Bolinas (The Channel) Surf Report & Forecast
Forgiving beginner peaks at the lagoon mouth.
Current conditions
2 ftmax ~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 15s from the SSE
- Wind
- 10 mph NW offshore
- Tide
- 5.9 ft
- Break depth
- 4 ft
- Power
- 2 kW/m
- Water
- 59°F · 3/2 fullsuit
Updated Aug 25, 9:44 PM PDT · 3 swell trains · how this is calculated
How Bolinas (The Channel) is breaking right now
Solved in your browser from this spot’s seafloor and current swell
What the seafloor does to this wave
A cut straight out from Bolinas (The Channel), solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.
Why Bolinas (The Channel) 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 15s from the SSE carrying 72% of the energy, plus 0.7 ft at 10s from the S (19%), plus 0.1 ft at 4s from the SW (9%).
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 →
It bends on the way in
That swell leaves deep water heading 205° and reaches the break at 168°, bent 37° on the way.
Shallow water slows a wave, so the end of the crest that reaches the shallows first swings around. That is refraction. It's why this spot can be working on a swell direction the open coast is missing, and why the swell angle on a buoy is never the angle at your break. Why two breaks a mile apart differ →
The seafloor is neutral here
Kr 0.98 · 63% of modelled rays break.
Energy arrives roughly as it left deep water: this bottom neither concentrates the swell nor fans it out, so what the buoy sees is close to what you get. Why two breaks a mile apart differ →
Where it trips
5.9 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 offshore
10 mph from the NW, against a shoreline facing 140°.
Blowing from the land into the face, holding the wave up as it stands. That is what grooms it and gives you the clean, hollow version of this spot.
How the sets come
About one set every 3 min, roughly 10 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 →
Bolinas (The Channel) surf forecast, next seven days
Holding — 2.2–3.3 ft, no notable swell in the window
| Day | Surf | Best window | Swell | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-3 ft | 11am to 7pmFair-Good | 1.8 ft at 13s S | 10 mph offshore | Low -0.0 ft 5amHigh 4.9 ft 12pmLow 2.6 ft 5pmHigh 6.1 ft 11pm | |
| 2-3 ft | 8am to 7pmFair-Good | 2.0 ft at 12s S | 13 mph offshore | Low -0.0 ft 5amHigh 5.1 ft 12pmLow 2.3 ft 5pmHigh 6.0 ft 11pm | |
| 2-3 ft | 6am to 3pmFair-Good | 2.0 ft at 11s S | 13 mph offshore | Low 0.1 ft 6amHigh 5.3 ft 12pmLow 1.9 ft 6pm | |
| 2 ft | 11am to 2pmGood | 1.3 ft at 18s SSE | 9 mph offshore | High 5.8 ft 12amLow 0.4 ft 6amHigh 5.5 ft 1pmLow 1.6 ft 6pm | |
| 2 ft | 11am to 2pmGood | 1.4 ft at 15s SSE | 9 mph offshore | High 5.5 ft 1amLow 0.8 ft 7amHigh 5.7 ft 1pmLow 1.2 ft 7pm | |
| 2-3 ft | 11am to 5pmFair-Good | 1.4 ft at 14s SSE | 9 mph offshore | High 5.2 ft 2amLow 1.3 ft 7amHigh 5.9 ft 2pmLow 1.0 ft 8pm | |
| 2-3 ft | 11amFair-Good | 2.0 ft at 13s SSE | 7 mph offshore | High 4.8 ft 2amLow 1.9 ft 8amHigh 6.1 ft 2pmLow 0.7 ft 9pm |
Daylight hours only. The best window is the run of hours the model rates highest that day.
How Bolinas (The Channel) works
Crumbly, forgiving beginner peaks at the inlet mouth — lefts on the Bolinas side.
- Bottom
- sand over rock (lagoon-mouth bar)
- Best tide
- mid
- Best swell
- S–SW
- Suits
- beginner
Common questions about Bolinas (The Channel)
- What is the best tide for Bolinas (The Channel)?
- Bolinas (The Channel) 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 Bolinas (The Channel)?
- S–SW suits Bolinas (The Channel) 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 Bolinas (The Channel) good for beginners?
- Bolinas (The Channel) suits beginner surfers, over sand over rock. 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 Bolinas (The Channel)?
- sand over rock (lagoon-mouth bar). 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 Bolinas (The Channel) on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.
Nearby breaks
- Stinson Beach surf report · 2-3 ft
- Muir Beach surf report · 2-3 ft
- Tennessee Cove surf report · 4-5 ft
- Rodeo Beach surf report · 4-5 ft
- Ocean Beach — Kelly's Cove surf report · 3 ft