Martins Beach Surf Report & Forecast
The cliff-backed cove at the centre of California's beach-access fight.
Current conditions
3 ftmax ~4 ft
Fair · spilling
Modelled on real 10-foot bathymetry. These figures cover size, shape and wind. Whether the wave is makeable comes from the simulation.
- Swell
- 2.0 ft at 17s from the WSW
- Wind
- 9 mph NNW cross-shore
- Tide
- 5.4 ft
- Break depth
- 6 ft
- Power
- 4 kW/m
- Water
- 62°F · 3/2 fullsuit
Updated Aug 25, 9:44 PM PDT · 2 swell trains · how this is calculated
How Martins Beach 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 Martins Beach, solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.
Why Martins Beach looks like this right now
The numbers above, and what each one is actually doing to the wave.
Two swells at once
2.0 ft at 17s from the WSW carrying 75% of the energy, plus 1.1 ft at 5s from the WNW (25%).
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 is neutral here
Kr 1.00 · 92% 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
5.4 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 6 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
9 mph from the NNW, against a shoreline facing 253°.
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 1 min, roughly 4 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 →
Martins Beach surf forecast, next seven days
Building — ~4.6 ft short-period windswell from the WNW filling in Fri morning (+2.1 d, high confidence)
| Day | Surf | Best window | Swell | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-4 ft | 6am to 9amFair-Good | 2.0 ft at 15s WSW | 9 mph cross-shore | Low 0.0 ft 4amHigh 4.7 ft 11amLow 2.5 ft 4pmHigh 6.0 ft 10pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 6am to 8amFair-Good | 2.1 ft at 14s WSW | 9 mph cross-shore | Low 0.1 ft 5amHigh 4.9 ft 11amLow 2.2 ft 4pmHigh 5.9 ft 10pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 10am to 11amFair | 2.4 ft at 13s WSW | 6 mph cross-shore | Low 0.2 ft 5amHigh 5.1 ft 11amLow 1.9 ft 5pmHigh 5.7 ft 11pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 8am to 5pmFair | 3.8 ft at 7s WNW | 7 mph cross-shore | Low 0.5 ft 6amHigh 5.3 ft 12pmLow 1.6 ft 6pm | |
| 3-5 ft | 5pmFair | 2.3 ft at 15s WSW | 9 mph cross-shore | High 5.4 ft 12amLow 0.9 ft 6amHigh 5.5 ft 12pmLow 1.3 ft 6pm | |
| 3 ft | 5pmFair | 1.9 ft at 14s SW | 9 mph cross-shore | High 5.0 ft 1amLow 1.4 ft 6amHigh 5.7 ft 1pmLow 1.0 ft 7pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 11amFair | 2.2 ft at 13s SW | 7 mph cross-shore | High 4.6 ft 1amLow 1.9 ft 7amHigh 5.8 ft 1pmLow 0.8 ft 8pm |
Daylight hours only. The best window is the run of hours the model rates highest that day.
How Martins Beach works
A sheltered sand cove under the bluffs south of Half Moon Bay, better known for the decade-long public-access lawsuit than for its surf — which is a decent, protected beach break.
- Bottom
- sand in a cliff-backed pocket
- Best tide
- low to mid
- Best swell
- SW–W
- Suits
- intermediate
Common questions about Martins Beach
- What is the best tide for Martins Beach?
- Martins Beach works best on low to 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 Martins Beach?
- SW–W suits Martins Beach 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 Martins Beach good for beginners?
- Martins Beach suits intermediate surfers, over sand in a cliff-backed pocket. 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 Martins Beach?
- sand in a cliff-backed pocket. 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 Martins Beach on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.