Surfing Waves

I know most people will just bring all their boards to the beach. But I have a dilemma as the beach can be quite a distance from the car park so I can't check the wave beforehand. Plus I only carry one board on my car.

The way I do it is if by looking at surf reports, if it's 4ft+ then I bring a fun board. Long interval 8s+ with offshore. Bring the longboard. But there are many times where I felt the wave is breaking much faster or steeper and I kinda wished I had my funboard. I can't really tell from the surf report or maybe is there a trick to this? Like swell direction or tide?

Lately I just bring my 8 foot funboard. It's fun in any sized waves and I want to keep my reactions geared up for that board so when big critical waves come I am ready for them. However a while back I would drive to the beach see the surf is different from what I thought it would be and drive home and change boards (round trip 10 minutes)

Ok let's start, swell direction is important, the angle it hits the beach is a winner or a loser point breaks have a specific best direction. Beach breaks shift their sand to accommodate the swell if it stays for a while.
Confusion can occur as the banks shift. Longshore currents and rips move in response, so getting to know the moods of your beach is important. Local knowledge can often link you to a great surf before the forecast readers and webcam spooks get there as a horde.

About swell intervals 8 seconds is a short period swell generated somewhere nearby. Since the wavelength is somshort there is not much power in the breaking waves, as the wavelength/interval/period gets longer so does power, swell size is different but the volume of say a 2 metre swell with an eight second period and the greater amount of water in 15 second period swell of the same height.

Then how the bathymetry responds with tide to swell and direction, the movement of tidal water in and out can kill or enhance a swell, great swells can override tides and stuff but quality can differ.
Then load on wind, and the effects of headlands causing wind eddies or lee pockets.

Simple motto learn your beach, read the forecast, add your local knowledge, become a guru of your beach.
Others will wonder how you manage to score

This is solid information. I haven't surfed my local beach enough to know all about it. Today it was A frame and from the takeoff point, it looks like going left was better. So I rode left a few times and as the tide changes, I noticed the left isn't breaking that nicely as it hits a deeper section of the sand.

The swell size and interval does explain why sometimes I think hey, it is 3-4 feet but how come the volume of the water is vastly different and I'm not able to catch it.

I think what I need to do is actually spend some time sitting at the shore and look at the waves in different conditions. I used to have the webcam permanently on my screen when I was in UK. But the webcam for my current spot does not give me the full picture.

Hopefully by the end of this summer, I'll have a bit more knowledge on my new break! It is frustrating to catch a wave and then find that it disappear as you ride it in.

There are lots of factors that go into surfing and even though I don't worry much about what the surf is like when I am heading to the beach If I could pick my times to go surf which I can't right now. I would keep track of all the available information swell tides wind etc and write it all down go surf and write down the result. At some point you should see trends, like these conditions are good for me with this board or that board or these conditions aren't good. Like if you are having trouble catching the waves it is probably due to the tide going out.

jaffa1949 wrote:Ok let's start, swell direction is important, the angle it hits the beach is a winner or a loser point breaks have a specific best direction. Beach breaks shift their sand to accommodate the swell if it stays for a while.
Confusion can occur as the banks shift. Longshore currents and rips move in response, so getting to know the moods of your beach is important. Local knowledge can often link you to a great surf before the forecast readers and webcam spooks get there as a horde.

About swell intervals 8 seconds is a short period swell generated somewhere nearby. Since the wavelength is somshort there is not much power in the breaking waves, as the wavelength/interval/period gets longer so does power, swell size is different but the volume of say a 2 metre swell with an eight second period and the greater amount of water in 15 second period swell of the same height.

Then how the bathymetry responds with tide to swell and direction, the movement of tidal water in and out can kill or enhance a swell, great swells can override tides and stuff but quality can differ.
Then load on wind, and the effects of headlands causing wind eddies or lee pockets.

Simple motto learn your beach, read the forecast, add your local knowledge, become a guru of your beach.
Others will wonder how you manage to score

I feel like I’m getting there. I can’t give you specifics, but I know what board to bring based on weather and experience. I guess I’ll learn the science eventually, but NOTHING beats experience with an open mind.

Tom

as jaffa said its complex, but for my simple mind the biggest factor for wave steepness and speed on a beach break is the tide. Lower tide - steeper; higher tide - slower/rolling (if they break at all). So low tide small waves will be steeper and 'faster' than high tide big waves. (note: I'm assuming the swell height, direction, wind etc create a breaking wave. Once the wave is breaking, then tide affects the steepness)

of course, depending on the location it may be that waves reach their maximum steepness at mid tide, and at low tide the sandbar is exposed or the waves are breaking in 3 inches of water and unsurfable (or at high tide all you get is shore break). So its the level of tide that is important, not high or low tide per se

(eg: simplistically - a particular spot might create a fun surfable and not too steep wave when the tide height is 1.6m and the wave height is 4ft. (assuming you are able to combine in your mind a metric tide and an imperial wave height...)

Because tides vary, a tide height of 1.6m might be absolute high tide on some days, or mid tide on other days. But it means that you can go out when the tide is (say) 1.45 - 1.75m and get the wave you want. Lower tide it may be steeper, higher tide it may be fatter.

So its not a question of 'high or low tide' as such, its a question of higher and lower tides, with the level of water over the sandbar being the key factor)

(above is simplistic because obviously swell direction, size, wind etc will affect the result)

Most people will learn that their break is good at a certain tide, or good at a certain tide based on swell size and direction (eg smaller swell - usually low tide is better, because smaller waves need shallower water to break). One break I surf is quite shallow even at higher tides, so in the 4 hours around low tide its just nothing.

also - the above isnt always the case for point or reef breaks.

Decision is based on all the things that have been said.....using reports. the weather, tide, swell and wind.....also lately I've been using surfcams which are awesome.

I’m slowly making the connection between what it appears on the surf cam vs the actual condition. In addition to that interpreting what the forecast says to predict the actual condition at a specific break is a skill to be learned. After surfing at the same break for 3 years on a regular basis I’m finally getting it, but makes me a little uneasy when I go to unfamiliar beaches.
To answer the question, in my case when it’s summer and I’m only seeing weak swells from the south during 5-6’ high tide or 0-1’ low tide, I’d take out my longboard, even wavestorm if super low tide. But recently most of the time I’ve been riding my mini longboard so I don’t have to readjust to it when the condition is good. Going long for one session is easy but coming back to 6’8 takes me about a half hour to get back in the swing. At this point break, the difference in condition is mostly seasonal so it’s a little easier to decide which board to take along, and like you I only take one board with me, even though there were times I’ve contemplated on taking two or that I’ve regretted my choice. It’s fun to be able to choose from a quiver though compared to the times when I could only ride a wavestorm

Mid length boards work on all waves...FTW

dtc wrote: So its not a question of 'high or low tide' as such, its a question of higher and lower tides, with the level of water over the sandbar being the key factor) .

I always ride a longboard and find the Rule of 12ths very useful. At my break, it's best during the 4th and 5th hours before high tide and the 5th and 4th hours after. (I take a 2 hour lunch. )

https://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/8865-the-tidal-rule-of-twelfths-in-surfing

BoMan wrote:

dtc wrote: So its not a question of 'high or low tide' as such, its a question of higher and lower tides, with the level of water over the sandbar being the key factor) .

I always ride a longboard and find the Rule of 12ths very useful. At my break, it's best during the 4th and 5th hours before high tide and the 5th and 4th hours after. (I take a 2 hour lunch. )

https://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/8865-the-tidal-rule-of-twelfths-in-surfing

Two sesh a day is pretty impressive!