What is the best tide for Davenport Landing?

Davenport Landing 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 Davenport Landing?

SW–W suits Davenport Landing 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 Davenport Landing good for beginners?

Davenport Landing suits intermediate surfers, over pocket cove: left reef + right reef. 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 Davenport Landing?

pocket cove: left reef + right reef. 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 Davenport Landing on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.

Davenport Landing surf report and forecast

Reef breakSanta Cruz, CAForecast 12:46am

Forecast for the selected hour

Now · 2am

5–6 ft · sets to 8

GoodBest today All day (7am–7pm)

Swell, wind and tide line up.

3-hourlyGlobal model6-hourly

Hour by hour · TodaySunrise 7:19 · tap an hour

SurfftWindmphTideftSwells · from

Best

sunrise 7:19sunset 6:28

Model, not a camera ·Today 2am PDT

Open on the map

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 2am readingSwell, wind, tide, breaker, energy, water

Swell4.1 ft · 13 s · SWMakes the wave: 76% of the energy. Direction at the break.
2.1 ft · 8 s · WSecondary: 20% of the energy. Direction at the break. Bent 12° from W in deep water.
Wind3 mph from the NWCross-shore to a shoreline facing 224°Light
Tide1.7 ft, risingNext high 4.0 ft at 7:17am · NAVD88, NOAA 9413450 observed
BreakerPlungingBreaks in about 10 ft of water
Energy343 kJHeight² × period²Punchy
Water66° · air 59° · UV 0

High confidence.

Best windowAll day (7am–7pm)

Against what Davenport Landing 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 2amScott Creek, Waddell Creek and 3 more

Compare on the map

The break

The seafloorPocket cove: left reef + right reef

Loading the seafloor under Davenport Landing…

Open the seafloor on the map

Shallow is light, deep is dark; contours every few feet; the relief is exaggerated.

Bottompocket cove: left reef + right reef
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 thisTwo swells at once, the seafloor is neutral here, where it trips

Read from the current hour (today at 2am). Each number, and what it does to the wave.

Two swells at once
4.1 ft at 13s from the SW carrying 76% of the energy, plus 2.1 ft at 8s from the W (20%).
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 0.89 · 86% 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
1.7 ft of tide; waves are breaking in about 10 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 NW, against a shoreline facing 224°.
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 2 min, roughly 10 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 Davenport Landing worksThe best-known Davenport wave

The best-known Davenport wave — a sheltered cove where the inside left gets hollow.

Best tidelow to mid
Best swellSW–W
Suitsintermediate

2 swell trains in the current hour · How this is calculated

Common questions4 questions about Davenport Landing

What is the best tide for Davenport Landing?: Davenport Landing 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 Davenport Landing?: SW–W suits Davenport Landing 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 Davenport Landing good for beginners?: Davenport Landing suits intermediate surfers, over pocket cove: left reef + right reef. 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 Davenport Landing?: pocket cove: left reef + right reef. 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 Davenport Landing on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.