 ft ENE swell hitting the beach at 7 seconds on a 72 degree angle paired with a very light offshore wind of 5 knots out of the SW. The short period swell paired with a light offshore wind should work pretty well on sandbars.
Notice how the angle of the swell is almost perfect aligned with the SW offshore winds coming right towards it? That’s where the magic happens.
As the wave rolls in, the lip of the wave is getting pushed up by the wind. This push gives the wave a clean shoulder for the surfer to ride.
If there is a pier or a jetty near by I would target those areas if it wasn’t too crowded. Structure help keep sand anchored in place and in turn provide a cleaner face to ride.
Putting it All Together
Consult your weather and forecasting applications to see if there’s any life in the ocean.
Once you get a storm or low pressure system occurring somewhere. Windswell produced from local storms or groundswell produced from far away storm .
No energy from swell in the water, no waves. Summer is notorious for flat spells.
Now, you need the wind to cooperate. Nothing ruins a great swell like hard onshore winds. If there’s swell in you area and your local winds aren’t working together, hit the road and find somewhere that is.
Depending on the angle that the swell is hitting the coast will give you clues on what breaks to check. Consider the angle of the swell, the period and if its protected from the wind when deciding between a point break, beach break or reef break.
Last thing to consider is the tide. Does the spot you picked need a certain tide to break properly? Is the tide too high for waves to break causing them to endlessly roll in? Will a low tide make it too dangerous to drop in on waves?
Thanks for reading! Will be updating more lessons and more exciting content.
EP001: Surf School is in Session!
Well written Quoll, I’m a beach bum and still didn’t know half of this. Looking forward to more