Devereux (Coal Oil Point) Surf Report & Forecast
The reef west of Campus Point.
Current conditions
1-2 ft
Fair-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
- 0.8 ft at 15s from the SSW
- Wind
- 7 mph ENE cross-shore
- Tide
- 0.5 ft
- Break depth
- 3 ft
- Power
- 1 kW/m
- Water
- 71°F · trunks
Updated Aug 26, 12:40 AM PDT · 2 swell trains · how this is calculated
How Devereux (Coal Oil Point) 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 Devereux (Coal Oil Point), solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.
Why Devereux (Coal Oil Point) looks like this right now
The numbers above, and what each one is actually doing to the wave.
Two swells at once
0.8 ft at 15s from the SSW carrying 51% of the energy, plus 0.8 ft at 5s from the SW (49%).
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 · 84% 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
0.5 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 3 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
7 mph from the ENE, against a shoreline facing 178°.
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 12 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 →
Devereux (Coal Oil Point) surf forecast, next seven days
Holding — 0–1.8 ft, no notable swell in the window
| Day | Surf | Best window | Swell | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2 ft | 6am to 7amFair-Good | 0.8 ft at 15s SSW | 6 mph cross-shore | Low -0.3 ft 3amHigh 4.0 ft 10amLow 2.0 ft 3pmHigh 5.8 ft 9pm | |
| 1-2 ft | 6am to 7amFair-Good | 0.8 ft at 14s SSW | 5 mph cross-shore | Low -0.3 ft 4amHigh 4.2 ft 10amLow 1.7 ft 3pmHigh 5.7 ft 9pm | |
| 1-2 ft | 6am to 7amFair-Good | 1.0 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 | 8amGood | 0.7 ft at 18s SSW | 11 mph offshore | Low 0.1 ft 4amHigh 4.7 ft 11amLow 1.2 ft 4pmHigh 5.1 ft 10pm | |
| 1-2 ft | 8amFair-Good | 0.7 ft at 15s SSW | 7 mph cross-shore | Low 0.5 ft 5amHigh 5.0 ft 11amLow 1.0 ft 5pmHigh 4.5 ft 11pm | |
| 1 ft | 8am to 2pmFair-Good | 0.7 ft at 13s SSW | 7 mph cross-shore | Low 0.9 ft 5amHigh 5.2 ft 12pmLow 0.9 ft 6pm | |
| 1 ft | 8amFair-Good | 0.7 ft at 12s SSW | 6 mph cross-shore | High 3.9 ft 12amLow 1.5 ft 6amHigh 5.3 ft 12pmLow 0.9 ft 7pm |
Daylight hours only. The best window is the run of hours the model rates highest that day.
How Devereux (Coal Oil Point) works
Reef peaks off Coal Oil Point past the UCSB campus — lefts and rights depending on the bank, and a reliable overflow from Campus Point next door.
- Bottom
- reef and sand at the point
- Best tide
- mid
- Best swell
- W–NW groundswell
- Suits
- intermediate
Common questions about Devereux (Coal Oil Point)
- What is the best tide for Devereux (Coal Oil Point)?
- Devereux (Coal Oil Point) 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 Devereux (Coal Oil Point)?
- W–NW groundswell suits Devereux (Coal Oil Point) 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 Devereux (Coal Oil Point) good for beginners?
- Devereux (Coal Oil Point) suits intermediate surfers, over reef and sand at the point. 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 Devereux (Coal Oil Point)?
- reef and sand at the point. 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 Devereux (Coal Oil Point) on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.
Nearby breaks
- Campus Point (Isla Vista) surf report · 1 ft
- Sandspit surf report · 1-2 ft
- Hammonds Reef surf report · 2 ft
- Carpinteria (Tar Pits) surf report · 2 ft
- Rincon surf report · 2 ft