Twin Lakes / Seabright Surf Report & Forecast
Jetty-fed sandbar by the harbour mouth.
Current conditions
2-3 ftmax ~4 ft
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
- 1.8 ft at 17s from the SSW
- Wind
- 1 mph ESE cross-shore
- Tide
- 5.1 ft
- Break depth
- 5 ft
- Power
- 3 kW/m
- Water
- 60°F · 3/2 fullsuit
Updated Aug 25, 9:44 PM PDT · 2 swell trains · how this is calculated
How Twin Lakes / Seabright 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 Twin Lakes / Seabright, solved on the real seafloor at this hour’s swell and tide.
Why Twin Lakes / Seabright looks like this right now
The numbers above, and what each one is actually doing to the wave.
Two swells at once
1.8 ft at 17s from the SSW carrying 83% of the energy, plus 0.8 ft at 11s from the SSW (15%).
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 0.97 · 92% 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
5.1 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
1 mph from the ESE, against a shoreline facing 179°.
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 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 →
Twin Lakes / Seabright surf forecast, next seven days
Building — ~4.6 ft long-period groundswell from the SSW filling in Sat evening (+3.8 d, medium confidence)
| Day | Surf | Best window | Swell | Wind | Tide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-3 ft | 6am to 10amGood | 1.8 ft at 17s SSW | 2 mph cross-shore | Low 0.0 ft 4amHigh 4.2 ft 11amLow 2.5 ft 3pmHigh 5.8 ft 9pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 6am to 7pmGood | 2.1 ft at 15s SSW | 2 mph offshore | Low 0.0 ft 4amHigh 4.4 ft 11amLow 2.3 ft 4pmHigh 5.7 ft 10pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 6am to 11amGood | 2.4 ft at 17s SSW | 2 mph offshore | Low 0.2 ft 5amHigh 4.7 ft 11amLow 2.0 ft 5pmHigh 5.5 ft 11pm | |
| 4-5 ft | 8am to 5pmGood | 2.9 ft at 18s SSW | 2 mph offshore | Low 0.5 ft 5amHigh 4.9 ft 12pmLow 1.7 ft 6pmHigh 5.1 ft 11pm | |
| 3-4 ft | 8am to 11amGood | 2.9 ft at 15s SSW | 2 mph offshore | Low 0.9 ft 6amHigh 5.2 ft 12pmLow 1.4 ft 6pm | |
| 2-3 ft | 5pmGood | 1.9 ft at 14s SSW | 9 mph cross-shore | High 4.7 ft 12amLow 1.4 ft 6amHigh 5.4 ft 1pmLow 1.2 ft 7pm | |
| 2-3 ft | 11amFair-Good | 1.9 ft at 13s SSW | 5 mph cross-shore | High 4.2 ft 1amLow 1.9 ft 7amHigh 5.6 ft 1pmLow 1.0 ft 8pm |
Daylight hours only. The best window is the run of hours the model rates highest that day.
How Twin Lakes / Seabright works
The long sand beach between the harbour jetty and the boardwalk — sheltered, gentle, and where a lot of Santa Cruz learns before moving to the points.
- Bottom
- sand beside the harbour jetty
- Best tide
- mid
- Best swell
- S–SW
- Suits
- beginner-intermediate
Common questions about Twin Lakes / Seabright
- What is the best tide for Twin Lakes / Seabright?
- Twin Lakes / Seabright 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 Twin Lakes / Seabright?
- S–SW suits Twin Lakes / Seabright 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 Twin Lakes / Seabright good for beginners?
- Twin Lakes / Seabright suits beginner-intermediate surfers, over sand beside the harbour jetty. 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 Twin Lakes / Seabright?
- sand beside the harbour jetty. 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 Twin Lakes / Seabright on real 10-foot bathymetry instead of treating the seafloor as a slope.
Nearby breaks
- Sunny Cove surf report · 3-4 ft
- Cowell's surf report · 2 ft
- Moran Lake (Rockview) surf report · 3-4 ft
- Steamer Lane surf report · 2-3 ft
- 26th Avenue surf report · 2-3 ft