What is the best tide for Haggertys?

Haggertys works best on mid tide. Tide matters because depth is what trips a wave: as the water fills in, the break slides shoreward onto a different part of the bottom, and over a shallow bank enough water stops it breaking at all. Our forecast solves each hour at that hour's real water level rather than assuming one.

What swell direction is best for Haggertys?

NW groundswell suits Haggertys best. The direction that matters is the one at the break, not the one on the buoy: the seafloor bends swell on its way in, so a spot can work on an angle the open coast is missing. We model that bending for each break rather than reporting the offshore direction.

Is Haggertys good for beginners?

Haggertys suits advanced surfers, over rock reef under the bluffs. That is the wave this bottom makes on an average day, and it moves: the same break is a different proposition on a bigger swell or a different tide, so read the day's forecast rather than the label.

What is the bottom like at Haggertys?

rock reef under the bluffs. It is the reason this break behaves the way it does: the shape of the seabed decides where the swell focuses, where it trips, and whether it spills or pitches. We model Haggertys on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.

Haggertys Surf Report & Forecast

Palos Verdes reef on the north shore.

2-3 ft

Good · plunging

Modelled on real 10-foot bathymetry. These figures cover size, shape and wind. Whether the wave is makeable comes from the simulation.

Swell: 1.3 ft at 17s from the WNW
Wind: 6 mph SSW cross-shore
Tide: 3.9 ft
Break depth: 4 ft
Power: 2 kW/m
Water: 74°F · trunks

Updated Aug 25, 9:44 PM PDT · 3 swell trains · how this is calculated

How Haggertys is breaking right now

Loading Haggertys…

Live · Haggertys, solving nowOpen Haggertys on the map

Solved in your browser from this spot’s seafloor and current swell

What the seafloor does to this wave

A cut straight out from Haggertys, solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.

Why Haggertys looks like this right now

The numbers above, and what each one is actually doing to the wave.

3 swells at once
1.3 ft at 17s from the WNW carrying 79% of the energy, plus 0.6 ft at 5s from the W (15%), plus 0.4 ft at 12s from the W (6%).
The long-period train is the one building your wave. It holds the most energy and reaches deepest. The shorter ones cross it, which is what makes the surface look busy and the takeoff shift around. Why period matters more than height →
The seafloor focuses it
Kr 1.13 · 63% of modelled rays break.
Contours underneath are bending wave energy together into a band. That concentration is the peak, and it's why this spot can be noticeably bigger than its neighbours on the same swell. Why two breaks a mile apart differ →
Where it trips
3.9 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 4 ft of water.
A wave breaks when the water gets shallow enough relative to its height, so that depth is a contour on the seafloor, and the tide slides the whole break up and down it through the day. Same swell, different spot, a few hours apart. How the tide moves the break →
Wind is cross-shore
6 mph from the SSW, against a shoreline facing 301°.
Running across the face rather than into or against it. Less destructive than a straight onshore, but it puts a texture on the wall and can make the peak harder to read.
How the sets come
About one set every 3 min, roughly 11 waves in it.
Swell arrives in groups, not evenly. That spacing is what you are really timing your paddle-out to, and it's why the lineup can look flat for minutes and then produce five waves at once. Why period matters more than height →

Haggertys surf forecast, next seven days

Building — ~3.6 ft long-period groundswell from the W filling in Sun morning (+4.2 d, medium confidence)

Seven-day surf forecast for Haggertys: wave height, best window, swell, wind and tide.
Day	Surf	Best window	Swell	Wind	Tide
Wed, Aug 26	2-3 ft	6am to 10amGood	1.4 ft at 15s WNW	3 mph offshore	Low -0.5 ft 3amHigh 4.1 ft 9amLow 1.8 ft 2pmHigh 5.8 ft 8pm
Thu, Aug 27	2-3 ft	6am to 10amGood	1.3 ft at 14s WNW	3 mph offshore	Low -0.5 ft 3amHigh 4.4 ft 10amLow 1.5 ft 3pmHigh 5.8 ft 9pm
Fri, Aug 28	2-3 ft	6am to 10amGood	1.4 ft at 17s WNW	2 mph cross-shore	Low -0.4 ft 4amHigh 4.6 ft 10amLow 1.2 ft 3pmHigh 5.6 ft 10pm
Sat, Aug 29	3-4 ft	8am to 11amFair-Good	1.9 ft at 17s W	3 mph cross-shore	Low -0.1 ft 4amHigh 4.9 ft 10amLow 1.0 ft 4pmHigh 5.2 ft 10pm
Sun, Aug 30	3-4 ft	8am to 11amGood	1.9 ft at 15s W	5 mph offshore	Low 0.3 ft 4amHigh 5.1 ft 11amLow 0.8 ft 5pmHigh 4.6 ft 11pm
Mon, Aug 31	2-3 ft	11amGood	1.5 ft at 14s W	7 mph cross-shore	Low 0.7 ft 5amHigh 5.3 ft 11amLow 0.8 ft 6pm
Tue, Sep 1	2 ft	11amFair-Good	1.2 ft at 13s W	7 mph cross-shore	High 4.0 ft 12amLow 1.3 ft 5amHigh 5.4 ft 12pmLow 0.8 ft 7pm

Daylight hours only. The best window is the run of hours the model rates highest that day.

How Haggertys works

A reef point on the north side of the Palos Verdes peninsula that needs a real NW to turn on — one of the better waves in LA County when it does, with a cliff walk to match.

Bottom: rock reef under the bluffs
Best tide: mid
Best swell: NW groundswell
Suits: advanced

Common questions about Haggertys

What is the best tide for Haggertys?: Haggertys works best on mid tide. Tide matters because depth is what trips a wave: as the water fills in, the break slides shoreward onto a different part of the bottom, and over a shallow bank enough water stops it breaking at all. Our forecast solves each hour at that hour's real water level rather than assuming one.
What swell direction is best for Haggertys?: NW groundswell suits Haggertys best. The direction that matters is the one at the break, not the one on the buoy: the seafloor bends swell on its way in, so a spot can work on an angle the open coast is missing. We model that bending for each break rather than reporting the offshore direction.
Is Haggertys good for beginners?: Haggertys suits advanced surfers, over rock reef under the bluffs. That is the wave this bottom makes on an average day, and it moves: the same break is a different proposition on a bigger swell or a different tide, so read the day's forecast rather than the label.
What is the bottom like at Haggertys?: rock reef under the bluffs. It is the reason this break behaves the way it does: the shape of the seabed decides where the swell focuses, where it trips, and whether it spills or pitches. We model Haggertys on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.

Nearby breaks

Torrance Beach surf report · 2 ft
Lunada Bay surf report · 2 ft
Hermosa Pier surf report · 2-3 ft
Manhattan Beach Pier surf report · 2-3 ft
El Porto (Manhattan Beach) surf report · 2-3 ft