Cowell's surf report and forecast
Forecast for the selected hour
Now · 5am
3 ft · sets to 4
GoodBest today 11am–7pm
The swell is the limiting factor.
The wave field solved for this hour on the real seafloor, playing forward. A model, not a camera.
Loads when it comes into view.The wave field solved for this hour on the real seafloor, playing forward. A model, not a camera.
This hour
The 5am readingSwell, wind, tide, breaker, energy, water
- Swell2.9 ft · 15 s · SMakes the wave: 99% of the energy. Direction at the break. Bent 19° from SSW in deep water.
- Wind3 mph from the NNWOffshore to a shoreline facing 112°Light
- Tide3.2 ft, risingNext high 4.1 ft at 7:44am · NAVD88, NOAA 9413450 observed
- BreakerPlungingBreaks in about 5 ft of water
- Energy176 kJHeight² × period²Moderate
- Water65° · air 51° · UV 0
High confidence.
Best window11am–7pm
Against what Cowell's likesWhy it is Good, not Epic
Preferred tide and swell are surfer-consensus notes for this spot, not yet reviewed against measurements. Wind is judged by the general rule (light or offshore helps). No percent match: these are plain states and reasons.
Nearby at 5amSteamer Lane, Stockton Avenue and 3 more
The break
The seafloorSand + reef in the lee of the point (stable)
Shallow is light, deep is dark; contours every few feet; the relief is exaggerated.
- Bottomsand + reef in the lee of the point (stable)
- DepthCUDEM 1/9 arc-second (2023), relative to NAVD88. Depth shown is below the selected hour’s tide.
- CoverageRock reef and headland shapes resolve well. Nearshore sandbars are interpolated flat in this dataset, so a beachbreak’s bar is not in the picture. A tile’s year is its publication, not the survey date.
Why it breaks like thisOne swell, uncrossed, it bends on the way in, the seafloor spreads it
Read from the current hour (today at 5am). Each number, and what it does to the wave.
One swell, uncrossed
2.9 ft at 15s from the S and nothing significant crossing it.
A single train is the cleanest case there is: the sets arrive from one angle, so the peak should sit in the same place each time instead of wandering. Why period matters more than height
It bends on the way in
That swell leaves deep water heading 194° and reaches the break at 175°, bent 19° 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 spreads it
Kr 0.77 · 92% of modelled rays break.
Energy is fanning outwards over the bottom here, so the wave arrives smaller than the open-ocean swell height suggests. Nothing is wrong with the forecast. The seafloor took the difference.
Where it trips
3.2 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 5 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
Barely any wind
3 mph from the NNW, against a shoreline facing 112°.
Too light to shape the face either way. At this speed the wave's own texture wins, whatever the direction.
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.
How Cowell's worksLong, soft, forgiving longboard rollers tucked behind…
Long, soft, forgiving longboard rollers tucked behind Lighthouse Point. Where everyone learns.
- Best tideall tides
- Best swellW–NW that wraps the point
- Suitsbeginner
1 swell train in the current hour · How this is calculated
Common questions4 questions about Cowell's
- What is the best tide for Cowell's?
- Cowell's works best on all tides 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 Cowell's?
- W–NW that wraps the point suits Cowell's 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 Cowell's good for beginners?
- Cowell's suits beginner surfers, over sand + reef in the lee of 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 Cowell's?
- sand + reef in the lee of the point (stable). 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 Cowell's on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.