Surf, Adventure, Travel - Everything you need to hunt the worlds best waves

Surf Conditions

Knowing When to Go

There are several key factors which determine the shape, size and quality of breaking waves which include the bathymetry or ‘altimeter/depth’ of the break, which direction the waves are heading, the overall size of the swell, the wind direction, the wind strength and very importantly the movement of the tide.

The actual swell or break happens when the wind blows evenly over a large expanse of the ocean whilst the size of this swell is directly related to the actual strength of the wind blowing, it’s direction and it’s duration. Often swells are bigger on coastlines with large areas of open ocean that receive low pressure systems throughout the year like Hawaii, Australia, South Africa, North and South America, the Philippines, Ireland and the South Pacific.

The best surf conditions are usually to be found in regions with light to moderate "offshore" winds as this tends to have a wind direction which blows into the face of the wave causing it to peak.
The key element which most determines how a swell will form is the outline of the seafloor, in scientific terms - the topography of the seabed and we’re talking about the shape of the ocean bottom right behind the wave and directly underneath the break.

Reefs and sandbanks determine how the wave will look in two ways. In the first instance the height of the wave’s face is directly proportional to the up-thrust. In other words when a wave moves over a sharp slope the force of the up-thrust makes the peak of the wave crash forward which in turn creates a lip of water which then falls into to the trough underneath.

Secondly the way the contours of the seabed are aligned in relation to the direction of the break determines the length of the wave breaking process. For example if you have a wave that moves along a seabed slope it will continues to break as long as that slope lasts. However when you get a wave which comes into a bay, reef, coastal formation or island the wave will, normally grow smaller in size the closer it gets to shore.
So with that brief science lesson and understanding the key elements of how the underwater topography of the seabed affects the actual wave we come to the most important factor in knowing when to go surfing. The tide! (LINK TO NEW PAGE ON TIDE CHARTS, SURF REPORTS ETC)

Surfers are now able to access free data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and this has created a situation where surf forecasting websites have sprung up around the globe. The data from NOAA allows surf forecasting sites to more accurately predict conditions of good the surf will be up to several days away.

The whole shape, size and even direction of the break will change hourly with the movement of the tide even if the swell and wind factors are the same for days on end.
Surfers need to understand the elements above in order to know when the best time to go surfing at a particular surf break as they are all different due to the underwater topography, reefs, winds and tides.
Many surfers regard surfing to be a lifestyle as opposed to a sport as such. This is due to the fact that we must learn the local knowledge of a break at a certain time of day or even the year. Surf forecasting is becoming a lot more exact these days but even with all the high tech buoys sitting hundreds of miles offshore, access to online tide charts, weather information and surf watch sites it’s still not nearly an exact science.
Swells regularity is very diverse across the planet right around the yearly calendar. As a rule of thumb you will find the following conditions to be generally true.

In winter the heavier swells are found in the globe’s mid-latitudes as this is when the north and south polar weather fronts are moving towards the Equator. Usually there are winds heading in a westerly direction which will create swells that move east causing waves to be larger on the best surfing locations west coasts during the winter season. In addition to this
The best surfing locations on a region’s east coasts can also get great big winter swells which are usually caused by low pressure weather patterns which form in the tropics. These low pressure cells often have a slower wave movement which will be heightened depending on the strength and duration of the prevailing winds.
In the summer heavy swells are created when typhoons and cyclones form in the tropics. The movements of these storms are generally unpredictable and can move in opposite directions even.

Surf Brekky enroute to reef break

Visit Our
Adventure
Travel
BLOG

Home Surfing Adventure Destinations Surfing Australia Siargao Surf Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational Best known surf breaks Surf in Costa Rica Surf in Hawaii Surf in Rio Surf in Ireland Surfing The Mighty Amazon River Surfing Adventures Surf Knowledge About Surfing Surf History Surfing Moves Surf Music Surfers Kelly Slater Laird Hamilton Kalani Robb Surfer Girl Pancho Sullivan Surf Boards Secondhand Used Surf Boards, Surfboards for Sale Surf Conditions Big Wave Surfing BILLABONG XXL (Biggest Tube of The Year) Contest Surf Movie Gallery Surf Equipment Surf Memorabilia & Collectibles Surfing Competitions Dynamite Surfing Four Legged Shark Hunter Site Map