Rockaway Beach (Pacifica) Surf Report & Forecast
Pacifica's sheltered pocket cove next door to Linda Mar.
Current conditions
2-3 ft
Fair · plunging
Modelled on real 10-foot bathymetry. These figures cover size, shape and wind. Whether the wave is makeable comes from the simulation.
- Swell
- 1.6 ft at 15s from the WSW
- Wind
- 9 mph WNW onshore
- Tide
- 5.4 ft
- Break depth
- 4 ft
- Power
- 3 kW/m
- Water
- 59°F · 3/2 fullsuit
Updated Aug 25, 9:44 PM PDT · 2 swell trains · how this is calculated
How Rockaway Beach (Pacifica) 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 Rockaway Beach (Pacifica), solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.
Why Rockaway Beach (Pacifica) looks like this right now
The numbers above, and what each one is actually doing to the wave.
Two swells at once
1.6 ft at 15s from the WSW carrying 64% of the energy, plus 1.2 ft at 4s from the WNW (36%).
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 0.93 · 71% 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 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 onshore
9 mph from the WNW, against a shoreline facing 285°.
Pushing into the back of the wave from the sea, making it crumble and break early instead of standing up. Note this is measured against the angle THIS break faces, which is why one spot can be blown out while the one round the headland is fine.
How the sets come
About one set every 1 min, roughly 5 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 →
Rockaway Beach (Pacifica) surf forecast, next seven days
Building — ~5.2 ft short-period windswell from the WNW filling in Sun morning (+4.2 d, medium confidence)
| Day | Surf | Best window | Swell | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-3 ft | 10am to 12pmFair-Good | 1.6 ft at 13s WSW | 6 mph onshore | Low 0.0 ft 4amHigh 4.7 ft 11amLow 2.5 ft 4pmHigh 6.0 ft 10pm | |
| 2-4 ft | 6am to 7amFair | 2.7 ft at 6s WNW | 3 mph onshore | Low 0.1 ft 5amHigh 4.9 ft 11amLow 2.2 ft 4pmHigh 5.9 ft 10pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 6am to 7pmPoor-Fair | 3.3 ft at 7s WNW | 9 mph onshore | Low 0.2 ft 5amHigh 5.1 ft 11amLow 1.9 ft 5pmHigh 5.7 ft 11pm | |
| 3-5 ft | 8am to 5pmPoor-Fair | 3.5 ft at 8s WNW | 11 mph onshore | Low 0.5 ft 6amHigh 5.3 ft 12pmLow 1.6 ft 6pm | |
| 3-5 ft | 8am to 5pmPoor-Fair | 4.0 ft at 8s WNW | 13 mph onshore | High 5.4 ft 12amLow 0.9 ft 6amHigh 5.5 ft 12pmLow 1.3 ft 6pm | |
| 2-4 ft | 11am to 5pmPoor-Fair | 3.0 ft at 7s WNW | 13 mph onshore | High 5.0 ft 1amLow 1.4 ft 6amHigh 5.7 ft 1pmLow 1.0 ft 7pm | |
| 2-3 ft | 11amPoor-Fair | 1.7 ft at 13s WSW | 10 mph onshore | 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 Rockaway Beach (Pacifica) works
A short cove tucked between headlands — smaller and more sheltered than Linda Mar around the corner, and it can be surfable when the open beach is a mess.
- Bottom
- sand and cobble in a small headland cove
- Best tide
- low to mid
- Best swell
- W–NW
- Suits
- intermediate
Common questions about Rockaway Beach (Pacifica)
- What is the best tide for Rockaway Beach (Pacifica)?
- Rockaway Beach (Pacifica) 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 Rockaway Beach (Pacifica)?
- W–NW suits Rockaway Beach (Pacifica) 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 Rockaway Beach (Pacifica) good for beginners?
- Rockaway Beach (Pacifica) suits intermediate surfers, over sand and cobble in a small headland cove. 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 Rockaway Beach (Pacifica)?
- sand and cobble in a small headland cove. 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 Rockaway Beach (Pacifica) on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.
Nearby breaks
- Linda Mar (Pacifica) surf report · shorebreak only
- Pedro Point surf report · shorebreak only
- Sharp Park surf report · 2-3 ft
- Gray Whale Cove surf report · 3 ft
- Montara State Beach surf report · 2-3 ft