Carpinteria (Tar Pits) Surf Report & Forecast
A mellow cobble point down the coast from Rincon.
Current conditions
shorebreak only
Very Poor
Modelled on real 10-foot bathymetry. These figures cover size, shape and wind. Whether the wave is makeable comes from the simulation.
- Swell
- 1.1 ft at 5s from the WSW
- Wind
- 5 mph N offshore
- Tide
- 5.7 ft
- Break depth
- 0 ft
- Power
- 1 kW/m
- Water
- 71°F · trunks
Updated Aug 25, 6:42 PM PDT · 3 swell trains · how this is calculated
How Carpinteria (Tar Pits) 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 Carpinteria (Tar Pits), solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.
Why Carpinteria (Tar Pits) looks like this right now
The numbers above, and what each one is actually doing to the wave.
3 swells at once
1.1 ft at 5s from the WSW carrying 59% of the energy, plus 0.7 ft at 17s from the SSW (26%), plus 0.5 ft at 12s from the SSW (14%).
The shorter, steeper train is carrying most of the energy here, so expect a choppier, less organised lineup than the longest period in the list would suggest on its own. Why period matters more than height →
The seafloor is neutral here
Kr 0.94 · 45% 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 →
The tide has drowned the bank
5.7 ft of tide over it.
There's now too much water above the bank for the swell to trip on it, so the waves roll straight over unbroken and only the shorebreak works. This is the case a size-only rating cannot see. the swell is still out there, the spot just isn't using it. How the tide moves the break →
Barely any wind
5 mph from the N, against a shoreline facing 194°.
Too light to shape the face either way. At this speed the wave's own texture wins, whatever the direction.
Carpinteria (Tar Pits) surf forecast, next 6 days
Holding — 0–2.4 ft, no notable swell in the window
| Day | Surf | Best window | Swell | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 ft | 6am to 7amFair-Good | 1.1 ft at 14s SSW | 3 mph offshore | Low -0.3 ft 3amHigh 4.0 ft 10amLow 2.0 ft 3pmHigh 5.8 ft 9pm | |
| 2 ft | 6am to 10amFair-Good | 1.1 ft at 12s SSW | 6 mph offshore | Low -0.3 ft 4amHigh 4.2 ft 10amLow 1.7 ft 3pmHigh 5.7 ft 9pm | |
| 1-2 ft | 6am to 10amFair-Good | 0.9 ft at 10s SSW | 6 mph offshore | Low -0.2 ft 4amHigh 4.5 ft 10amLow 1.4 ft 4pmHigh 5.4 ft 10pm | |
| 1-2 ft | 8am to 11amFair-Good | 0.7 ft at 14s SSW | 3 mph cross-shore | Low 0.1 ft 4amHigh 4.7 ft 11amLow 1.2 ft 4pmHigh 5.1 ft 10pm | |
| 1-2 ft | 8amFair-Good | 0.8 ft at 15s SSW | 2 mph cross-shore | Low 0.5 ft 5amHigh 5.0 ft 11amLow 1.0 ft 5pmHigh 4.5 ft 11pm | |
| 1-2 ft | 8am to 2pmFair-Good | 0.9 ft at 14s SSW | 3 mph onshore | Low 0.9 ft 5amHigh 5.2 ft 12pmLow 0.9 ft 6pm |
Daylight hours only. The best window is the run of hours the model rates highest that day.
How Carpinteria (Tar Pits) works
Gentle cobble-point rights by the natural tar seeps — a far softer, far less crowded alternative to Rincon a couple of miles up the road, and a good first point break.
- Bottom
- cobble and reef by the tar seeps
- Best tide
- mid to high
- Best swell
- W–NW
- Suits
- beginner-intermediate
Common questions about Carpinteria (Tar Pits)
- What is the best tide for Carpinteria (Tar Pits)?
- Carpinteria (Tar Pits) works best on mid to high 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 Carpinteria (Tar Pits)?
- W–NW suits Carpinteria (Tar Pits) 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 Carpinteria (Tar Pits) good for beginners?
- Carpinteria (Tar Pits) suits beginner-intermediate surfers, over cobble and reef by the tar seeps. 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 Carpinteria (Tar Pits)?
- cobble and reef by the tar seeps. 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 Carpinteria (Tar Pits) on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.
Nearby breaks
- Rincon surf report · 2 ft
- Hammonds Reef surf report · 2 ft
- Sandspit surf report · shorebreak only
- Campus Point (Isla Vista) surf report · shorebreak only
- Devereux (Coal Oil Point) surf report · shorebreak only