Field Notes
How to read the ocean.
Plain-English guides to the five numbers behind every surf call, and when California breaks work.
- Beginner surf spots in California, and what makes oneNot every wave is a good wave to learn on. The spots that look most exciting in photos, fast and hollow over shallow reef, are the worst place to...
- Best time of year to surf in California, season by seasonCalifornia has surf every month of the year, but the swell comes from opposite directions depending on the season, and that decides which spots are...
- Groundswell vs windswell, telling the good days from the junkTwo forecasts can show the same wave height and produce completely different surf. The reason is usually the difference between groundswell and...
- How to read a surf forecastA surf forecast is five numbers. Most people read one of them, the wave height, and stop. That one number is also the one most likely to mislead you....
- Onshore vs offshore wind, and why it makes or breaks a sessionYou can have a perfect swell and still get a wasted day, and wind is usually the reason. Of the five numbers on a forecast, wind is the one that most...
- Reading the tide for surfThe same swell can be a fun wave at one tide and a closeout an hour later. Tide is the number that changes through the day while everything else stays...
- What a six-tier surf rating meansMost surf ratings flatten a complicated day into a single number or a row of stars. The trouble is that surf quality is five moving parts, and one...
- Swell period explained, and why it matters more than heightIf you only learn to read one number on a surf forecast, make it period. It is the best single predictor of whether a swell is worth chasing, and it is...